Former schools chief leaving N.B.
Margin guided district after supt.'s surprise resignation in 2006
BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer

Geri Margin

Two top officials with the North Brunswick School District will no longer be working there by month's end.

Geri Margin, the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, is resigning effective July 31, and Marshall Sigall, the school business administrator, retired June 29.

Margin, who served as the interim superintendent after the resignation of Robert Rimmer in May 2006, accepted a position as the new superintendent of Manasquan effective Aug. 1. She has been with North Brunswick for about 11 years, working with the district to improve student achievement, bring current research and data to the teaching staff, change the instructional program of the district, complete the renovations at the high school, and begin the construction projects at the middle and elementary schools.

"I have worked with some of the finest educators in the state," she said.

Margin said that during her experience as the acting superintendent for the past year, she "truly enjoyed having that responsibility and taking on the challenges of the role of superintendent." She believes the retiring superintendent of Manasquan, Carol Knopp Morris, has left that district in "great shape" and she hopes she can "fill her shoes and maintain the high-quality educational program Manasquan is known for" while she "help[s] raise it to new heights."

She said she chose to not pursue the position in North Brunswick because "it was clear the board was going in a different direction here," but she hopes the district continues to strive for student achievement and faces the growing challenges of diversity and student population, all while maintaining proper facilities.

"The North Brunswick community has a reputation of supporting the schools and quality education for all children, which I believe will continue because of the strength of this district," she said.

Looking back, Margin said she has had a wonderful experience in town, enjoying and appreciating the fact that she worked closely with so many families and staff members in the district. One of those staff members was fellow administrator Sigall, who served the district for six years. He could not be reached for comment.

"Mr. Sigall and I shared responsibilities in the past year and we worked as a team to maintain this district. I personally feel we accomplished that goal. We made sure the facilities were cared for and education went on, and as we review the state scores this year, I think we will see we made improvements," Margin said, noting that the district is a collaboration of the effort of all professional and nonprofessional employees of North Brunswick.

Current Superintendent Brian Zychowski thus said that with two top-level positions open, there is no concern for the future of the district because the "nucleus" is still intact. In the meantime, James Riehman, who briefly filled the position of business administrator while Sigall was on leave, will be the interim business administrator and Terry Burik will serve as interim assistant superintendent.

"I feel comfortable we will be able to maintain and start moving forward," he said. "If the organization is running and is healthy and is running correctly, yes, we will miss the leadership … but if we get good people to replace them, we can continue to tweak and make better and maybe improve [services]."

Although Zychowski only served with his counterparts for about two months, he said he believes the district is in good financial status and that both were successful in their positions.

"They had a good working relationship, they got a lot done, they put in a lot of extra time together, volunteering to help each other out, and they helped push district goals," he said.