Dinwiddie superintendent leaving for New Jersey

Charles Maranzano Jr.'s career is coming full circle as he leaves Dinwiddie County for his native New Jersey.

Maranzano announced yesterday his plans to resign as superintendent of Dinwiddie schools to take the same position with the Hopatcong Borough Schools.

A native of Bergen County, N.J., Maranzano cited family reasons for making the change. He returns to his home state with his wife to care for family members.

Hopatcong is in Sussex County, not far from where he grew up. He started his teaching career in nearby Morris County in 1970.

"We've got aging family members and others that need our attention. It's been difficult to do from this distance," Maranzano said by cell phone in New Jersey. "I've been running up and down the East Coast for the past year to tend to family matters. Eventually, we just kind of thought, 'We can't keep doing this.'"

Maranzano said he expects negotiations to be finalized today. He plans to officially tender his resignation at the Dinwiddie School Board meeting Tuesday.

"He's done a whole lot for us. He's been a real positive influence on us in the school system," said James Maitland, chairman of the Dinwiddie School Board.

"He's been a person that has been a good communicator -- communicating with the faculty, staff and the public."

Maranzano leaves the larger, rural Dinwiddie school system with nearly 4,600 students for smaller Hopatcong with about 2,400 students. He replaces Wayne L. Threlkeld, who has served since 1981 as superintendent in the borough located in northwestern New Jersey.

According to budget figures on the Hopatcong school system's Web site, Threlkeld was scheduled to make $200,174 in base salary next year. Maranzano makes $121,069 in base salary in Dinwiddie.

Hopatcong School Board President Denise Tobin said Maranzano is someone who puts the students first and is the right person to help lead the school division forward.

"We were impressed by the breadth of his experience and his enthusiasm," Tobin said. "He had the work ethic and energy that we were looking for . . . and we're looking forward to bringing him back to New Jersey."

Tobin said Maranzano has been approved by the School Board and is awaiting approval by the Sussex County superintendent of schools. A contract is being negotiated.

Maranzano was named superintendent in Dinwiddie in 2003. During his tenure, he has been a champion of public education in Virginia, leading the charge for school construction funding from the federal and state government for the areas around Fort Lee that are expected to see growth from the military's base reorganization.

Under Maranzano's leadership, all schools in the county have been fully accredited for the past five years, and the school division was awarded an Outstanding Technology Award by Longwood University in 2008. Seven Title I Distinguished Elementary School Awards have been earned.

Contact Jeremy Slayton at (804) 649-6861 or .