Vineland educator is named new Camden superintendent, the first Hispanic to lead the district

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. He will begin heading the troubled South Jersey school system starting March 1.

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.”

Llano will receive an annual salary of $260,000 under a three-year contract.

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 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.

Carstarphen and other officials praised Llano’s appointment in a statement released Wednesday. The mayor lauded the state “for identifying someone who will bring meaningful change for Camden’s students.”

“I am confident he will be an excellent leader who prepares our students for the future and always puts our students’ academic interest first,” Carstarphen said.

N’Namdee Nelson, president of the Camden City Advisory School Board, said: “We want to ensure that every child in the school district has access to a great school.”

Others, like former longtime school board member Jose E. Delgado, wished Llano well but were less optimistic. He said the selection of a Hispanic superintendent was “long overdue.”

“He’s stepping into a very dysfunctional environment that will require a wide array of fiscal, administrative, and educational skills,” Delgado said.

Llano inherits a district with declining enrollment — it currently has about 5,532 students — low test scores, and a high dropout rate. There have been modest gains since the state seized control of the district in 2013.

The changing educational landscape in Camden poses the biggest challenge. Thousands of students have left the city’s traditional public schools for Renaissance and charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately run and now lead the district’s enrollment.

Camden is the only district in New Jersey with three school types. Charters enroll 3,236 students, and Renaissance schools have 6,664 students.

Last spring, McCombs cited the declining enrollment in part for a $91 million budget deficit. She cut more than 100 positions and laid off teachers and support staff in a massive restructuring.

Camden Education Association president Pamela Clark, who represents more than 1,000 teachers and support staff, said she hopes to meet with Llano soon to discuss concerns about possible layoffs and school closures.

“I will continue to advocate fiercely to protect my members’ jobs and school closures, and I hope the new superintendent brings fairness, transparency, and unity to our city,” she said.

Llano has been superintendent of the Vineland district in Cumberland County since 2021. His five-year contract was set to expire in June.

During a meeting in June, the Vineland board was bitterly divided over whether to renew his contract. The board must give six months’ notice if it plans to terminate a superintendent. The motion to not renew it failed, and it was unclear what direction the board would pursue.

In Vineland, Llano oversaw a diverse district of more than 10,200 students enrolled in 16 schools. About 63% of the students are Hispanic, 14% are Black, and 18% are white. About 17.4% of its students are multilingual learners.

Vineland has some of the same issues as Camden schools — low test scores and chronic absenteeism. The majority of the students in the sprawling 68-square-mile community are economically disadvantaged.

Llano also spent 10 years in the Trenton school system, most recently as the interim schools chief for nearly a year prior to moving to Vineland. He previously was the district’s chief academic officer for six months. He also was an assistant superintendent and principal in Trenton.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Llano also had stints in the Readington Township and Howell Township school districts in a career spanning 27 years.

He is pursuing a doctoral degree in education at Seton Hall University. He holds master’s degrees from New Jersey City University and Kean University, and a bachelor’s degree from Rowan University.

Coe-Brockington said Llano’s reputation precedes him and that she was looking forward to working with him to “focus on the progress we’ve made in the district and focus on creating better outcomes for the students and families of Camden City.”

It was unclear Wednesday whether Coe-Brockington would remain in the central office when Llano takes over or return to Creative Arts High School, where she has been principal since it opened in 1999.