Minutes of the Paterson Board of Education Regular Meeting
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MINUTES OF THE PATERSON BOARD OF EDUCATION REGULAR MEETING October 13, 2004 – 7:00 p.m. Eastside High School Presiding: Comm. Jonathan Hodges, President Present: Dr. Dennis Clancy, Interim State District Superintendent Mr. Michael Azzara, Assistant Superintendent of Operations Ms. Monica Peck, General Counsel Comm. Leslie Agard-Jones Comm. Alonzo Moody Comm. Joseph Atallo Comm. Juan Santiago *Comm. Chauncey Brown Comm. Andre Sayegh *Comm. Donald Generals Comm. Willa Mae Taylor *Comm. William Kline, Vice President Absent: Comm. Daniel Vergara The Salute to the Flag was led by Comm. Agard-Jones. Comm. Sayegh read the Open Public Meetings Act: The New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act was enacted to insure the right of the public to have advance notice of, and to attend the meetings of the Paterson Public School District, as well as other public bodies at which any business affecting the interest of the public is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the provisions of this law, the Paterson Public School District has caused notice of this meeting: Regular Meeting October 13, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. Eastside High School 150 Park Avenue Paterson, New Jersey to be published by having the date, time and place posted in the office of the City Clerk of the City of Paterson, at the entrance of the Paterson Public School offices, and by sending notice of the meeting to Al Zaman, El Diario, the Italian Voice, the New Jersey Forum, the North Jersey Herald & News, and The Record. REPORT OF STATE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT Dr. Dennis Clancy: I have left a written report for members of the public on several things that have been going on over the past month. Most notably, we were involved in a joint meeting with members of the township relative to facility planning and land acquisition, and we are moving forward with some of the plans that we have for Page 1 10/13/04 facilities. Some of the people have asked for updates and we are planning on an update next month on the status of several projects that we have been working on with the community. I thought the meeting was pretty positive. We have agreed to have an ongoing meeting so that the Board of Education and the City Council are apprized of where we are on the construction. I think it is a cooperative and collaborative effort that will have the biggest effect on getting the schools that are in the process. One of the things on the agenda tonight, and I had indicated to the Board that I would try to find more information on, is the new criteria for the evaluation of schools. We went to Trenton today on some meetings but there is no additional information. I provided you with an outline of the training program that we all received on that. At this time, I am more convinced that as a district we have more to gain by being involved in the project in the early part because I believe this is being formulated and developed as we work through it. I think there will be much more flexibility for Paterson in the initial stages. So while I don’t have any official word from the State on this, I just think it is to our advantage to get as many of these criteria out of the way as soon as possible. So I have it on the agenda and I am recommending its approval, but I do not have any more information from the State and that meeting hasn’t been scheduled yet. That’s my report. *Comm. Brown enters the meeting at 7:20 p.m. REPORT OF BOARD PRESIDENT Comm. Hodges: The Report of the Board President will also be very brief tonight. I will simply mention that I also attended the meeting with the SCC, the Mayor, and the Department of Education wherein they decided that they were going to depart from their earlier position and engage on a collaborative process which would, strangely enough, include the Board of Education in deliberations about sites where the Board of Education wants to place its buildings. I thought that was a positive step and I look forward to being included in those conversations and having all the stakeholders brought to the table. We are also going to do our utmost to make sure there is substantial community input in how these schools should look. We have been treated to a steady diet of boxes – L shaped, H shaped – but they are nonetheless boxes and there are some other models out there which might fit into the neighborhoods seamlessly. But of most concern to me is the Constitutional Convention that is being considered. What is happening is a group of taxpayers are trying to get the property tax laws changed but since property taxes help fund overwhelmingly the education process in the State of New Jersey, that could mean some substantial change in how we fund schools. In particular, the thorough and efficient clause of the New Jersey State Constitution is the foundation upon which the Abbott decision and the parity funding that has taken us from $5,000 per pupil per year expenditure up to close to $13,000 per pupil expenditure rests. If we lose those three words from the Constitution, thorough and efficient, we lose all of the Abbott money, we lose all of the construction that is down in the pipe, and we lose substantial educational programs for our children. So that can have a dramatic effect and the community needs to be very vigilant in paying attention to what this process entails and making sure that they are included in some meaningful manner. That concludes my report. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS ONLY It was moved by Comm. Sayegh, seconded by Comm. Brown that the Public Comments on Agenda Items Only portion of the meeting be opened. On roll call all members voted in the affirmative. The motion carried. Page 2 10/13/04 Comm. Hodges: Three minutes per person, five minutes per organization. This information pertains to the agenda items only. Before I go too far, let me also mention that Mr. Vergara called earlier saying that he could not attend this meeting and he sent his apologies. Again, as per my policy, we only had two members missing from the workshop meeting, Mr. Vergara and Mr. Santiago. Ms. Anna Taliaferro: Good evening. I am looking at the agenda item of B-2. Does this Board pay dues to the New Jersey Urban School Boards Association? Comm. Hodges: Yes, we do. Ms. Taliaferro: Then why did they find it necessary to charge you to coordinate the search for superintendent of schools in our district? Comm. Hodges: This is not a service that is routine throughout the district. This is something over and above what they normally provide. Ms. Taliaferro: Says them or you? Comm. Hodges: Not me. I don’t work for them. Ms. Taliaferro: Says them? Comm. Hodges: That is what they say to us. Ms. Taliaferro: It is my understanding and I can recall when Ray Milam was the person who was charged with the duties of seeking superintendents. I am just wondering what amount we pay to them for dues. Do you know? Comm. Hodges: Off the top of my head – no I don’t know. Comm. Atallo: Point of order, Dr. Hodges. We pay $26,000. Comm. Hodges: $26,000? Dr. Atallo suggested it might be in the area of $26,000. Comm. Atallo: I am not suggesting. That is what we pay. Ms. Taliaferro: That is a lot of money to be charged for an additional service that they normally do anyway. So you need to charge them with double dipping because what other services do you receive from them other than training? They can’t help you draw up a search for a superintendent without charging you money? Come on! You get enough money out of these urban districts that you don’t render service to. I am going to let them know that as soon as I can. Also, I see where we are doing a lease extension or some work on the site over on 33rd Street that used to be BUILD Academy. Where did I have that? Are we renovating any part of that property? Mr. Michael Azzara: Yes, we are doing window replacement and we are splitting the costs with the owner. Ms. Taliaferro: The reason why I am asking is because is it my understanding that a church just bought that building on the corner and we might not have it next year? Mr. Azzara: We have the lease through the end of this year and we are housing Urban Leadership there. I am not aware of any sale there. Page 3 10/13/04 Ms. Taliaferro: It is my understanding that a church has now purchased that building. If that is the case, why are we putting renovations into that building when we might not be there next year? I wish you would look into that, Mike. Mr. Azzara: Okay. Ms. Taliaferro: We don’t want to throw good money after bad. If that is so, I bet you they are not going to return money. Mr. Azzara: Unfortunately, Anna, we had only two choices and neither of them was good. It was either to abandon the Clinton Street site when the lease was up, which would have had more extensive and costly repairs, or do the windows at the temple. We needed someplace to house Urban Leadership and we had no other place.