By Steve Mayer
When we hired Robert DeVita to serve as the Business Administrator for Robbinsville Schools in 2009, the district was in desperate need of innovation, consistency and a sound financial vision to lead us forward. During the years leading up to his employment, the annual audit had an array of perpetually unaddressed findings, our school facilities were consistently overlooked due to “lack of funds” and the roofs of our buildings leaked regularly because there were no resources in place to fix or repair them. Six years later, we enjoy five years of clean audits, roofs that are repaired, energy savings that have paid for necessary facility maintenance and a sound fiscal plan for our future. Thank you Bob DeVita!
Bob DeVita received his MBA from Rider University and served for several years as a Vice President at Merrill Lynch when a change in his career path steered him toward education. In spite of the district’s fiscal challenges and reputation of financial difficulties as well as a tremendous turnover in school business administrators leading up to his employment, Bob made the decision commit to Robbinsville. Since day one, he has served as an integral member of the leadership team, working to ensure that every dollar is allocated wisely and to guarantee a sound financial future for our community. His service has been stellar and is deeply appreciated.
One of the most significant of his many accomplishments was securing the $1-million owed to the district by the State of New Jersey for the funding of the high school. To secure these funds, Bob worked with a consultant to uncover “lost” documents which detailed monies that state officials previously agreed to pay as part of the high school referendum. As our community brought on additional bonding to pay for the recent additions and renovations at Pond and Sharon Schools, it was these recovered funds that helped to smooth the tax impact of the new payments. This year, with the new bonds from the 2012 referendum fully funded, we were actually able to lower the tax rate for our community members. This is a monumental accomplishment that required strategy, long term thinking, and the brains of an outstanding business mind. We are deeply grateful to Bob for his leadership.
There isn’t enough room in this column to detail the myriad ways Bob has helped our district and our community move forward in the past six years. As a result of his efforts, we have significantly increased alternate streams of revenue, thereby lowering the tax burden for residents. As a result of his commitment we have implemented an energy savings programs to address much needed HVAC repairs. As a result of his guidance and vision we have balanced sound budgets year after year, and built strong facility plans into the foreseeable future. Bob is one of the very best in his business.
We will miss him as he returns to the school district where he began his career in education. Bob is not leaving Robbinsville because his work is finished, but because he is eager to accept the challenges of a district that feels like home and is much closer to his own home. While we will miss him, we are grateful for the privilege of working with him. We wish him the very best as he makes this transition.
As we say farewell to one well-respected friend and colleague, we welcome another. Christina Moskal will serve as our next business administrator. Moskal comes to us highly recommended from Springfield Township Public Schools where she currently serves as the BA. As the 2015-16 school year takes shape, we are confident that the transition in the Business Office will be smooth thanks to Bob’s help in ensuring a smooth pass of the baton.
Steve Mayer is superintendent of Robbinsville Schools.
