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Brick Schools' Business Administrator Departing For Camden
By Catherine Snipe
A Brick schools administrator will oversee what the state calls one of its most troubled districts - Camden.
Nicholas Puleio, business administrator and board secretary for the Brick school district, received a state appointment this week as the fiscal monitor to the Camden school system.
The state Department of Education made the appointment at Gov. Jon. Corzine's behest, four months after he ordered Camden receive a fiscal monitor. Corzine cited a magnitude of problems in Camden, which Puleio is scheduled to begin work around December, according to the state.
Camden is South Jersey's largest school district, with 16,000 students. By comparison, Brick has 11,600.
Puleio moves from a district doing well academically to one struggling on its state report card. Further, Camden's previous audit prompted a criminal investigation into its finances. He will be charged with helping to oversee the Camden district's $300 million budget, including overseeing business operations and personnel matters.
State DEP acting Commissioner Lucille E. Davy chose Puleio, who is the second person to oversee a New Jersey public school district under a law allowing for monitors to oversee a broad range of school issues.
However, the monitor responsibilities are not a takeover of the district, according to the state.
"This is a very important initiative in the effort to turn the Camden school system around," Davy said in a prepared statement.
Puleio said he gave the district his letter of resignation on Friday, and the Brick Board of Education was expected to accept the letter at its meeting yesterday, after press time.
"I will be working with Brick and the superintendent regarding my exact release date," Puleio said. "I have obligations to complete here that I won't not fulfill."
Puleio joined the Brick school district as a business administrator in September 2001. He has 27-plus years of experience as a business administrator, also working in such New Jersey school districts in Neptune, Spotswood and Lawrence.
While each of those districts vary in size and performance, none match Camden's description as scandal-plagued.
"The challenge before me is a significant one," Puleio said. "This is the biggest challenge of my career."
The position is one he considers an honor. "First of all, I'm extremely flattered and honored the state would choose me to be the individual to go in and implement the legislation signed by the governor, that gives the authority to have a state monitor in districts that have difficulties," he said.
However, he is leaving a district he was very attached to.
"I certainly appreciate the opportunity to have served the students, the staff, the community and the boards of education that I've worked for here in Brick," he said. "I am certainly thankful for the opportunity I've had in Brick, and it's an experience that has prepared me for Camden."
Puleio's new position earns $168,000 a year in a contract that lasts through 2009. The position was created under the "School District Accountability Act" signed by Corzine in April. It allows the Commissioner to appoint a state monitor in districts where serious fiscal deficiencies have been identified in the district's annual audit. He will report to Davy and will work alongside the Camden Intervention Team.
Puleio is a certified school business administrator, with a batchelors degree in business administration and a masters degree in education. He also serves as an adjunct professor for Rider University, serves as a mentor to newly certified business administrators, and is a past president of the New Jersey School Business Officials.
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