Lamont Repollet, current President of Kean University, has announced a new appointment:  Long Branch Superintendent Michael Salvatore will be Kean’s new senior vice president for administration. In a letter to the Long Branch community, Salvatore writes “[a]fter much heartfelt deliberation, and countless conversations with my family, we will be retiring from the district that welcomed me in 1996.”

Long Branch Public Schools District has a mixed record. In this diverse district, 75% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Only one out of four third-graders meet expectations in reading, an important benchmark for future academic success. Average SAT scores at Long Branch High School are 459 in reading and 456 in math. Sixteen months after graduation 66% of Long Branch High School graduates are enrolled in a two or four-year college or vocational school.

Salvatore’s salary at Long Branch’s 6,000-student district is $215,919. Rumor has it (to be clear: just a rumor) that Asbury Park Superintendent Sancha Gray will apply to be the new superintendent of Long Branch. Her current salary at Asbury Park Public Schools (where enrollment has dropped to about 1,700 students) is $179,689.