The first Highland Park School Board meeting of 2016 on Monday Jan. 4 featured anticipated beginnings and unanticipated endings. Three new school board members were installed as expected, but two veteran board members resigned unexpectedly.
Anne Sherber and Jerri Aversa, whose terms expire on December 31, 2016, submitted their resignations, effective immediately, to Board Administrator Linda Hoefle. They gave no explanation for their actions, but Ms. Hoefle, along with several other individuals, expressed appreciation for their service.
The news of the resignations came, as three new members entered the board’s ranks. Newcomers Ruth Beyer, Robert Magaziner and Sharice Richardson, who won their seats to the board on November 3, 2015, officially began their three-year terms. They joined sitting members in appointing Darcie Cimarusti as board president and Anne Gowen as board vice president.
Former members Sherber and Aversa served during the tumultuous 2013-2014 school year, which was marked by the hiring and eventual departure of then Superintendent Timothy Capone. Mr. Capone’s 11-months as district chief was defined by the elimination of 10 district staff positions, a move that he said was made for budgetary reasons, but an action that nevertheless caused significant turmoil in the district.
Current Superintendent Scott Taylor, a resident of Highland Park is very upbeat about the future of the district and the much-improved environment of communication and collaboration among all segments of the school community and encourages the residents to get involved in the school governance process. Residents of Highland Park who are interested in being appointed by the current school board members to the Highland Park Board of Education to fill the unexpired terms of Sherber and Aversa – 2/1/16 to 12/31/16 – should do the following:
- Submit a letter of interest and resume no later than 10 a.m. Tuesday, January 19, to Linda Hoefele Board Secretary, Highland Park Board of Education, 435 Mansfield Street, Highland Park, NJ 08904.
- Be available on Feb. 1, 2016 for the public school board meeting, when interviews of candidates will take place.
- Understand that appointments are expected to occur on Feb. 1, 2016.
- Contact Ms. Hoefle lhoefele@hpschools.net for further information.