West Essex Business Administrator to Leave District

Michael Falkowski, current school business administrator of West Essex Regional Schools, was approved unanimously Monday by the Ridgewood Board of Education to serve as the district's next business administrator and board secretary.

Falkowski will replace Angelo DeSimone, who will retire at the end of the school year. He will start on July 1, 2013, with an annual salary of $165,000.

Falkowski attended the Monday school board meeting in Ridgewood with his wife and children.

"I'm very excited," Falkowski told school board members and administrators. "This is going to be a really great fit."

Falkowski has been the business administrator/board secretary of West Essex since May 2010, and also doubles as treasurer at Caldwell-West Caldwell and Roseland school districts. He previously worked 14 years in the private sector.

The new hire holds a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from Rutgers University and a master's in business administration from Oakland University in Rochester, Mich.

"I look forward to having Mike come on board," said Ridgewood Superintendent Dan Fishbein. "I know he's going to be spending some time with Angelo so he has a real smooth transition."

This story originally ran on Ridgewood Patch.