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Office of the Superintendent

Office of the Superintendent

A man in a blue suit and pink tie stands in front of a white door.

Patrick Pizzo, Ed.D., Superintendent

pizzo.patrick@robbinsvillek12.gov

609-632-0910 (2001)

 

Dr. Patrick Pizzo is a longtime educator focused on every student. The Robbinsville Board of Education has hired an experienced educator and administrator from Long Island to serve as Superintendent of Schools beginning January 1.

 

“We look forward to working with Dr. Pizzo to build on the great work of our educators, staff, community leaders, and so many engaged residents of the Robbinsville community,” said Peter Oehlberg, school board president. “We are very impressed with his plan to move our school district forward to a better tomorrow for the students we serve.”

 

Dr. Pizzo said his focus will be to reach all Robbinsville students, as each student has a unique path to reach their goals.

“All children face challenges; that can be attributed to socio-economic challenges or family hardships, in addition to personal attributes which can sometimes divide communities,” the incoming superintendent said. “This also includes the students who are high achieving and socially adept who may struggle bravely with anxiety.”

 

Dr. Pizzo has been a leader in the East Meadow School District since 2008. He has overseen a quarter-billion-dollar school budget, long-term financial planning, budget controls, the district’s pre-K program, and the efficient delivery of all school services.

Previously, he served two years with the Hicksville School District, where he ran all facilities and operations. Dr. Pizzo also worked for the New York City Department of Education, directing the operations of 39 buildings.

 

The incoming superintendent was proud to be a founding member in 2019 of “Equity 4 LI Youth,” comprising more than 50 community leaders. Together, they worked to provide career training, mentoring, financial assistance, and other critical services to underserved families on Long Island.

 

In addition, he chairs the Education Committee for the Hempstead branch of the NAACP and has served on the boards of various organizations advocating for student health and mental health services.

 

Dr. Pizzo earned his doctorate degree in educational leadership from Concordia University in Chicago, an MBA, and two administrative licenses, from Long Island University and his undergraduate degree in business economics from Oneonta State University. He is also an Educational Policy Fellow from Fordham University/EPLP and a graduate of the post-graduate conflict resolution certificate program offered by Cornell University.

Superintendent's Corner

Dr. Pizzo contributes monthly to the Robbinsville Advance in addition to frequent articles in other local news outlets. These articles are often written in collaboration with other district leaders. View the latest articles linked below.

Board Meeting Question & Answer

During each Board of Education meeting, the public is invited to address the board during public session regarding items for approval on the meeting agenda as well as general topics about the school district and community. Questions may be raised but not always answered during the public session time period. In an effort to provide timely responses to all questions and concerns, Dr. Pizzo offers responses within the following days of the meeting. Responses from recent meetings can be found below.

    1. Vaccinations Requirements: A questions was raised about the schools requirements for vaccination of students.
    1. The New Jersey school immunization rules, Immunization of Pupils in Schools (N.J.A.C. 8:57-4), require students to receive a series of immunizations prior to attendance at school. In addition, schools are required to enforce requirements, maintain records, and submit annual reports to the state and their respective local health department. The following materials provide guidance and tools for carrying out these requirements. More information can be found on the Health Services section of our website – Robbinsville Public Schools - Immunizations

     

    1. District Physician- A questions was raised about the district physician being approved on the June agenda.
    1. Here is the relevant requirement: The district board of education shall appoint a school physician pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:40-1.

     

    1. Homeless Liaison- A question was raised about the appointment of a district homeless liaison and educational stability liaison and whether the district has had these roles previously.
    1. We have a requirement in this area, via the McKinney-Vento law. NJDOE - Dept. of Education McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children. We assign an administrator from our Counseling and Student Services area every year for this function.  Here is the information for the 2024/25 school year: Robbinsville Public Schools - Homeless Families

     

    1. Medicare funding concern- A question was raised about medicare and what the district would do if the program is federally cut.
    1. Medicare does not apply to our staff. We have our own self-funded health benefits program through the Schools Health Insurance Fund.

     

    1. Transfer of Funds – A question was raised about the approval of transfers on the agenda and where the money is coming from.
    1. The board reserves the right to restrict end of year fund balance for specific projects, inclusive of maintenance and capital projects to maintain our schools.  This is a sound budgeting practice to proactively plan for anticipated needs.

    1. What is the district’s plan if Federal Aid is cut/eliminated? 
    1. Direct student-facing services would be impacted.  We have identified areas to be eliminated if this occurs.  Proactively we are not filling an open administrative position in anticipation of future fiscal challenges, including this issue. 
    1. Is the current Superintendent aware of the previous work done on the district's strategic plan? 
    1. The strategic plan was incorporated into my 100 Day Plan and various initiatives proposed during my first 6 months in this position.  The strategic plan is also incorporated into the 2025/26 Board Goals, which were presented at our meeting on July 22nd.  Some members of our community are not happy regarding the test scores of our students. What is the plan to address? We previously presented a plan to improve our already successful schools; the plan can be found here: 

              New Vision for RPS_04.10.25.pdf 

              An updated and modified version of this plan is being developed in coordination with public input received at our Board Meetings and 
              our Public Outreach Events.  We will also be presenting public surveys to gauge the priorities of our district served, in alignment with
              the elasticity of our community to support this collaborative plan fiscally.  Here is a link to my page on our district website with
              additional information: 

               Robbinsville Public Schools - Office of the Superintendent 

    1. Please share information on what QSAC is and when we will learn about their findings.  A. Our QSAC audit is currently in process; here is the detailed information on the scope of the evaluation: NJ QSAC Website 

              Here is a summary from their website: 
              New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC) 

             The New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC) is the Department of Education's monitoring and district self-
             evaluation system for public school districts. The system shifts the monitoring and evaluation focus from compliance to assistance,
             capacity-building and improvement. It is a single comprehensive accountability system that consolidates and incorporates the
             monitoring requirements of applicable state laws and programs and complements federally required improvements. The system                     focuses on monitoring and evaluating school districts in five key components that, based on research, have been identified to be key               factors in effective school districts. These components are Instruction & Program, Fiscal, Governance, Operations, and Personnel. 

    1. What are other school districts doing to address rising insurance costs?  Does our district compare our programs to theirs? 
    1. We have a very effective and forward-thinking business department. A neighboring school district had a massive increase and switched to the Schools’ Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) which we joined four years ago.  The SHIF is a Joint Insurance Fund (JIF) with more than 120 school districts to share the insurance burden. What makes the SHIF special is their diligence in joining responsible districts into efficient collective risk groups, mitigating the number of claims and shared costs incurred.  The SHIF is an exclusive membership of healthy school districts to keep premiums low for the collective good. 
    1. What are we doing to control the use of AI by our students? 
    1. The first reading of our AI Board Policy and Regulations was July 22nd and the second reading is scheduled for our Board Meeting on August 26th.  Upon approval, this will be our guidance for this important area and will be publicly posted. 
    1. Why is there a deficit of 200K in the student lunch program? 
    1. This is a challenge most districts encounter due to the small margins and restrictive regulations in this area.  Most school lunch programs lose money, and these losses have grown over time. We were fortunate that the business office enrolled our elementary and middle school into the National School Lunch Program a few years ago, paying off the debt and creating a large reserve, while every student earned free lunch. This COVID program ended, our reserves were depleted, and we must now cover the deficit. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to raise prices on certain items due to the NJ State Mandate even though inflationary prices on all matters increased. We are hoping the state allows price increases for the 25/26 school year to help lower the deficit. 
    1. The Board/Administration promised better transparency to our community. When will this goal be achieved? 
    1. We have implemented or expanded several areas of public outreach since January 1, 2025 (my start date as Superintendent). 
    • Monthly presentations on the great work of our students, presented by students. 
    • Updates from Central Administration and various areas on plans for curriculum initiatives and the financial challenges to match appropriate revenues to expenses. 
    • I have a monthly column in the Robbinsville Advance called Superintendent’s Corner.  This column covers our current work and future plans.  All future plans are linked to a projection of the resources needed to meet our goals.  Here is the most recent article: Sharon Elementary opens wellness room for teachers | Robbinsville Advance | communitynews.org 
    • As Superintendent, I have been meeting with stakeholder groups, at their convenience and at the location of their choice, for question-and-answer sessions.  I held two of these meetings during the first month of the summer. 
    • As Superintendent I take every call, and accommodate any meeting request, from all stakeholder groups and individual community members. 
    1. What are other districts doing that we can do as well? 
    1. A very selective number of school districts have created their own health centers on campus to reduce healthcare costs. Many school districts have created academies to earn millions of dollars in tuition while increasing their scores and programs. A very selective group of schools have created their own athletic facilities, earning around one million dollars per year hosting track meets and other athletic events. Some neighboring communities not only raise the maximum on their taxes for decades but also pass public questions to upgrade their facilities.