Edison hires Matawan-Aberdeen superintendent to run schools
Published: Monday, November 08, 2010, 8:04 PM Updated: Tuesday, November 09, 2010, 5:31 AM

EDISON — Richard O’Malley knows he’s about to take a daunting leap.
For the last three years, he’s been the superintendent of the Matawan-Aberdeen school system, a district with 4,000 students and a $60 million budget.
Now, O’Malley has been hired to lead Edison’s schools, a sprawling system of 14,500 students with a $198 million spending plan. It’s also a district that’s been beset by problems: custodians facing drug charges, more than 100 teachers issued pink slips, taxpayers footing the salaries of two superintendents.
“I look forward to it,” O’Malley, 40, said of the job Monday. “We all face these kinds of challenges in school districts. I want to move forward, not dwell in the past and be optimistic about the future.”
After months of searching, Edison’s school board voted 6-1 last week to hire O’Malley for the top post in Middlesex County’s largest district.
Edison will pay O’Malley $210,000 a year, making him one of the county’s highest-paid superintendents. As of March, John Rodecker of Perth Amboy made $211,208; Richard Kaplan of New Brunswick made $217,172; and Jo Ann Magistro of East Brunswick made $209,500.
Joseph Romano said the salary led him to be the only Edison school board member to vote against the hiring.
“I think he’s a qualified man,” Romano said of O’Malley, “but I believe the money is too much.”
Gene Maeroff, Edison’s school board president, disagrees. He said the salary befits the state’s fifth-largest school system, and that dozens of smaller districts pay their leaders more than $200,000.
The board chose O’Malley, who makes $179,000 in Matawan, after interviewing more than 25 candidates, many from outside New Jersey. Edison officials tout that O’Malley has reduced costs and implemented writing and literacy programs in Matawan.
Before that, O’Malley was superintendent in Mountainside, an elementary-school principal in Branchburg and an assistant principal in Saddle River. He has a psychology degree from Clemson University, a Master’s from Monmouth University and a doctorate from Seton Hall University.
O’Malley also has political experience: The Republican has spent the last four years as a member of the Raritan Township Committee in Hunterdon County, serving as mayor a year ago.
“With the problems we’ve had in Edison, it’s not as easy as it might otherwise be to find a top person to come here and take on these challenges,” Maeroff said. “But he has the kind of skills and experience we need.”
Edison’s problems started Nov. 30, 2007, when the school board placed Superintendent Carol Toth on paid leave. The district then paid more than $170,000 a year to both Toth and acting Superintendent John DiMuzio until June. Board members have declined comment on the situation, saying it’s a personnel issue.
Over the last few months, former Piscataway schools chief Ronald Bolandi has run the district for $875 a day. Bolandi will stay until O’Malley takes over in February.
In another controversy, five Edison High School custodians were arrested over the last year for allegedly using the district’s prescription plan to obtain the narcotic painkiller OxyContin, both for abuse and resale. No drugs were sold to students, authorities said.
Plus, like districts across the state, Edison was smacked with budget cuts this year, costing more than 150 jobs.
O’Malley’s salary is guaranteed through June 30, 2012.