Schools

Fort Lee Superintendent to Leave School District in Two Months

Dr. Raymond Bandlow will leave Fort Lee on Oct. 31 to take over as superintendent in an upstate New York school district; BOE will decide "in the next several weeks" what comes next

Fort Lee Superintendent of Schools Raymond Bandlow has announced that he has accepted a position in the Beacon City School District in Beacon, N.Y., a Dutchess County community about 55 miles north of New York City and about 90 miles south of Albany. Bandlow said his resignation from the Fort Lee School District is effective Oct. 31, and that he will be starting his new job in Beacon on Nov. 1.

“It’s the right thing to do at this time, so I’m real happy with it,” Bandlow said of the decision.

He also said he will be leaving with “mixed feelings.”

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“My feelings are mixed because I’ve committed myself to our students, our schools and our community 24/7, and I’ve come to care very deeply for our students and for all the people who work hard on their behalf every day,” Bandlow said in a statement. “When I see our students and staff succeed, it makes everything worthwhile.”

Fort Lee Board of Education president Arthur Levine and board vice president Linda McCue released a joint statement Tuesday, saying, "Dr. Bandlow contributed his many talents to our district over the last several years, and while we are disappointed he is leaving us, we wish him well in his new position."  

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Levine and McCue said that many districts in the state are going to experience what they called a “continuing exodus of experienced superintendents to neighboring states that do not have salary caps on superintendents' salaries.”

They went on to say that the Fort Lee BOE expects to make a decision as to what steps come next over the next several weeks.

“For the moment, it is business as usual, and the Fort Lee Board of Education's focus is to assure a smooth opening of our schools this September,” Levine and McCue said.

In announcing Bandlow’s appointment, the Beacon City School District noted that their district has a similar enrollment to that of Fort Lee and highlighted some of Bandlow’s accomplishments during his tenure in Fort Lee.

“Under his leadership as superintendent, more Fort Lee students have tested as ‘advanced proficient’ and many more are now enrolled in Advanced Placement classes,” according to Beacon district. “Last year, Fort Lee’s School #3 became the first school in the community to be awarded the U.S. Department of Education’s ‘Blue Ribbon’ status. Only one-tenth of one percent of the nation’s schools are selected annually for this honor.”

Levine also said Bandlow “did a lot of good things” during his time in Fort Lee.

“Our district is very, very highly rated, especially considering our district factor group,” he said.

According to the New Jersey School Board Association (NJSBA), nearly 29 percent of the state’s school districts changed superintendents in 2010-2011—the highest turnover rate in the 10 years that the NJSBA has monitored such statistics.

In a majority of those instances—51 percent of the 170 cases—retirement was the reason for the turnover, but in 21 percent of the cases, the superintendent moved on to another district, according to the NJSBA report released in mid-August.

“Again, with the salary cap—and the other states don’t do it—they’re going to go,” Levine said. “The state is going to create a free agency system.”

Bandlow said in a statement that the Fort Lee School District “will be left in good hands,” that he owes “a debt of gratitude” to the three board presidents he’s worked with during his three-plus years with the district—Joe Surace, Charlie Luppino and Levine—and that the district has "accomplished a great deal."

“We’ve transformed special education into a strength and a source of community pride," Bandlow said. "We’ve reduced costs in out of district programs, transportation, and support services; we’ve moved schools off the ‘needs improvement’ list by achieving high benchmarks; we survived the grade changing scandal with our integrity and our reputation intact; we’ve been recognized by local, state and national publications for high achievement; and we’ve even brought home Fort Lee’s first National Blue Ribbon School.”

Bandlow added, “We’ve done all this despite a horrible economy and a hostile political environment. It just shows what we in the public schools can accomplish, and it sets the stage for all that will be accomplished in the future by those who take up the cause.”


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