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The Asbury Park Board of Education has appointed a new superintendent of schools.

In a unanimous decision, Carteret High School principal Dr. Lamont Repollet [shown at right] was selected to head up the district at a meeting held late last week.

The appointment is subject to contract approval, according to state monitor Carole Morris, who believes Asbury Park board members made a good decision in their appointment and followed the outline of what the New Jersey School Board’s requires as far as the process is concerned.

Repollet comes with high recommendations and a proven record of success in raising test scores, has done “creative things” in the area of special education in Carteret, and has created successful programs at the high school level, she said.

“He has a proven record and the respect of his colleagues and board of education there [in Carteret],” Morris said.

Morris expects to receive a draft contract Monday and will review it with the county’s executive superintendent of schools prior to the board’s special meeting scheduled for Tuesday. The contract sets the length of Repollet’s appointment, salary requirements and start date.

Morris said Repollet has indicated he may be able to be released from Carteret schools within the next two to three weeks. Some overlap will occur between Repollet and the district’s interim superintendent Robert Mahon, who has served the district for fifteen months, she said.

“I’m glad they got a permanent person in place,” said Mahon, “it was a long time coming. I’m glad to have the stability in the district, which is what I have been saying all along. You don’t need an interim for a year and three months.”

Repollet was one of three candidates the board had selected for a final round of interviews, and the entire talent pool of candidates saw administrators from New Jersey, Massachusetts and even Ohio apply, according to Board President Geneva Smallwood.

“The entire board voted in  unison,” said Smallwood. “I danced all over the board room. I danced for joy.”

Smallwood said the board worked vigorously to come to a resolution on the matter and she feels very positive about Repollet’s appointment.

“We were unanimous in our selection of Dr. Lamont Repollet as the district’s new superintendent pending contract negotiations. The board will meet again this week in hopes of expediting his start date,” said board member Barbara Lisinski.

Aside from his work in the Carteret school district, Repollet is the secretary of the board of trustees at his alma mater, Kean University. He was appointed to the board in December of 2011, according to the university’s website.

Moving forward, the board will go on a private retreat with Repollet and representatives from the New Jersey School Boards to set goals and expectations for the school year, Smallwood said.

“It’s a little behing the sequence for the school calendar, but I think everything is going to work out — the entire board is very positive about it,” she said. “We’re moving full steam ahead. It’s a very exciting time for Asbury Park.”

Repollet’s schools have garnered national recognition, earning a reputation of “decreasing the achievement gap in education amongst economically disadvantaged students and non-economically disadvantaged students,” according to his bio on the Kean website.

Along with his achievement in public education, Repollet has established two organizations: Repollet Community Development Corporation (RepCDC), a 501c (3) educational non-profit organization and Repollet Group, LLC an educational consulting group comprised of experienced educators specializing in instructional and organizational design, the bio states.

Dr. Repollet received his Bachelor of Arts in communication from The College of New Jersey, a Masters of Arts in Educational Administration from Kean University, and Doctorate in Education Leadership from Nova South Eastern University. He resides in Somerset, NJ with his wife Darlene and their daughters Lauryn and Taylor, the website states.

[Photo of Repollet taken from the Kean University website.]

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