Retired resident temporarily fills district role

When Bryan McGair, Medford Township School District’s business administrator and board secretary, left his post last month, the district began the search for a replacement.

Soon thereafter, the district contacted Thomas Rende, a resident of Medford for 22 years and a retired business administrator.

His contract as interim business administrator and board secretary was approved by the interim executive county superintendent on June 18 and approved at the Monday, June 25 board of education meeting.

Rende, who has been retired from the Lenape Regional High School District since 2003, began his contract on July 1 at the rate of $400 a day.

The length of his service to the district is still to be determined.

“I’m just filling in until they finish the hiring process to bring in somebody permanent,” he explained. “They contacted me to see if I’d be interested.”

It is necessary to have a certified administrator to sign all of the necessary documents, he said.

Since beginning his retirement, he has agreed to a few interim roles, he said, and he decided to help Medford due to their ability to stay afloat through so many budget cuts.

“Medford has done so well with so little over the past several years,” he said. “I’m proud to have my grandchildren go to these schools.”

McGair, who he has known professionally for years, was instrumental in keeping the standards high, he explained.

Education is a tough business, Rende said, and functioning in the current climate has become much more difficult, which causes many administrators to exit the field.

“A lot of people don’t want to put up with the aggravation anymore,” he said. “You can only do so much.”

The next board of education meeting is slated for Monday, Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. at Memorial Middle School, 55 Mill St.