Why can't this top school district keep a superintendent?

MOORESTOWN TOWNSHIP ^[1] — The affluent Philadelphia suburb of Moorestown, with its quaint downtown, stately historic homes and highly rated school district regularly leads the pack of the best places to live in South Jersey and ranks among the best in the state.

So why has it gone through four different superintendents in the past three years, drawing the ire of hundreds of its residents?

More than 200 parents, teachers and stakeholders packed the auditorium of William Allen Middle School Monday night to express frustration over what many called a "revolving door" of school leaders and the board's decision not to hire its current interim superintendent Carole Butler, despite widespread support.

Its vote to instead hire current Egg Harbor Township Superintendent Scott McCartney has drawn allegations of sexism, nepotism and raised questions about McCartney's ties to the retired Egg Harbor Township superintendent who led the search process for Moorestown's new superintendent.

They're allegations board officials deny, as they argue they're entrusted to seek out the best possible candidate for the job and board members are privy to confidential information the public can't access.

A quick history

The board's "revolving door" of school leaders began in 2012 when its superintendent of five years retired and the next one only stayed in the position for a year before he resigned. The one after that also stayed for just a year before suddenly stepping down ^[2]. Butler, then the director of curriculum and instruction, was hired as interim superintendent by the board in December of 2015.

In a written Q&A,^[3] the board stated that it "shares the frustration" over the high superintendent turnover but the most recent departure was due to "circumstances outside of all of our control." Statewide factors such as salary caps and other restrictions have made retaining a superintendent difficult for all districts in N.J., it argued.

"[I]t is well known that has made it even harder to maintain excellent Superintendents, and that's before other possible negative influences are added to the equation such as district financial pressures or divisive special interest groups," it stated.

The board itself has also seen upheaval recently, as two members who allegedly supported hiring Butler resigned suddenly last month. Their seats remained unfilled Monday night.

Support for Butler

During her four-month tenure at the helm of the district, Butler's amassed widespread support in the community, and a petition circulated over the weekend to support hiring her gathered 500 signatures in two days, including some from students.

"They signed it because they love you," said parent Regina Kelly Hartshorne, choking up slightly, at Monday's emotional meeting.

A handful of community members claimed Monday the decision to hire McCartney was driven by systemic sexism. During public comment, resident Saralee Michaud criticized the hiring of a search firm to seek out candidates when they already had a well-loved internal candidate, "an extremely qualified woman," she stressed, which drew a standing ovation from the crowd.

N.J. town sues school board ^[4]

Board President Kathy Goldenberg denied the allegations after the meeting, where the board voted 6-1 to approve McCartney's five-year contract.

"I don't think [sexism] played any part whatsoever," she said.

Butler responded to the outpouring of support with appreciation, saying it shows how passionate the community is about its schools. When asked about claims sexism played a role in the hire, Butler responded:

"To my knowledge there's only been one other female superintendent in the history of the district," she said. "That's all I can tell you."

The search process

The board enlisted New Jersey Association of School Administrators, or NJASA, officials Phil Heery — McCartney's predecessor as superintendent in Egg Harbor Township — and Judee DeStefano to lead the nine-month search process, which included reviewing 17 applicants, boiling them down to five, conducting multiple interviews and holding two public meetings to get input from the community on what they want to see in a superintendent.

Board members who supported hiring McCartney, who became the youngest superintendent in the state at 31 in 2009 when he took over Egg Harbor Township's district following Heery's retirement, said his qualifications, leadership role in the NJASA and work overseeing a $130 million budget made him the best candidate.

"His peers place him in the top echelon, if not the top of the top echelon, of superintendents in the state," said Board Member Matthew Simeone.

But McCartney's tenure in Egg Harbor was not without difficulty. The Current newspaper reports he's been at odds with the district's school board over his push to implement a controversial reading program ^[5] and that the board's counsel is currently investigating allegations staff members were intimidated to use the program. Outside counsel is currently investigating another matter that remains confidential, according to the newspaper.

McCartney's connection with Heery, who led the search for the NJASA, was also called into question by concerned parent Jack Fairchild during public comment.

A report in the Press of Atlantic City states that in 2011, McCartney pushed for Egg Harbor to hire Heery as a special 12-month employee,^[6] earning $65,000, to head up an energy savings program. When Fairchild pressed the board about the connection Monday night, Board President Goldenberg said they'd "have to look into it at some point."

Board Solicitor John Comegno later emphasized any allegations of wrongdoing or impropriety were baseless and false.

Despite the heated emotions of the evening, board members stressed the need to now unite behind McCartney. While he wasn't in attendance Monday night, McCartney said in a written statement released at the meeting that he is up to the task.

"Moorestown Township Public School District's desire for high quality learning and progressive education coupled with my passion to learn, teach and serve has prepared me to take on the honor and challenge as your next superintendent," he wrote.

Michelle Caffrey may be reached at mcaffrey@njadvancemedia.com ^[7]. Follow her on Twitter @ShellyCaffrey ^[8]. Find NJ.com on Facebook ^[9].