RIH Appoints New Interim Superintendent

The Ramapo Indian Hills Board of Education announced the appointment of an interim superintendent at its public meeting Monday night, approving a one-year contract with Dr. Ernest Palestis to head regional high school district.

Palestis, currently the interim superintendent of the Morris Plains school district, will begin his tenure at RIH Aug. 27. Until then, the board announced, current curriculum director Beverly MacKay will serve as interim superintendent.

Palestis’ combined 24 years of experience as a superintendent, in the Morris Plains district and previously as the superintendent of the Mine Hill and Wharton districts in Morris County, has included overseeing regional districts.

Board President Lynn Budd, in introducing the appointment, pointed to that regional experience in making Palestis an ideal candidate to take the reins of the RIH district.

“We look forward to working with Dr. Palestis, and we know our Ramapo Indian Hills district will benefit from his leadership and experience,” Budd said.

Palestis also said that his experience working in regional school districts peaked his interest in the position at RIH.

“That’s one of the factors that attracted me to Ramapo Indian Hills,” he said. “Because I know what my strengths are, and I like to rely upon that.”

Part of what attracts him to larger, regional districts, Palestis said, is the ability to use multiple buildings and incorporate different communities to institute “comprehensive” educational programs within the district.

“When you’re large like this,” he said, “it makes it easier to offer very strong programming, and that’s what Ramapo Indian Hills does.”

Business administrator Frank Ceurvels declined to release details on Palestis’ contract, as it had not yet been signed as of Monday night, he said. State law caps the superintendent salary for a district of RIH's size at $155,000.

Monday night’s meeting also marked the last for outgoing superintendent Lauren Schoen, who announced on Feb. 5 that she would be resigning the post to accept a position as superintendent of the Mahwah School District.

Schoen, who will serve her last day in the RIH district Wednesday, thanked the board, school administrators, teachers and staff for their collaboration over the four years of her tenure in the district.

“It’s all those people vested in the same interest—that’s what makes Ramapo Indian Hills special, that’s what made it an honor to work here, and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity,” Schoen said.

Palestis will be arriving in the district amidst statewide transitions such as the adoption of the common core standards and the introduction of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) tests, and said his immediate focus will be consulting people from around the district to make his own assessment of the district’s progress on adapting to the new curricula.

“You have the [statewide] issues,” Palestis said. “And then as someone new my responsibility is to try and work with everyone here to get an assessment on what we need to do, and to try to include as many people in that process as possible so that I’m hearing all the voices that are out there.”