Keshish takes top school spot in W. Long Branch

BY LAYLI WHYTE
Staff Writer

RED BANK - As the search for the new superintendent for the Red Bank Public School District wraps up, one candidate with close ties to the district has taken herself out of the race.

Assistant Superintendent for nearly four years, Dr. Elizabeth Keshish has taken a position as superintendent of the West Long Branch Public School District, stepping out of the race for the Red Bank post.

"I was interested in Red Bank as well as West Long Branch," Keshish said Tuesday.

She said that she has known for some time that she was ready to be a superintendent of a school district and the resignation of Dr. John Krewer as Red Bank superintendent propelled her forward.

Krewer resigned from the district last January, and Robert Mahon has been serving as interim superintendent since.

Keshish was hired by the West Long Branch Board of Education at the April 27 meeting, and will begin her work at the district on July 1.

Keshish submitted her resignation to Red Bank in January, stating that it would be effective Aug. 31 and that she would pursue the Red Bank superintendent position.

Keshish was first hired in the district in 2002 as the director of curriculum and instruction, and she was named assistant superintendent in 2004.

She spent 17 years teaching English at North Plainfield High School before coming to the Red Bank district two years ago.

The search for a superintendent for the Red Bank district will continue unabated, now that the Red Bank Board of Education has a full complement of nine members.

Kimberly Hulse, Allen Place, was appointed last week to fill one year of an unexpired term for the seat vacated in March when board member Barbara Horl resigned.

The board met on May 2 to meet with applicants for the board seat, and Hulse was appointed by a vote of six to one, with one board member abstaining.

With all eight board members voting, Mary-Ellen Mess, who was re-elected to a fifth term on the board in a write-in campaign on April 18, abstained from the vote.

Mess said this week that the abstention did not have to do with any objection to Hulse's appointment, rather to the way in which the appointment was handled by the board.

"I think the appointment should have taken place earlier," said Mess. "I think it should have been handled before the election. I thought the process was flawed."

Board member Rosemarie Kopka voted against appointing Hulse, saying this week that she thought that another candidate, Jennifer Zona, who received two write-in votes on election day, had more experience.

"It was close between the two," Kopka said. "I thought Zona had a slight edge because she had previous experience with schools. She is a learning [disabilities] specialist and knows schools inside and out."

Hulse received 10 write-in votes in the April 18 election.

She said that she started a small write-in campaign shortly before the election, by calling people she knew and asking them to vote for her.

"In the end," she said last week, "it all worked out."

Hulse said that she was interviewed by the eight sitting board members at a special meeting of the board on May 2, along with two other candidates, Mehmet Ors and Zona.

"I believe all my answers were very

heartfelt," she said. "I'm just happy to be a part of the Board of Education. I'm anxious to get my feet wet. I know at times it's going to seem overwhelming."

One of the challenges that will be facing Hulse is the decision on the new superintendent.

Last Tuesday, the board, including new board members Ann Roseman, who was elected along with incumbents Juanita Lewis and Mess on April 18, was expected to meet with the top three candidates for the position to conduct another round of interviews.

"I guess I really want someone with experience," said Hulse about the new superintendent. "I want someone who will work to educate all children equally, and have programs there for the kids. Someone who will be making sure some kids won't get the short end of the stick. That's the reason I joined, and I want someone equally as passionate."

Mess said that site visits to the districts of the three candidates were scheduled for this week.