Moorestown Selects New Superintendent In Split Vote From School Board
MOORESTOWN, NJ — The Moorestown Board of Education voted 6-3 on Tuesday to appoint a new superintendent, giving the district its first permanent leader in several years once Dr. Courtney McNeely takes the helm.
McNeely currently serves as superintendent of the Pittsgrove Township School District in Salem County. Her education career spans 25 years in both teaching and administration.
She will start the position no later than Jan. 15, said Moorestown School Board President Mark Villanueva. Her five-year contract begins with a $225,000 salary, increasing by 2 percent each ensuing year, according to 70and73.com .
McNeely has the qualities that many community members said they wanted in a new district leader — including familiarity with the township and experience as a teacher and superintendent — according to board members who voted to appoint her. She grew up in the area and lives in a neighboring town.
"You're the last piece of the puzzle," Board Vice President Cheryl Makopoulos told McNeely at Tuesday's meeting. "We have an extremely talented teaching staff. We have a very highly engaged community. And we now have a leader who can help us set the vision and priorities and move us into the future."
Board Members Melissa Arcaro Burns, Jaclyn Barnes and Maurice Weeks voted against McNeely's appointment. Arcaro Burns said the district should have selected an internal candidate.
Weeks said that Moorestown had a strong candidate pool. But when it came to appointing McNeely, he was "not there yet, but I'm hoping to get there."
However, all three dissenters wished McNeely success.
"It is not in anyone's best interest to have a superintendent fail," Arcaro Burns said. "To that end, I am committed to supporting the new superintendent once seated and working constructively with her to ensure her success and therefore the continued success of this district."
McNeely was a middle school English teacher for 12 years at the Northern Burlington Regional School District. She then spent six years as the district's director of humanities and another four as the Buena Regional School District's assistant superintendent.
She became Pittsgrove's superintendent in 2022.
"There is a legacy of excellence in Moorestown, and we're all part of making that happen," McNeely said while addressing the public. "I'm so looking forward to working with you."
Moorestown has spent roughly two years searching for a new superintendent, with Joe Bollendorf serving as interim leader during that time. Moorestown's last superintendent, Michael Volpe, resigned after less than a year to take the role in his hometown.
