A veteran Vineland educator has been named the state-appointed superintendent to oversee the Camden school system, state Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer announced Wednesday.
Alfonso Q. Llano Jr. was selected after a national search that began in June. A timeline was not announced for when he will begin his duties heading the troubled South Jersey school system.
He will be the first Hispanic superintendent to lead the district. Demographics in Camden have shifted in recent years and 56% of its traditional public school students are now Hispanic, 42% are Black, and 1.2% are white.
Dehmer made the long-awaited announcement at the monthly state Board of Education meeting in Trenton. The board unanimously approved the appointment.
“I’m honored for the opportunity to serve the Camden City School District,” Llano said. “Together, we’re going to work through transparency and tough times. We’re going to achieve great things.”
The terms of his contract were not immediately available. In Vineland, he was the highest paid superintendent in Cumberland County with an annual base salary of $206,000.
Davida Coe-Brockington, a longtime Camden educator who has served as the interim superintendent during the search, will remain in that role until Llano takes over. She was not a candidate for the job.
Llano has been superintendent of the Vineland district in Cumberland County for five years. He previously was an interim schools chief in Trenton for a year and prior to that was its chief academic officer.
He succeeds Katrina T. McCombs, whose contract was not renewed after a group of city leaders, including Mayor Victor Carstarphen, called for her ouster. The group said Camden schools needed “a new vision for leadership.” McCombs left Camden in July for a state role after seven years as superintendent.