Residents' input sought for superintendent search BY VINCENT TODARO Staff Writer JAMESBURG - The public is invited to attend a meeting this Monday to give their thoughts on the school district's search for a new superintendent. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the gymnasium of the JFK School, and is another step in the process of finding a replacement for current Schools Superintendent Shirley Bzdewka, who is retiring. Bzdewka also serves as principal of the Grace M. Breckwedel School. The Jamesburg Board of Education has entered into a contract with the New Jersey School Boards Association in the search and is required to go through a process that includes getting input from the public, as well as district staff and officials. The information will be collated and presented to the school board association, said board President Donald Peterson. It is hoped that the new superintendent will begin on July 1 if not shortly before that, Peterson said. Monday night's meeting will be the first time the board formally receives input from the public on the matter. The board has already submitted its own input to the school boards association, and the agency will report back to the Jamesburg board Jan. 11. From there, the position will be advertise and the board will hopefully begin receiving applications in February, Peterson said. The school boards association will then start going through the applications and creating a pool of candidates who meet the criteria that was laid out. "They'll distill it down," Peterson said. Interviews would be conducted by the board in March, and a candidate would hopefully be chosen in April, Peterson said, noting that would give the board enough time to negotiate a contract. Most superintendents have to give their districts 60 days notice before leaving, he noted. The new superintendent will also serve as principal at the Breckwedel school. "So obviously the person needs to be an administrator and someone who has the characteristics and personality of a principal," Peterson said. "Our superintendents have also been very visible at public functions, so we need a nurturing and visible presence."