Barnegat Board Of Ed To Appoint New Superintendent On March 14

BARNEgAT TOWNSHIP, NJ - The Board of Education is slated to hold a special meeting Wednesday night to appoint a new superintendent of schools, according to the district website.

The meeting will get underway at 6 p.m. on March 14 in the high school library at 180 Bengal Boulevard in Barnegat. Action will be taken.

The board began advertising for a new superintendent in August, after board members declined to renew current Superintendent Karen Wood's contract.

Wood has said she isn't going anywhere until the day her contract expires in June 2018.

"I need to make it clear to everyone that my heart is in Barnegat as it has always been and I intend to stay in Barnegat until my last day of employment," Wood posted on Facebook last year. "Since the non-renewal I have come to work every day, just as dedicated as before the non-renewal. "

Wood was at odds with the school board over last summer. She posted a message on July 23 - which has since been removed - about possible illegal or criminal activities on the part of school board members and questioned their ethics.

She later apologized to board members, the district staff and the community for the Facebook post for her "poor word choices," according to a letter she posted last year on the district website.

..."I want to make clear that I have no knowledge of any illegal or criminal conduct by any members of the board, nor have any board members displayed such conduct," she wrote. "I am presently unaware of any violations of the school ethics act by any members of the board."

Her letter was posted two days before the school board voted not to renew her $155,977 contract, which expires on June 30, 2018.

Board President Scott Sarno has said her post did not have any effect on the board's decision, and declined to discuss reasons why her contract will not be removed, according to The Sandpaper.

"The superintendent has the option of discussing the matter in public or private, and she opted for private," said Sarno. "Because of that, we cannot make any comments."

But Wood has her supporters in town. A Facebook page -"Renew Karen Wood For Superintendent of Barnegat School District - was launched shortly after the board's decision not to renew her contract.

Patch previously announced the meeting was Tuesday night. It is Wednesday night. Patch regrets the error.

Logo: Courtesy of Barnegat School District