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Mahwah board reviews superintendent evaluation tool, reminded of July 1 deadline for completion
Summary
Board members and an NJSBA consultant reviewed the district's CSA (chief school administrator) evaluation instrument, discussed timeline and process requirements and clarified that the evaluation must be completed by July 1 to meet monitoring requirements.
The Mahwah Board of Education heard a detailed presentation on the district's superintendent evaluation process and online CSA evaluation tool during its April 9 meeting.
Matt, an NJSBA consultant, told the board the evaluation must be in writing and completed by July 1 to comply with statutory requirements and with district monitoring. "You certainly don't wanna lose 13 points on CUSAC, by missing the target on evaluation," Matt said, stressing the connection between the evaluation process and monitoring points.
The consultant said the instrument is split into two parts: progress toward board-set district goals (50 percent of the evaluation) and professional leadership standards. The tool includes areas for the superintendent's self-assessment, board member ratings, and documentation links supporting the superintendent's evidence. Matt recommended three meetings to complete the process: a pre-conference, a board meeting without the superintendent to reach a majority opinion, and a final conference to present the annual performance report.
Why it matters: The board's evaluation is tied to district governance indicators and outside monitoring; missing the July 1 deadline can carry scoring consequences in the monitoring system cited by the consultant.
Board members asked how to handle items they do not personally observe (for example, day-to-day personnel matters). The presenter said board members can mark "not observed" where appropriate and should focus on the evaluation criteria that fall within board oversight. He also urged members to rely on the 12-month performance period rather than only recent events when rating the superintendent.
The presenter described the technical steps to use the online tool, including obtaining an NJSBA username/password and how the board president receives compilation documents after members complete their individual inputs. He said the board president normally drafts the final annual performance report template and that the final document reflects the majority opinion; minority opinions may be aired at the annual conference but are not entered into the final template.
Board members and the consultant discussed timing options for the required meetings; Matt recommended working backward from the July 1 deadline and suggested the board could use the May workshop or June regular meeting to complete the process. The superintendent agreed to complete the self-evaluation promptly so board members can begin their inputs.
The presentation also referenced resources (webinars, templates and examples) available on the NJSBA site for members who need help using the system.
The meeting then moved on to other business.
