Pascack Valley board accepts superintendent's leave, appoints Dirk Phillips as interim
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Summary
The Pascack Valley Regional High School District Board of Education granted Superintendent Dr. Sarah Belotti a leave through June 30, 2025, approved a release agreement and voted to appoint Dirk Phillips as interim superintendent effective May 1, 2025, at a per-diem rate of $825.
The Pascack Valley Regional High School District Board of Education on April 28 approved a leave and release for Superintendent Dr. Sarah Belotti and appointed Dirk Phillips as interim superintendent.
The board president read a resolution saying, "Be it resolved that Belotti shall be granted a leave of absence using her contractually allotted days from 04/28/2025 through 06/30/2025" and that the board "approves the release between the board and Belotti." The board then voted on the resolution; several members voted yes and one member recorded an abstention.
At a separate resolution read later in the meeting, the board recorded that "Belotti has resigned from her position effective 06/30/2025" and that the board "is desirous of employing an interim superintendent of schools for the period beginning 05/01/2025 and ending no later than 06/30/2026." That resolution named Dirk Phillips and stated the county executive superintendent had approved the employment agreement under the standards cited in NJSA 18A:7-8 and NJAC 6A:9-12. The resolution set a per-diem rate of $825 and authorized the board president and board secretary/business administrator to execute the agreement.
Roll calls recorded in the transcript show the board voting to approve both resolutions. For the leave-and-release resolution the roll call includes recorded yes votes from board members identified in the minutes and one abstention; for the interim appointment, recorded roll-call votes were all in the affirmative among the board members present at that vote.
No extended public discussion preceded either action in the open meeting; the resolutions were read following return from executive session and the board moved directly to roll-call votes.
The board recorded that the employment agreement for the interim superintendent had been submitted to and approved by the executive county superintendent in accordance with state regulations, and authorized board officers to sign the contract on the board's behalf.
The board did not publicly discuss the text of the release agreement beyond the language read into the record, and no additional details about financial terms beyond the interim per-diem rate were read into the record during the open session.
The board moved on to routine business after introducing Dirk Phillips to the public meeting.
