Mountain Lakes Hires Upper Saddle River Superintendent

The 2023-24 school year is over and students are on summer break. But for Brad Siegel, the work is just beginning.

Hired in March, Siegel began his new assignment Monday as superintendent of the Mountain Lakes School District. A Wayne resident, Siegel comes from the Upper Saddle River School District, where he served as superintendent for the past six years.

“In joining Mountain Lakes, I recognize the importance of maintaining an elite public school district in which our Board of Education, staff, families and students prioritize education,” Siegel said on the district’s website. “It is this high expectation that motivates and excites me to take on this role.”

His five-year contract was approved in March, with a first-year salary of $228,000 with annual raises reaching $256,616 in the 2028-29 school year. Siegel had been earning an annual salary of $187,408 at Upper Saddle River.

Reached Wednesday, three days into his new role, Siegel said he was busy meeting with staff, touring buildings, learning about summer sessions and “hiring people, because it’s a 12-month job.”

Mountain Lakes Superintendent’s New Priority

His first priorities will be to negotiate a new tuition rate for students from neighboring Boonton Township who attend Mountain Lakes High School. He said he had no updates on that process, which has heightened tensions between the two towns’ school districts.

Siegel comes from an economically similar district to the one he currently leads. Mountain Lakes and Upper Saddle River are largely affluent residential communities that rank among the top in New Jersey in terms of highest median incomes. The Upper Saddle River district, however, does not include a high school. Three schools cover grades K-8 while the district sends its high school students to Northern Highlands Regional in Allendale.

The Mountain Lakes School District includes the high school, Wildwood Elementary School, Briarcliff Middle School, and Lake Drive School, a regional school for deaf and hard of hearing students that serves 12 counties.

Siegel was hired after a superintendent search committee was formed late last year to recruit a replacement for Michael Fetherman, who retired at the end of the school year. The former superintendent oversaw a major expansion at Mountain Lakes High School and led the district through COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 during his five-year tenure.

A Laker lover

Prior to his five years at Upper Saddle River, Siegel served as director of K-12 curriculum, instruction and assessment for all four Bergen County districts (Allendale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Upper Saddle River and Northern Highlands Regional). He holds a doctorate from Teachers College, Columbia University, through the Department of Arts and Humanities.

Siegel also knows the character of the “Laker” life that is an integral part of the identity of the borough of Mountain Lakes, a planned community founded in 1910 and built around seven lakes.

“I appreciate the special and unique qualities of being part of a ‘lake’ community, as I grew up and am now raising my family in another ‘lake’ community (Pine Lakes in Wayne),” he wrote in his statement to the community.

“Over the past several months, I have had the opportunity to meet with many stakeholders in the Mountain Lakes School District through scheduled meetings and even unexpected encounters,” Siegel said after his appointment. “These interactions have consistently been characterized by two qualities: a willingness to learn and a connection to the community.”

More: When will Highway 15 reopen? Temporary bridge work reaches milestone

A super provisional in Upper Saddle River

Upper Saddle River has begun its own search for a new superintendent. Applications were due to the search committee last month. In the meantime, C. Lauren Schoen has been hired as interim superintendent at a daily wage of $825.

Schoen most recently served as interim superintendent in West Orange. Her career also includes superintendent positions in Rochelle Park, Mahwah, Fort Lee and the Ramapo-Indian Hills High School District.

William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news in your local community, Please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

E-mail: wwesthoven@Twitter from dailyrecord.com: @wwesthoven