The oft-divided Alexandria School Board voted unanimously Monday night to appoint the superintendent of Tenafly Public Schools in New Jersey as Alexandria’s new superintendent.
Morton Sherman has been superintendent of Tenafly schools since 2005 and was superintendent of the Cherry Hill, N.J., school district for eight years before that.
Morton “has a record of raising the bar for all students” and a “dedication to excellence and equity,” School Board Chairman Clair Eberwein said.
Morton was also a finalist for the superintendent position for the Easton Area School District in Pennsylvania and was due to interview there this week, according to the Morning Call newspaper in Allentown.
After an extensive search, the Alexandria School Board was scheduled to announce its choice for superintendent on Thursday but said it were still involved in contract negotiations at that point.
The School Board and its consultants, Young, Attea & Associates Ltd., kept the search so confidential that the committee that was supposed to advise them on the superintendent selection was filled in on the final choice only half an hour before the decision was made public last night.
“On recommendation of the consultants, the board determined to proceed with a confidential search in order to attract the best possible candidates,” the notes from an April meeting between the board and the consultants said.
The board and the committee had said the ability to deal with a diverse school system and fiscal responsibility were two of the most important qualities they were looking for in a superintendent.
A divided school board voted in May 2007 not to renew previous Superintendent Rebecca Perry’s contract after a controversial tenure that included her 2004 arrest on drunken-driving charges.
The board relieved Perry from her contract early at her request, and appointed William Symons as interim superintendent in January.
The board seemed close to selecting a new superintendent in April from among three finalists recommended by consulting firm Ray and Associates, but then abruptly announced that it was ending its deal with company without giving a reason.
Advisory committee members said those finalists, who were from school systems in New Jersey, Florida and Virginia, were not up to par.
Unlike with Ray and Associates, advisory committee members were not present at interviews and site visits with the new finalists.
