Somerset Hills Schools Honor Retiring Super Pete Miller

Photos by Bianca Pichamuthu; story by Bianca Pichamuthu and Linda Sadlouskos

Retiring Somerset Hills schools superintendent Peter Miller received personal mementos, donations towards a Somerset Hills Education Foundation endowment set up in his name, a lot of thanks and a little ribbing during his final meeting Wednesday night with the school district's Board of Education.

Miller, whose last day in his office was on Thursday, also told SHEF that he will remain a trustee for the non-profit organization that raises funds and donates to support district programs and underwrite other investments. Miller officially retires on June 30, following 10 years as superintendent and a previous decade as assistant superintendent as part of a total 35 years spent in the district.

Lynne Brum, vice-chair of SHEF, announced that the amount of funds in a SHEF endowment for educational initiatives set up in Miller's name had reached $25,000.25 following additional donations made Wednesday night. 

Speaking about the endowment set up for Miller, Brum said the fund would "acknowledge the professional thoughtful and kind matter that he lead the school district, the integrity he exemplifies, and the role model he was for us and our families."

During the meeting, two recent graduates, John Maddaluna and Leon De Silva, presented Miller with a $2,500 donation from the Class of 2013.

Along with thanking the Class of 2103 for working hard to raise the funds, Miller said he was touched that this year's yearbook was dedicated to him.

Board of Education members also banded together $1,475 in individual contributions for a donation to the endowment, Miller said on Thursday. 

"I have received so many positive compliments about the major initiatives of the organization," Miller said. He noted on Thursday that SHEF even had made a substantial donation noted at Wednesday's meeting.

Brum said the annual fundraisers such as the annual Chilli Cook-off, SHEF's biggest and most successful fundraisers, and the faculty and staff trivia program that raised almost $5,000 contributes toward such efforts as the Columbia University reading and writing program that now is being expanded into Bernardsville Middle School. SHEF also has plans to install a 20-station Mac computer lab at Bernards High School in the near future, Brum said.

At the end of the business portion of the meeting, each board member presented personally chosen gifts for Miller.

Board Member Lou Palma noted Miller’s attention to detail, and presented him with a brick as a reminder of the time the superintendent had called upon contractors to take down the school because the bricks they had put up were misaligned.

Board Member Linda Kragie presented Miller with a photo book to commemorate the long hours that the superintendent had put in and all the accomplishments that resulted from that time. She called the book, “A Decade of Improvements," noting her book had 20 pages, but "the full book would be like an encyclopedia."

Paula Kurschus, the board's newest member, presented Miller with a CD of the recordings of his alert messages called in after Hurricane Sandy saying school had been called off.

Kurschus said her children “thought of him as a hero every time he would call and say there was no school."

Board Member Deb Hawkins gave Miller a LEGO boat set after founding out he has a boat and Schools Business Administrator Nancy Hunter presented Miller with a picture and a sample from "Miller Mountain," a giant dirt pile left behind the school for a number of years.

Board Member Donna Coons gave Miller a piece of turf field, teasing him that he is “getting into the field business," while Assistant Superintendent Barbara Walls talked about how Miller's more frequent phrases, such as, “It’s not about you, its about the kids." 

Walls had compiled these phrases into a small binder called “Millerisms: Pete’s popular phrases."

Board Member Nancy Palazzolo’s named Miller “Honorary District Testing Coordinator” and gave him a folder with a number 2 pencil and a HSPA test in it. 

Although Susan Petrilli, who joined the board this year, said she didn’t know Miller very well, she gave him a baseball that said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” 

Board Member Lauriann Swadba said board members are “so grateful for your unwavering dedication,” and commented on how all during his years in his post, his moustache hadn't changed. She gave Miller a moustache card game with a hand made card with his own moustache on it added to the deck.

Board Member Bob Baker gave Miller a sign saying, “Gone Fishing” — which Miller said he would use this weekend.

“Everyone at this table has faced from very challenging issues, but they have made us stronger as an organization and my philosophy always was to cut through the bureaucracy and made sure someone is teaching our children," Miller said during the evening.