Feb. 21 Christopher Randazza of Somerset was backing his pickup truck out of a parking space at Walgreen’s on Hamilton Street when it struck a parked car leased by Rosemary Montes of Edison. § Deborah Machado of New Brunswick told police that she was driving down Millstone Road when she stopped shortly before reaching Somerset Street. She said she put …

The school district is still without an interim Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, apparently thanks to an outburst from an audience member at the Feb. 20 Board of Education meeting. The position was vacated when interim schools Superintendent Evany pagan was appointed at the end of last month. The board was holding the required public hearing on the proposed …

All proposed budgets passed in last week’s Fire District elections. The results from the Feb. 15 vote are as follows: Fire District 1: Incumbent Commissioners Jason Goldberg and newcomer Timothy P. Jahno won three-year seats. The proposed $3.5 million budget was approved, 138-39. Fire District 2: Incumbent Commissioners Pelham Stewart and Edward Carson won their seats. The proposed approximately $1 …

An $85 million referendum that would result in a new elementary school and a reconfiguration of the Pre-K to 8th Grade schools could be held in September, now that state grant money has been promised to the district. That was the word from Board of Education vice president Eva Nagy at the Feb. 20 meeting. Nagy said the state has …

Thanks to all the recent snow days, the last day of school for the district is now June 27. The Board of Education voted to extend the school year by three days at the Feb. 20 meeting. The district has used 10 snow days – except for Elizabeth Avenue School, which has used 11 – said interim schools Superintendent Eveny …

An expected vote to privatize the school district’s 123 paraprofessionals was put off Feb. 20 by the Board of Education. District officials said they wanted more time to gather information to answer questions posed by the public at the Feb. 17 special meeting, when more than two hours of comment was heard by the board on the proposal. The board …

By Rob Trautmann, Somerset Tonight (Feb. 20) was a first for me, I walked out of a Board of Education meeting before it ended.  I am deeply saddened by what some people believe to be appropriate behavior in public meetings.  Tonight was an absolute disgrace.  A member of the Franklin school family was listed for an interim position that required …

By Mark Fitzgerald, Somerset. After attending the “Emergency” Franklin Board of Education meeting on Feb. 17, it appears the administration is very unprepared with accurate financial information for both para and sub outsourcing.  Until there is a real proposal to review with adequate time (even a pro-forma proposal) from a qualified vendor, the board should not be asked to vote …

Maria Delvillar of Perth Amboy was cited for careless driving after the bus she was driving struck a car driven by Ashley Robinson of Somerset. Robinson said she was stopped at Layne Road and Leupp Lane when Delvillar’s bus turned left onto Layne and struck her car. § Lauren Lopez of Garwood was driving down Cottontail Lane when, police said, …

School district teachers’ aides showed up in force at the Feb. 17 Board of Education meeting to tell the board just what they thought of yet another proposal to outsource their jobs. In a nutshell: Not much. Over the course of more than two hours, the paraprofessionals and their supporters took the podium during the meeting’s public portion to warn …