Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Superintendent Evaluation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board hears overview of superintendent evaluation tool, timeline and confidentiality rules
Summary
A New Jersey School Boards Association representative explained the evaluation tool used to assess the superintendent, including goals, six professional standards, the requirement to notify the superintendent 48 hours before discussing their performance in executive session, and the July 1 timeline for the written evaluation.
The Mountain Lakes Board of Education received an overview of the annual superintendent (chief school administrator) evaluation from a New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) representative, who described how the evaluation combines collaboratively set district goals and six professional standards.
Dr. Panera, who identified himself as the board's NJSBA representative, told the board the process typically uses three district goals and assesses six standards — including mission and vision, governance and ethics, curriculum and instruction, family engagement, professional capacity and operations — with performance ratings such as "exemplary," "proficient," "area for growth," "unsatisfactory" or "not observed." He said the evaluation must be in writing and that the final summary meeting should take place before July 1.
Panera emphasized process elements: boards should set goals collaboratively with the superintendent; the business administrator often supports the administrative setup; and boards may include minority verbal comments at the conference although the official written report reflects the majority ratings. He noted the association's tool compiles board-member inputs into a majority-based annual performance report and that the association retains evaluation compilations only until December 31 each year because superintendent evaluations are confidential.
On procedural safeguards, Panera explained that if the board will discuss the superintendent's performance, the superintendent must be given 48 hours' notice that their performance will be considered — a step the presenter called "rice" in the presentation — and that performance discussions occur in executive session because personnel matters are not public.
Board members discussed logistics and timelines: the board aims to have the presenter’s portion complete by the end of April so the compiled evaluation can be shared in May (the board cited May 2 as a target for an executive-session summary meeting) and finalized before the July 1 statutory deadline.
What happens next: The board will receive the compiled inputs and templates described by the presenter; the finance and other committees will continue working separately on related items such as district goals and the preliminary budget.
