The Hackensack Board of Education, with a vote of 6 to 1, hired Edward Kliszus as Superintendent of Hackensack Schools at its last meeting on July 15.

In a separate vote of 6-1, Robert Gamper’s appointment as assistant superintendent was finalized.

The one dissenting vote came from board member Rhonda Bembry, whose objection was to the board electing the assistant superintendent prior to the superintendent. Board members Phillip Carroll and Jonathan Gilmore were not present to vote.

"The leadership model is top down, and we should follow that," Bembry said after the meeting.

Mildred Dodson, a Hackensack resident of 40 years, agreed with Bembry.

"I don’t know how it slipped passed me that the assistant superintendent was chosen before the superintendent so that means he doesn’t have the opportunity to hire anybody to come along with him and isn’t that the way it’s normally done?" Dodson said at the meeting.

After the meeting Kliszus expressed that he was looking forward to having Gamper as an assistant superintendent, especially since Gamper is familiar with the Hackensack district, serving in the elementary schools for four years.

"He has inside information on how things operate," Kliszus said. "I have a large learning curve, a lot to learn in a short period of time on how things work here. He’ll be very helpful for me in the transition."

Kliszus starts on Oct. 1 after his contract as superintendent with Belleville Public School District ends.

The new contract has a yearly salary of $190,000, which according to board president Carolyn Hayer, contains no extras or perks, something historically not seen in a superintendent contract.

Kliszus has been superintendent at Belleville for three and a half years and before that was at Union Township for 26 years, serving as a teacher for 10 years, director, and principal for nine years.

He received his bachelor’s degree from Nyack College, his master’s degree in music education from the Manhattan School of Music, and holds a doctor of philosophy in music composition from New York University.

One other concern that arose at the board meeting was the issue of confidentiality in the selection process. Sue Avallone, a parent, expressed dismay that the board leaked information on the selection of Kliszus causing some lack of confidence in the board.

"In terms of the confidence of the parents, we have to believe that whether it’s an employment issue and a staff member has to come before you or it’s a family with a child in crisis, that those issues are going to remain confidential," Avallone said.

Sylvia Hughes, a resident of more than 40 years, did not make it to the meeting but was not supportive of Kliszus as the new superintendent. At the forum held prior to his hiring she raised concerns over his education concentrating on music and that as superintendent of Belleville, hired few African Americans.

"All his interest is in the arts but we need more than that," Hughes said after the meeting. "[The board] should have done more research, and they didn’t"

Kliszus stands behind his education and his experience as an educator since 1976. He also denied any racial agenda as superintendent, citing African Americans and many Latinos being hired as teachers during his tenure at Belleville. He acknowledged that no African Americans were hired as administrators since positions did not open up but said that when he left Union, he pushed very hard for his replacement, an African American.

"We work very hard to attract minority candidates," Kliszus said. "You want your faculty to reflect the demographics of the community."

Which is why, according to Kliszus, the classifieds to attract teachers to Belleville said bilingual preferred. According to him, 70 percent of the incoming children in Belleville, are Latino.

"The children deserve the best and the brightest possible, but we don’t hire people simply because they’re an ethnic background, that’s not the case at all," Kliszus said. "We certainly attract minority candidates but we are going to hire the best person."

Hayer is confident in Kliszus’ credentials and ability and said that the board received 23 applicants for superintendent.

"I’m quite impressed with the wide range of background and experience he brings," Hayer said. "We spent a lot of time and energy on this process."

Hayer said that Hackensack itself has faced challenges in minority recruitment, which has resulted in the formation of a minority recruitment committee to actively recruit minorities to apply.

The meeting brought many well wishes to Kliszus and outgoing superintendent of 14 years, Joseph Montesano.

"You’re in for a great experience," Montesano told Kliszus.

"If yours is even one-tenths as satisfying as mine, you’re going to have a great career here. I envy you that you are starting out at what I consider the best place anybody can be an educator."

"I’m very excited and looking forward to it," Kliszus said. "The district’s been very successful and I’m looking forward to building on that success."