Schoonover lands Somerset Superintendent Job

The Somerset Berkley Regional School District has picked Jeffrey Schoonover to be its next superintendent after two school boards voted on Thursday night.

Schoonover will depart Portsmouth after serving since 2001, most recently as assistant superintendent. Before that, he was a physics teacher and served for eight years as the science department chairperson at Portsmouth High School.

In 2009, he won the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching.

The Taunton Gazette reported that Schoonover beat out one other finalist for the job, Somerset Middle School Principal Pauline Camara. 

The deciding factor was experience and a 2-2 tie on one of the boards was broken after a school board member reportedly leaned in his favor after a review of his experience administering at all school levels as well as his work in Portsmouth's special education collaborative, the Gazette reported.

"Mr. Schoonover is thrilled and excited and cannot wait to come to work. He couldn’t be happier," the Somerset School Committee Vice Chairwoman told reporters after the votes. 

Schoonover lives in Somerset  with his wife Julia and their three children, Emma, Jack, and Sophia.