New Jersey leaders launch search for new Camden schools superintendent

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On Wednesday, New Jersey officials launched the search for a new leader to replace Katrina McCombs, outgoing superintendent of the Camden City School District.

According to a notice on the school district’s website, the New Jersey Department of Education has hired Illinois-based HYA Associates to lead the search. The firm was selected “in a competitive bid process that required multiple rounds of review,” the website said.

A community input survey is open to students, parents and staff until June 11. The district will concurrently hold focus groups June 2–12. A feedback report will be presented to the School Advisory Board the week of June 17.

Ronsha A. Dickerson, a Camden resident and executive director of the Camden Parent and Student Union, said the search process is leaning in the right direction.

“This is not a bad thing, but it should have been in place already,” she said, adding that the community has been calling for an open process for a superintendent search since 2013, when the state took over the school district. “Our main concern is to keep the process transparent for the community.”

Pamela K. Clark, president of the Camden Education Association, hopes all of the union presidents, including CEA, will have a seat on the selection committee.

“The person should be fully transparent, well organized, able to agree to disagree with professionalism and respect and foremost care about the staff and students of Camden City,” she said.

Recruitment for the position will take place during June and July, with interviews taking place as soon as August, officials said. The district website said final interviews will be conducted confidentially “to protect the integrity of the selection process and attract a strong pool of candidates.”

Officials are aiming to have a new state superintendent in place on Nov. 1. That person will be appointed by state Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer. The School Advisory Board will have no say in the decision.

McCombs, who has led the district for seven years, announced her departure from the state-operated school district in March. She accepted the position of assistant commissioner for the Division of Early Childhood Services within the Department of Education. She’s leaving as the district grapples with cuts to close a $91 million structural deficit.