On May 1st of this year Mr. Michael Citta will become the newest Superintendent of Toms River Schools. After nearly 25 years working in the district, Citta will take the big job. Following the retirement of Superintendent David M. Healy and the service of two interims that has lasted since December of 2020, the Board of Education voted 5-2 to hire a permanent replacement.
Toms River Regional Schools consists of 3 high schools, 3 intermediate schools, 12 elementary schools, and an early learning center. This would be a massive undertaking for any individual to take up, but Mr. Citta says he is prepared and honored to be chosen, and in that moment when he had the necessary votes he felt:
“A great sense of accomplishment to share with my family. It meant the world to me to have my biggest support group with me at that moment.”
Something that Citta brings to the table is experience at really all levels of Toms River Schools. He attended the district as a student from Kindergarten till his High School graduation. Coming back after college, Citta taught history for a number of years. Later he was tapped to be an assistant principal, then assistant superintendent. He was moved to Hooper Avenue Elementary to become principal for 8 years and moved up again to be Principal at TRHSS, starting in the Fall of 2018. This round the horn career has given him a sense of an ability to understand the needs and expectations of different stakeholders in the district.
“I think one of the benefits and one of the strengths I have is the ability of being in that building (1144), understanding what it is to run the business of education, and support that side of education, which is less student to adult interaction. And then leaving and going back and being a building principal for 12 years, 8 at Hooper and 4 at here. I think my perspective of what decisions I would make at 1144, [would have affected] me as a building principal.”
His family connection to Toms River that goes back to Old Indian Tom serves as a constant reminder to him on how he should serve the community.
“Somebody can prove me if I am wrong, but I do think I’ll be the first superintendent that has gone K-12, and then taught, and then [was an] administrator, and then finally superintendent in this district, something I am going to take great pride in…I feel…your name is so important to you because it is your parents, your grandparents, your great grandparents, they set the tone for the fabric of the person that you are, so in my mind and in my heart, its community service through my family, and the history of my family name and with that comes a level of responsibility, not only to live up to, but set the bar even higher for my children. So, I take a lot of pride in that, it's nothing that I am ashamed of because I have a name that has been around Toms River for a long time, you know, to me it’s something that I’m proud of.”
Mr. Citta has two kids, Michael and Sophia, and a wife Jacqueline, whom he views as his biggest support group.
“They’re excited, they’re extremely excited…Sophia is a little sad, as she is a freshman here, not to have Dad as the principal, but I think after she talked to her big brother and realized it wasn’t the easiest thing for him for four years, maybe she’ll have the benefit of me not, you know, looking over her shoulder everyday too.”
As well, Citta will have new colleagues and will get to work closely with the rest of administration at the district. Be that, Assistant Supers, office staff, and business management.
“We have a tremendous amount of great people, that do great things for students in positions now, I look forward to working with them, learning everybody’s strengths.”
The school board has, over the last couple of years, seen a change in membership and oversaw many long, contentious meetings over many different policy issues. The group of 9 may seem like a tough bull to wrangle or work with, but Mr. Citta believes that the public does not get to see the full picture of how the Administration and the Board work together.
“Everyone of the members on the school board ran, you don’t get paid to run for the school board, ran for the school board with the intention of doing what they think is best to represent their communities.”
Citta finds hope in having this new start and believes that all sides are going to have a healthy, productive relationship.
“I think it is just a matter of getting everybody on the same page. Again, using their strengths and their passion for Toms River Schools and getting everybody to kind of come to the table for the common good and you do that by being open, being honest, having good conversations.”
At his new job, Citta plans on continuing his work ethic and expanding the reach of his administrative philosophies.
“I only know how to be one way, and that’s as authentic as I can possibly be, I truly have a passion for this community. These students, our teachers, this is the family I grew up in, which is why I choose to come back and give back in education as a teacher”
Major goals are to manage whatever the Coronavirus landscape will look like at the end of the school year, rebuilding trust with 150,000 district residents, fighting S2, and many more:
Covid: “On May 1st, I’m hoping that were in a lot different situation, as our numbers, and even our numbers in the district right now, if we look, have been the lowest since we started, even when we came back…We’re optimistic…as we adjust as a community, and we work with our health officials to make sure we’re making safe and appropriate decisions for kids, we’re not going to let politics or pressure make a decision one way or the other when it comes to dealing with the health and safety of our students.”
S2: “I think constant communication, following through on the reasons and concerns of our S2 cuts through the appropriate channels, building more relationships and dialogue. That ship needs to be righted, and it will be righted, I am convinced. Are we going to get the money back [that was already taken]? I don’t think that is a reality, but we do have a lot of stakeholders in this community, from business owners to government agencies, that we could create unique shared service opportunities, sponsorships…opportunities to kind of help fill that hole and keep continuing to provide more opportunities for students not only in the normal running hours of the school, but in extracurriculars, and athletics, and more support so our students have the best of the best, to get what they need, to fulfill what their hopes and dreams are.”
ESIP and Clean Energy: “The solar projects that I was instrumental when I was assistant superintendent, to install phase one and phase two, we are already in development for a phase three, to continue that green footprint, not only for the district, but to have a cost savings moving forward. [Which include] roof repairs and things that happen that [the contracted companies] own before they put new panels on the buildings, such things like that, that will all be cost savings to the district. Anytime we’re going through this referendum, and there is a lot of things that are spec'd out that are going to be energy safe, and you know, the HVAC, with the latest in technology, to reduce the impact, not only on the environment, but also on the budget.”
Referendum: “I think we are limited by the environment that we’ve been in through the global supply chain cuts and the Covid delays, and the things like that. So, you know, I know the Facilities Department is working the best that they can and the work that gets done that’s not up to par or snuff, is getting revisited and were holding people accountable for those things so that the end product is going to be fantastic. The upgrades that we have already seen are tremendous, long overdue in this district…Toms River South is going to go into that phase this summer, and through the next year and a half, we’ll have to be creative in our scheduling, and our things around certain projects so we don’t stop work, right, because time is money and we want to make sure that our kids have a safe environment to work in as fast as they can.
Connectivity: “I plan on doing that by being myself and leading by example. Being hands on in the classroom, teaching in the fields or in the buildings, doing whatever I need to do physically to make sure that we set the example and the bar of what we need to do to provide opportunities for kids.”
Embracing Uniqueness: “What’s so fantastic about this community, you have the Toms River High School South perspective, right, and we have our traditions and we have our things. All schools, whether they be the elementary schools, or the middle schools, or the high schools, all have their unique little identity, and their own traditions, and their own way they go about doing things that are loved in their little specific communities in this town, that’s what makes Toms River extremely unique…What I am going to do is encourage our principals, our teachers, our students in those areas to make the most out of their opportunity and their times in those buildings and pay back to the communities that they serve, those will create long lasting traditions that will continue to make us stronger.”
Our school will be in the need of a new principal, when Mr. Citta leaves. The hiring process is underway and will result in the installation of someone before the school year ends. Mr. Citta’s advice to that future leader of our school was clear.
“My message is that the spirit and tradition lies in the souls of the students, it's not in the brick and mortar in this building, it's not in any banner, or sign, or slogan, it's in the personalities and the hearts and souls of our students and our alumnis. You get that sense when you walk in and, you know, you don’t really know it until you get here at South, and I’m confident whoever that person’s going to be is going to sense that, feel that, and embrace that, and help it grow.”
When asked what he would like the students and staff at TRHSS to know, he had this to say:
“Mr. Citta is the same person, that he’s here everyday, and he’s going to be just in a different role, and that he is going to love and support them from a different seat, and he hopes to be a part of any of those opportunities that he possibly can to help our kids at Toms River High School South.”
Personally, Citta, does not want to view this as a permanent departure from our school, and he thinks this is an opportunity to share our successes with the rest of the district.
“If I look at it like I am leaving South, I will be miserable. I need to look at it from a different way, that I am not leaving South, I am just joining the other 18 locations in the district to help us move forward completely. But, Once an Indian, Always an Indian.”
Taking on the job of Superintendent will be the greatest challenge to Mr. Citta and it will come at a time that perhaps presents one of the greatest challenges to the district and its contributing communities. Although, with great confidence, it is appropriate to say Michael Citta is the right person to do this and we wish him the best of luck and hope for many many many successes for him and our schools starting on May 1st.
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