Board proposes to tear up the superintendent's contract and write a longer one

What happened

The board has given legal notice of a public hearing at its regular meeting on Tuesday, October 27, 2026 at 5:30 pm, at which it proposes to rescind Superintendent Dr. James Bevere's current employment contract - which runs from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2028 - and approve a new contract running from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2030. The Executive County Superintendent has already approved the new contract. The public is invited to comment at the hearing, although the notice states the board will not publicly discuss personnel matters or respond to comments made. Nothing is decided yet: this is a scheduled hearing on a proposed action.

Why it matters to families

Replacing a contract with two years still to run, with one that runs two years longer, is a decision about who leads the district until 2030 and on what terms - and the only chance the public gets to be heard on it is this one hearing. In May the board had already moved a first reading of revisions to its policy on employment of the chief school administrator, so the rules governing the post were being changed alongside the contract.

The evidence

The board's legal notice, issued under N.J.A.C. 6A:23A-3.1(c) and N.J.S.A. 18A:11-11 by School Business Administrator and Board Secretary John Ogunkanmi, sets the date, time and purpose of the hearing, names the contract being rescinded and its July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2028 term, names the replacement and its July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2030 term, and states that the Executive County Superintendent has approved it. The May 12, 2026 minutes record the policy committee moving a first reading of revisions to the policy on employment of the chief school administrator.

The source