SUPERINTENDENT RAMOS ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION; CITES "DIFFICULT" TIME AWAY FROM FAMILY

Schools Superintendent John Ramos has officially resigned from his post effective in late August, citing difficulties being away from his family who have remained in his Connecticut home during his time here.

In an email letter to parents today, Ramos wrote, in part:

I have tendered my resignation to the Board of Education, effective August 24, 2017, and will be retiring from service in New Jersey.  As a family man, it has been particularly difficult to be out my home for what is now nearly 5 years. That reality can take its toll...and has. It is time to get back home.

See the entire letter HERE.

District officials have yet to formally announce plans to replace Ramos or appoint an acting superintendent. He has a five-year contract that runs through 2020, but it includes a standard 90-day notice for the superintendent if he wishes to leave. 

We first reported Sunday night that Ramos would be leaving, citing numerous sources.

This is perhaps not a surprise given that his wife and family still live in Connecticut, about a two-hour drive from South Orange, where he has kept a second home where he lives during the week.

Ramos is nearing the end of just his second year on the job, which has been a mix of new ideas and plans -- such as the Education Summit and Strategic Plan -- as well as controversies and challenges ranging from budget cuts to a $23,000 bonus he received last year, and a recent decision to re-open his contract for a higher salary with the pending elimination of the state superintendent salary cap.

When he was appointed two years ago, some were concerned about his past that had included a firing as superintendent from the Bridgeport, CT., school district and a stint overseas running an American school in Qatar.

During his time here, the district has lost several top administrators and principals, while also dealing with ongoing concerns about racial issues and closing the achievement gap.

This marks the third superintendent change in three years after former superintendent Brian Osborne left in mid-2014 for a higher-paying job in New Rochelle, N.Y. His immediate replacement was assistant superintendent James Memoli, who served in the role as an acting superintendent for a year until Ramos took over on Aug. 1, 2015.