Board of Education Taxes

In a fast meeting April 8, the Board of Education selected Illinois-based ECRA Group to lead a search for the new schools Superintendent. The company, which has an office in Jersey City, will charge the district an $18,500 basic consultation fee for the search, plus expenses. Those expenses – which in an extreme case could add another $17,000 to the …

A New York-based bus company that took over most of the school district’s bus routes has agreed to take on some more. Montauk Transit Service of Medford, N.Y. has agreed to purchase some equipment from and assume some district bus routes held by Mercy Transportation Inc. of Monmouth Junction. The deal, which will affect 1,850 students, is effective immediately, but …

A 40-year educational veteran – and veteran of a very public dust-up with Gov. Chris Christie – was named interim schools Superintendent March 20 by the Board of Education. LeRoy Seitz will take over the helm on March 29, the day after current interim Superintendent Eveny Pagan leaves the district for another job. Seitz, of Long Branch, will be paid …

Teacher and paraprofessional layoffs and a slight property tax increase are in the offing under a $142 million preliminary 2014-2015 school year operating budget approved March 19 by the Board of Education. Those layoffs could be mitigated by outsourcing the district’s substitute teachers, the board was told. Interim schools Superintendent Eveny Pagan told the board that the layoffs of the …

The Board of Education paid its attorney nearly $20,000 for legal work connected with negotiating with the former schools Superintendent to leave his position before his contract ran out. Add that to the approximately $55,000 payout given to former Superintendent Edward Seto, and the total bill to have him leave before the end of June comes to about $75,000. There’s …

With nearly $4 million guaranteed for the proposed $85 million school referendum eyed for September, the Board of Education Feb. 27 approved applications for more than $79.7 million in additional state aid for the projects. The board also formally rescinded applications for $57.5 million in grant applications that were not awarded. Those projects were included in the new applications. District …

The school district is no longer considering outsourcing its 123 paraprofessionals as a means to bridge a $1.7 million budget gap, but it has not ruled out some type of staff reduction. In a letter sent to staff members and posted on the district Web site, interim schools Superintendent Eveny Pagan said outsourcing the paraprofessionals “is no longer a consideration …

Robert Trautmann, a Board of Education member in the middle of his first term, has resigned. But he’s not going quietly. In his Feb. 24 resignation letter, Trautmann said his goal is to see board president Julia Presley, board vice president Eva Nagy and board member Richard Arline “removed from their position as board members and restore order, civility and …

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 …

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 …