Hillsdale Board of Education Hillsdale, New Jersey Worksession
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
HILLSDALE BOARD OF EDUCATION HILLSDALE, NEW JERSEY WORKSESSION/REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY 28, 2018 MINUTES 1. CALL TO ORDER The Board of Education of the Borough of Hillsdale held a Worksession/Regular Meeting at the Ann Blanche Smith School on Wednesday, February 28, 2018. The meeting was called to order at 6:30p.m. by Mrs. Kathleen O'Flynn, President and Presiding Officer. 2. SALUTE TO THE FLAG 3. OPENING STATEMENT The New Jersey Open Public Meetings Law was enacted to insure the right of the public to have advance notice and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interests is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with the provisions of the Act, the Hillsdale Board of Education has caused notice of this meeting to be published by having the date, time and place thereof posted at the Hillsdale Borough Hall, Hillsdale Avenue, Hillsdale; the Hillsdale Public Library, 509 Hillsdale Avenue, Hillsdale; the Hillsdale Board of Education Office, 32 Ruckman Road, Hillsdale; and sent to the Board's designated newspapers: The Record, and the Ridgewood News on February 9, 2018. This meeting's agenda has been posted and sent to The Ridgewood News and The Record on February 26, 2018. 4. ROLLCALL Members Present Mrs. Krista Flinn Mrs. Shane Svorec Mr. Sal Sileo Christina Jennings Mrs. Kathleen O'Flynn Administrators were not required to attend. 2 WORKSESSIONfREGULAR MINUTES FEBRUARY 28, 2018 MEETING 5. MOTION TO CONVENE TO MOTIONED TO CONVENE TO EXECUTIVE SESSION EXECUTIVE SESSION Moved by Trustee Svorec, seconded by Trustee Flinn that the Board move to an Executive Session at 6:31p.m. for the purpose of discussing exempt matters pertaining to personnel, contract and student matters. Motion passed by consensus vote: 5-0. 6. MOTION TO ADJOURN TO MOTIONED TO ADJOURN EXECTUIVE EXECUTIVE SESSION AND SESSION AND RECONVENE TO RECONVENE TO PUBLIC MEETING PUBLIC MEETING Moved by Trustee Svorec, seconded by Trustee Flinn that the Board move to adjourn the Executive Session and reconvene to the Public Meeting at 7:02 p.m. Motion passed by consensus vote: 5-0. President O'Flynn opened the meeting with the following comments: We are glad so many of you are here with us tonight! Welcome to our meeting. We are also glad to welcome back our Interim Superintendent, Jeff Feifer. We are delighted to see you recovering so well, and are so happy to have you back with us as Superintendent. A thank you to Lirca, who stepped in as Acting Superintendent. Her appointment to this position, as per the resolution from last month, "self-destructed" upon Jeff's return. We thank her for her professional commitment to Hillsdale. I am very excited to share that Lirca Garcia has been awarded the Distinguished Service Award by her State organization, NJASBO. (Association of School Business Officials) This honor is given to recognize the long-term, continuous, exemplary service of School Business Officials in the state. Nominated by her peers, Lirca is one of 6 awardees across the 650 school districts of N.J. This is quite an honor! Strong work ethic, team player, dedicated professional. ... this is Lirca! Such a well-deserved honor for a special person! You will of course be honored at various formal ceremonies over the coming months, however, I'd like to extend congratulations on behalf of Jeff and the Board tonight. 7. SALUTE TO THE FLAG 3 WORKSESSION/REGULAR MINUTES FEBRUARY 28, 2018 MEETING Following the salute to the flag, President O'Flynn made the following comments: Last month Hillsdale was saddened to learn of the passing of Melanie Fraiman-Siegel, beloved nurse at Meadowbrook School. Words cannot express the tremendous grief experienced over this tragic and untimely loss. As a district, we extend our heartfelt condolences to the Fraiman-Siegel family and her many friends and colleagues. The loss of a staff member, and in this case for many a friend, is a deeply emotional event. I want to commend the staff at Meadowbrook School, and Mr. Bell for the support that they collectively offered students and even more so one another. I would also like to thank Annemarie Oliveri, Angela Iskenderian and Lirca Garcia, who offered guidance, support and leadership in difficult moments. People who work together are like an extended family and when a family member dies, coworkers grieve. Coming together to create as comfortable an atmosphere as possible during an extremely painful time is a reminder of what makes Meadowbrook and Hillsdale Schools a special place. Please join me in a moment of silence for Melanie Fraiman-Siegel. 7. HEARING OF CITIZENS AND HEARING OF CITIZENS AND DELEGATIONS CONCERNING ITEMS DELEGATIONS CONCERNING ITEMS ON AGENDA ON AGENDA A person wishing to be heard by the Board shall be recognized by the chairperson. He/ she shall then identify himself/herself and proceed with his/her comments as briefly as the subject permits. The chairperson is responsible for the orderly conduct of the meeting and shall rule on such matters as the speaker's right to address the Board, the time to be allowed for public discussion, the appropriateness of the subject being presented, and the suitability of the time for such a presentation. The Board, as a whole, shall have the final decision in determining the appropriateness of all such rulings. The Board wishes to remind all attendees at its meetings that while it subscribes, without reservation, to the principle of keeping the community completely informed, by policy and law, it cannot allow public discussion of personnel matters. If a matter concerning the staff of the Hillsdale School District is of interest or concern to a resident, the matter should be referred to the responsible Building Principal, Superintendent of Schools or the Board of Education, by either telephone or letter. 4 WORKSESSION/REGULAR MINUTES FEBRUARY 28, 2018 MEETING 8. CORRESPONDENCE TO BOARD Board Secretary New Jersey School Vol. XLI No. 24 Board Notes (Archives) January 30, 2018 Vol. XLI No. 23 January 23, 2018 Vol. XLI No. 22 January 17, 2018 Vol. XLI No. 21 January 9, 2018 Vol. XLI No. 20 January 3, 2018 9. APPROVAL OF BOARD MINUTES BOARD MINUTES APPROVED It is recommended that the Board approve the following Board Minutes: January 8, 2018 Executive Session January 8, 2018 Organization Meeting January 15, 2018 Executive Session January 15,2018 WorksessionfRegular Meeting 01/08/18 Executive Session passed by consensus vote: 3-0. Mrs. Jennings and Mr. Sileo abstained on the 01/08/18 Executive Session. 01/08/18 Organization Meeting passed by consensus vote: 5-0. 01/15/18 Executive Session passed by consensus vote: 3-0. Mr. Sileo and Mrs. Flinn abstained on the 01/15/18 Executive Session. 01/15/18 Worksession passed by consensus vote: 4-0. Mrs. Flinn abstained on 01/15/18 Work Session. 5 WORKSESSION/REGULAR MINUTES FEBRUARY 28, 2018 MEETING Dr. Feifer thanked everyone for their efforts and support during his leave. Dr. Feifer congratulated Mrs. Garcia on her award from NJASBO. Dr. Feifer requested a moment of silence for the students and staff of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Dr. Feifer read portions of a sample resolution from the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) concerning school safety. He requested that the Board consider the resolution and be ready to vote on the resolution at the March meeting. 10. INTRODUCTION OF INTRODUCTION OF SUPERINTENDENT FINALIST SUPERINTENDENT FINALIST President O'Flynn made the following comments regarding Mr. Lombardy: We are pleased to announce the selection of our new Superintendent, Mr. Robert Lombardy! This appointment concludes a thorough and extensive superintendent search that took place over the past eighteen months. After interviewing several very qualified candidates in 2016, the board felt that it would be in our best interest to wait, as we were not fully satisfied that the candidates interviewed met all of our standards. We began a second search in the fall of 2017, and after interviewing highly professional and qualified candidates through multiple rounds, it became clear that Rob Lombardy possesses the professional experience, personal integrity, and innovative vision to lead our district to the next level of success. Rob is a strong match for Hillsdale, as well as to what ALL our stakeholders (i.e. Administrators, teachers, community members) identified during the search process. Mr. Lombardy comes to Hillsdale from neighboring Woodcliff Lake, serving as principal of their Middle School since 2012. Prior to this, Rob was an assistant principal in Demarest Schools, as well as having spent time as an English teacher in the Parsippany School district. I'd like to add some words of appreciation. On behalf of the Board I would like to publicly thank Dr. Feifer and Mrs. Garcia for their assistance in this search process. Shortly after arriving, Dr. Feifer graciously offered to help us by serving as our "consultant". His professional guidance, input and insight throughout this process was invaluable. Thank you! Mrs. Garcia was an added member of our team. We thank her for her added perspective and many helpful contributions. Thank you! The hiring of a superintendent is one of THE most important jobs with which the Board of Education is charged. Thank you to my fellow board trustees for your insights, collaboration and countless hours of leadership and volunteerism throughout this process! In closing, partnering with the collective school community is vital to the process for selecting our next superintendent and we thank the members of the community for their valuable input during this process. 6 WORKSESSION/REGULAR MINUTES FEBRUARY 28, 2018 MEETING On behalf of the Hillsdale Board of Education, I welcome Mr.