Schools

Fishbein Named Superintendent of the Year in Region

The Ridgewood superintendent was named as one of the state's three top administrators for the 2012-2013 school year by his peers.

Ridgewood Superintendent of Schools Daniel Fishbein was named the 2012-2013 superintendent of the year by his colleagues for the state's northern region, village school board president Sheila Brogan announced Monday night.

"It's well deserved," Brogan said at the school board meeting Monday, addressing Fishbein. "You do wonderful things for the district."

Fishbein, the superintendent in Ridgewood since 2008, is a longtime resident of the village with five kids in the school system. He previously led the district of Glen Ridge in Essex County, where he was employed for 14 years.

Find out what's happening in Ridgewood-Glen Rockwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

He listed several accomplishments during his tenure as schools chief in Ridgewood.

"The referendum is a huge one," he said to reporters after the meeting. Other victories he listed included "Bringing policies up to date, making sure we have a five-year curriculum cycle, and making sure that our curriculum is robust, rigorous and current."

Find out what's happening in Ridgewood-Glen Rockwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

He said he was thankful for the nomination from his peers.

The New Jersey Association of School Administrators (NJASA) names a winner for each of three regions – Northern, Central and Southern – and one of those three will later be named the New Jersey Superintendent of the Year.

The state's top superintendent will then be eligible to be declared the national superintendent of the year, usually announced in February. With that comes a $10,000 college scholarship for a student of the district.

A spokeswoman for the organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Fishbein's five-year contract in Ridgewood is up at the end of the school year and both he and the school board have expressed interest in him staying in town.

It figures to be a more difficult decision for Fishbein. He could be leaving a lot of money on the table thanks to the state's caps on superintendent pay.

Should he stay in Ridgewood and not flee to another state, Fishbein's salary would be cut from more than $225,000 down to a maximum of $175,000 with "merit" incentives attached, based on "performance."

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