UPDATE: Montville Curriculum Supervisor Hired in Chatham

The School District of the Chathams  voted unanimously Monday to approve Karen Chase as the new assistant superintendent.

Chase currently serves as the supervisor of curriculum and instruction in the , a position she has occupied since 2010. Before that she was the supervisor of Language Arts K-12, Basic Skills Instruction and Gifted and Talented Education, also in Montville.

The Chatham school district Board President Tom Belding said Chase was selected from a pool of about 75 candidates to fill Dr. Michael LaSusa's role as he moves into the superintendent position. 

She was selected by a series of interviews with board members and district administrators, and was found with the help of Dr. William Librera, a former New Jersey Commissioner of Education, who is currently under contract with the district to help mentor LaSusa and find a suitable replacement.

Belding described Chase as a charismatic woman who "rose to the top" of the applicant pool.

Montville Township Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Paul Fried said the district does plan to fill the role Chase is leaving behind.

"We definitely are going to be doing a search to fill the role and we're having conversations about how to move forward," Fried said.

Chase was an adjunct professor at Montclair State University and taught grades 5, 7 and 9 in the Bridgewater-Raritan School District.

Chase earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Education with a dual certification in English K-12 and Elementary Education from Kean University in 1998. She earned a masters from the University of Connecticut in 2004 and was certified by Rutgers University in 2006. She is currently working on her Ed.D in K-12 School Administration at Seton Hall University.

Chase's contract goes from July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013. Her salary will be $148,000.