Monday, January 23, 2012
The complete text of Tom Belding's speech to the Board of Education.
Editor's note: The following is the complete text of Board of Education President Tom Belding's remarks recommending Dr. Michael LaSusa for the position of superintendent for the School District of the Chathams. These remarks were made at the Jan. 9, 2012 Board of Education meeting held at Washington Avenue School. For the past 18 months Dr. LaSusa has done an outstanding job as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction—the second ranking position in the District. Prior to that time, as most of you know, Mike was a teacher, supervisor, Dean of Students, and Principal in Chatham. Mike is a Phi Beta Kappa Summa Cum Laude graduate of Gettysburg College, and achieved a 4.0 average in his Doctoral program at Rutgers. Throughout…
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Board of Education: School District of the Chathams
58 Meyersville Rd, Chatham, NJ
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Monday, January 9, 2012
By a vote of 8-0, the assistant superintendent was named district's next superintendent.
The Board of Education voted Monday to approve a contract for Michael LaSusa to serve as superintendent of the School District of the Chathams, effective July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2016. The 8-0 vote (Board Member Richard Connors was absent) means LaSusa's career in the district, which has already spanned more than 11 years, will continue, and the district will be led by who Board President Tom Belding described as "a well-qualified, internal candidate." LaSusa joined the district as a Spanish and social studies teacher in September 2001 at Chatham High School. By July 2004, he was promoted to dean of students and acting supervisor of social studies, and two years later, was promoted again to co-principal. LaSusa became assistant …
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Washington Avenue Elementary School
102 Washington Ave, Chatham, NJ
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BOE President says the district is lucky to have such a strong internal candidate.
Tom Belding, the president of the Board of Education of the School District of the Chathams, said the board is confident that Michael LaSusa will make a strong superintendent. "He has been our intended candidate for really some time," Belding said. "He was an obvious choice because of the strength of his performance in all previous positions he's had in the district." In his 11 years employed by the district, LaSusa has worked as a teacher, a co-principal at Chatham High School and assistant superintendent in the district. When the board started looking for a permanent superintendent to take over when Dennis Fyffe's interim position expires at the end of June, they posted the position internally only. "We anticipated [LaSusa] would …
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Board of Education: School District of the Chathams
58 Meyersville Rd, Chatham, NJ
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Sunday, January 8, 2012
If approved, former co-principal of Chatham High to head the district next year.
The Board of Education of the School District of the Chathams will vote Monday night to appoint Michael LaSusa as the district's superintendent. If approved, LaSusa will assume the role left vacant by Jim O'Neill effective July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2016 at a salary of $167,500 per year. Board President Tom Belding told Chatham Patch in December that an advertisement for the position was posted internally within the district and a single candidate submitted an application. When the board decided to hire Dennis Fyffe as the interim superintendent for the School District of the Chathams in April, then-Board President Steve Barna said he would mentor LaSusa to permanently take over the role. LaSusa was made assistant superintendent for the…
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Board of Education: School District of the Chathams
58 Meyersville Rd, Chatham, NJ
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Thursday, June 30, 2011
As one door closes, superintendent looks for another to open.
Editor's note: This is the second of a two-part series looking back on Superintendent Jim O'Neill's career with the School District of the Chathams. Click here for Part 1. Jim O'Neill did not wait until his last day to move out of his office, the space he has been in since 2003 as superintendent of the School District of the Chathams. "I took a lot out this [past] weekend," he said. "It's a lot more emotional ... [and] I'm having a little more withdrawal than I anticipated." O'Neill announced in February that he will officially retire when his contract expires Thursday. Room for Improvement One area O'Neill thinks the district could improve is in its outreach to senior citizens. "I believe the schools here are very naturally inter-…
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Board of Education: School District of the Chathams
58 Meyersville Rd, Chatham, NJ
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33823
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Departing superintendent looks back on accomplishments, challenges over the years.
Jim O'Neill said when he wakes up on Friday, he has a plan. "I'm going to take my son's car into the dealership," O'Neill said Monday. "Just so I have something to do." The day would have been a holiday for him anyway, except for one thing. Friday will be the first day in more than 15 years that O'Neill will not be an employee of the School District of the Chathams. Looking Back on the Memories O'Neill came to Chatham in December 1996 as the new principal of Chatham High School. He became an assistant superintendent less than four years later and superintendent three years after that. During his tenure in Chatham, O'Neill said he has seen the population grow while simultaneously the academic achievements of students improved. "It’s almost …
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Board of Education: School District of the Chathams
58 Meyersville Rd, Chatham, NJ
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33823
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Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The candidate's name has not yet been released.
Members of the Board of Education confirmed that a new business administrator for the School District of the Chathams will be announced May 4. The candidate has not yet been officially appointed by the board, but an ad hoc committee has interviewed and selected a person to replace Ralph Goodwin, who retired from the district in 2010. Tom Belding, the vice president of the board, described the candidate as "a person with considerable experience in the area" who is currently working as a business administrator in another district in North Jersey. Board President Steve Barna said that the candidate has not yet informed his employer that he would be leaving his position, and the name will not be made public until after time. In the meantime, …
Monday, April 11, 2011
The first item on the Board of Education agenda for Monday night's meeting is approving the superintendent's retirement.
The Board of Education will vote on a resolution to officially approve Superintendent Jim O'Neill's resignation at the regular meeting Monday night. O'Neill gave the Board of Education a letter of resignation on Feb. 28 stating his intention to retire the purpose of retirement. The board, however, took no action on his resignation, pending the outcome of O'Neill's lawsuit against the state Department of Education regarding the state-imposed salary caps for school superintendents, which would have reduced O'Neill's salary by nearly 20 percent. O'Neill's resignation will be effective July 1 when his contract expires. "I am disappointed that I am not retiring on the time schedule I would have chosen, and I am disappointed we do not have the …
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Board of Education: School District of the Chathams
58 Meyersville Rd, Chatham, NJ
/articles/oneill-retirement-becomes-official
33823
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Thursday, March 31, 2011
District still considering options for O'Neill's replacement.
The Board of Education has met with candidates for the position of interim superintendent, Board President Steve Barna said Thursday. "We've met with several candidates for the interim position, but we're still exploring our options," Barna said. Superintendent Jim O'Neill announced on March 24 that he would retire from his position once his current contract expires on June 30. He first indicated that he would retire at the Feb. 28 meeting, at which point the board did not take action. Once the board addresses O'Neill's retirement, they will have three options on how to proceed. "We can either conduct a superintendent search, or we could appoint or look for an interim superintendent to help us on a per diem basis, or we could even consider…
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Board of Education: School District of the Chathams
58 Meyersville Rd, Chatham, NJ
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/locations/3866248
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Board of Ed announces intention to offer O'Neill a three-year extension.
Just hours after Gov. Chris Christie's administration suspended all negotiations for school administrators' contracts and the controversial deal struck by Parsippany's superintendent was voided, the Chatham Board of Education announced Monday night its intention to extend its school chief's contract for three years. The new deal, which will be voted on Dec. 13, will increase School District of the Chathams Superintendent Jim O'Neill's current salary of $210,000 by 1.95 percent, 1.9 percent and 1.85 percent over the next three years. The increase rates are below Christie's 2 percent cap, but O'Neill's salary is already $45,000 more than the governor's proposed school administrator's limit. Christie's proposed salary caps for school …
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Board of Education: School District of the Chathams
58 Meyersville Rd, Chatham, NJ
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Michael Immerman
12:13 pm on Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Thas is wonderful news! I had the priveladge of having Dr.LaSusa as my pricipal at CHS. He was always kind and helpful, and always embraced everyone no matter who they were. He is a class act and a team player. Best of luck to him MI more ›