Schools

Moorestown Superintendent Resigns 1 Year After Hire

The district's business administrator will serve as acting superintendent until an interim replacement is selected.

The Moorestown Board of Education accepted Superintendent Brian Betze's resignation Wednesday morning, slightly more than a year after he was hired.

Board President Don Mishler said Betze had been on paid personal leave—which Betze requested, and the board approved—since the end of July.

Based on the terms of the district's arrangement with Betze, the now former superintendent will go on a paid leave of absence until the end of this year and continue to receive his salary—$165,000 annually—through next summer. If Betze gets a new job before next summer, Mishler said the district will be able to pay him less, based on the salary of the position. 

Mishler said the arrangement between Betze and the district follows the terms of his existing contract.

Mishler declined to elaborate on the specifics of Betze's resignation, but said it was mutual.

"He wants to pursue other opportunities," the board president added.

In Betze's place, business administrator Lynn Shugars will serve as acting superintendent, pending approval from the state Department of Education. Mishler said the details of Shugars' salary haven't been finalized.

The board has not decided on a long-term solution, though Mishler said it's likely any interim superintendent the district hires will come from the ranks of its retirees.

When reached for comment Wednesday, Moorestown Education Association (MEA) president Lisa Trapani stated, "At this time, the MEA has no comment."

Betze, who was previously superintendent at Berlin Township School District, was hired last summer following a fairly extensive search process (which actually had to be restarted after the board's first candidate withdrew from consideration.)

Calls to Betze and Shugars were not immediately returned Wednesday. Stay with Moorestown Patch for more on this story as it develops.


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