Public commenter urges East Brunswick board to pick superintendent with classroom experience and relational leadership

A public commenter at the East Brunswick Board of Education meeting urged trustees to choose a superintendent with classroom experience and a collaborative leadership style.

The commenter, who addressed board members informally as "Jack" and "Heather," said the district needs "a new leader as opposed to a manager for the next phase of our evolution." They argued that while managers "get things done through people," leaders "enroll people to get things done" by inspiring staff to buy into a shared vision.

"We really need a new leader as opposed to a manager for the next phase of our evolution," the commenter said, adding that the board should seek someone who will "tap into the vast amount of talent" among teachers and principals and "create a culture that inspires collaboration, creativity, and achievement at all levels." The speaker also called for "highly emotionally intelligent" leadership that builds strong relationships with parents, teachers and students.

The commenter recommended empowering building principals and teachers to make decisions within curriculum guidelines and suggested that search assessments might help measure candidates' emotional intelligence. They closed by urging the board to make "an outstanding choice, one that's very befitting of East Brunswick."

The board acknowledged the comments and then moved to close the public portion of the meeting. The meeting record shows the board plans to convene a closed session after the public meeting; the closed session was announced as lasting an estimated three hours and that no action would be taken during it.

The remarks came during the public-comment portion of the meeting; the board had earlier reiterated public-comment rules, including a three-minute time limit and a requirement that speakers provide their name and address.