The South Orange-Maplewood School district recently hired two people to fill key roles.
SOMSD Asst. Supt. of Special Services Susie Budine; Facilities Dir. Thomas Giglio
In September, Susie Budine was approved as the new Assistant Superintendent. She replaces Dr. Melody Alegria, who resigned in the summer for family and personal reasons after serving only one year. Alegria was the sixth person to be put in charge of Special Services in an eight-year time span.
Budine previously served as Director of Educational Services at the Highland Park School District, according to her LinkedIn profile. Budine starts on November 1, 2021.
Thomas Giglio was hired to fill a new position, Facilities Director. Giglio was the Facilities Manager for the Colts Neck BOE, and is also President/ Treasurer at New Jersey School Building And Grounds Association, according to his LinkedIn profile.
According to the district’s job description, the Facilities Manager’s duties are to “oversee day to day custodial and maintenance operations of District facilities and ensure a safe, clean, and comfortable school environment; manage projects timeline, priority, progress and completion approval; to carry out administrative tasks to include serving as the District point of contact for all Local, State and Federal compliance visits (Right to Know, PEOSH, annual Fire Marshall compliance inspections, Health Official inspections) as required; to maintain and operate the plant to the required standards.”
Giglio will report to Business Administrator Eric Burnside. Facilities have been an issue since the pandemic. In October 2020, a walk-through of school buildings revealed that work on ventilation systems the school district had said was complete in fact had not been done. In addition, the district is in the midst of its $160 million Long Range Facilities and capital improvement plan.
