On the agenda for Monday’s BOE meeting.

The Board of Education meets Monday night at 7:30, on the 3rd floor of the Ed Center. A few highlights from the agenda (full agenda available here):

The Board will hear an update on Special Ed services and staffing, with an explanation of needs for the 11-12 school year.

The 2010-11 Teacher Recognition nominees will be approved by the Board, in advanced of the annual Teacher Recognition award reception to be held on May 10. The teachers being honored are:
Special Programs…Patricia McVeigh
Hawes…Shirley Kolkebeck
Orchard…Christine Thielke
Ridge…Tracee Fazio
Somerville…Meredith McLaughlin
Travell…Carol Goulian
Willard…Dawn-Lyn Dolfi
Benjamin Franklin…David Tashian
George Washington…Evelyn McKinnon
RHS…Patricia Johnson
Congratulations!

The Board will gratefully accept donations, including from the Ridge HAS, the Ridgewood Ice Hockey Foundation, the RHS HSA and others.

Dr. Fishbein will present a few change orders for work at RHS, Ridge and GW. The referendum projects continue to be well under budget, as work begins on the two remaining large projects at Willard and GW.

We’ll also have regular business such as retirements, movements of staff, approval of some summer stipends, public comment, etc.

As always, the meeting will be televised on Cablevision Channel 77, webcast live on the District website, and archived for later viewing.

Solar power on the agenda tonight.

I forgot to mention in my previous post regarding tonight's agenda, that the Board will be hearing a presentation about a solar power program for our schools. We've been discussing the plan in the Facilities Committee for several months, so I'm looking forward to a conversation with the full Board and with the public. Stay tuned...

BOE meeting Monday night.

There’s a lot going on at tomorrow’s Board of Ed meeting. We haven’t met for three weeks, so the agenda’s a little more full than typical. Full agenda here. A few highlights:

The Ridgewood Education Foundation will be presenting its Spring 2011 grant awards. The grants total $12,905 and the recipients are programs at RHS, Willard, Travell, Hawes, Ridge and Somerville.

Dr. Fishbein will update the Board on the 2009-10 Audit Report and Corrective Action Plan. Presumably we’ll hear how the software corrections are coming to correct the reporting glitches.

We’ll get a report on the Community Planning event that was held last month. That was such an interesting experience, I’m looking forward to seeing the ideas and suggestions put together into a report, and using the findings to inform our priorities for the coming few years.

The 2011-12 budget will be updated. Hopefully you saw Dr. Fishbein’s column in last Friday’s Ridgewood News, where he outlined the upcoming budget process, including opportunities for public input. (The online story (see link) includes a chart showing Ridgewood's financial efficiency compared to other districts.) Tomorrow night, the Board will be asked to approve the Preliminary Budget, which we must do in order to make the deadline for submitting to the Executive County Superintendent. The Preliminary budget is just that – not set in stone. I’m sure you heard about the approx. $850,000 in state aid coming to Ridgewood for next year. Before you start dreaming about where to spend this “windfall,” keep in mind that our initial budget showed a $650,000 deficit, so we’ll have to fill that hole first. Not sure what the administration is going to recommend with the rest. We’ll see tomorrow night.

We’ll have some more discussion on the updated Fields Use Policy, talking about questions and feedback we have and which we’ve received from the public.

Those are the meeting highlights. (You can watch live online by clicking here.) In terms of my personal BOE activity this week, I’ll be at Monday’s meeting, an Executive Session to discuss negotiations, Fields Committee meeting Wednesday morning, a webinar on social media in schools, and Federated HSA meeting on Thursday.

On the BOE agenda for January 24.

Updated 1/24/11 @ 12:42 p.m.

The Ridgewood Board of Ed will meet tomorrow (Monday) night at 7:30 p.m. As always, the meeting is open to the public and we have plenty of seating available :) so come on down. You can also watch live on Cablevision Channel 77 or webcast at this link.

A few highlights from the agenda:

• Dr. Fishbein will give an update on referendum budgets and costs. Good news – we’re still under budget!

• We’ll get a presentation on middle school schedules and the 6th grade world languages program.

• Dr. Fishbein and Mr. DeSimone will present the first pass of the working budget for 2011-12. This is an in-process document, but it’s important to share with the community so you can see where things are as of right now.

• The Communications Committee (Sheila Brogan and myself are the BOE members) will discuss the document responding to neighbors’ concerns regarding RHS and Stevens Fields.

• Finance Committee (Michele Lenhard and Bob Hutton are BOE members) will report on the 2009-10 audit and the status of software corrections.

• I will give a brief update on the status of the revised Fields Use Policy, currently being worked on in the joint Fields Committee. (Please note: the revised Fields Use Policy itself will not be presented or reviewed tonight. There may be general discussion, but the committee is not presenting the revised policy tonight.) (Updated 1/24/11 @ 12:42 p.m.)

Any questions, let me know.

On the agenda for January 10 BOE meeting.

Tomorrow night the Ridgewood Board of Education will meet for a regular public meeting at 7:30 p.m. at the Ed Center, 3rd floor. (Come on down and watch in person, or watch live on TV Channel 77 or online click here.)

Some highlights from the agenda:

We’ll see a presentation of the middle school program of studies for 2011-12. It’s basically the exact same program of studies as currently, but with a change to the 8th grade algebra course for special ed students.

Dr. Fishbein will update us on various referendum projects, mostly work on the additions at Ridge and Hawes schools.

The Board will be asked to approve the school calendar for 2011-2012. I participated in the Calendar Committee – along with teachers, other staff, parents, students – and let me tell you, it is harder than one would think to come up with a calendar.

The Board will be asked to approve the disenrollment of a student found to be in violation of the District’s residency requirement.

Members of the BOE will discuss our response to the Planning Board’s invitation to a hearing regarding the lights at RHS Stadium and Stevens Fields. We will also discuss the list of RHS neighbor concerns and progress that’s been made to date.

Those are the highlights. You can see the entire agenda by clicking here.

On my BOE radar this week.

Sorry I’ve been posting a little less frequently than normal…it’s been a busy time around Thanksgiving, I had my mother and her husband visiting for 10 days, and my workload for clients has been extremely heavy. But just because I haven’t been blogging much, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been consumed by Board of Ed business as well. There’s always plenty to do in that area!

Tomorrow night the Board will have a regular public meeting (7:30 p.m., Ed Center, 3rd floor; streaming live click here). A few highlights from the agenda:

• Sheila Brogan and I will present a report on the Facilities Committee meeting which we held last Monday at Ridgewood High School, to listen to concerns from the RHS neighbors regarding the fields and lights. The Board will discuss neighborhood concerns and consider next steps.

• Asst. Superintendent Regina Botsford will present the Districtwide Testing Report for 09-10.

• Dr. Fishbein will give us an update on referendum construction projects

• We’ll get an update on meetings to develop the 11-12 district budget

• The Board will review and approve some course changes at RHS.

• As always, there will be two opportunities for public comment.

Other than tomorrow’s BOE meeting, I have some other Board business I’ll be taking care of this week:

• Tomorrow afternoon I’ll be watching the film Race to Nowhere along with the RHS faculty. The movie, sponsored by the RHS Home & School Association, is being presented to Ridgewood parents at 7:00 p.m. at GW Middle School, but since we have a BOE meeting, some of us will be watching with the faculty. I wonder if it will be a different experience to watch with teachers vs. parents?

• Tuesday night I will join a couple of other Board members and Human Resources Manager Gary Hall at a presentation of the New Jersey School Boards Association, titled “Negotiations and the Toolkit.” This is a roundtable discussion about “negotiations, superintendent contracts, and other employee relations issues in this changing legislative environment.” Supposedly, we’ll learn how the governor’s proposed "toolkit" of bills can affect our negotiations efforts with the REA.

• Wednesday morning I’ll be at the Fields Committee at 7:00 AM – I suffer through these early morning meetings but I have to admit – it’s kind of cool how much time I still have left in the day to get things accomplished.

• Thursday I’ll be at the “You Make a Difference” Breakfast at RHS at 7:15 (another early day!). This breakfast is hosted by Principal Jack Lorenz to recognize students who normally may not receive accolades but who have accomplished small victories at school. After the breakfast I’ll attend the Federated HSA meeting with the presidents of all the schools’ Home & School Associations. Then after that I’ll go to the Somerville Holiday House Tour fundraiser. Whew…busy day Thursday!

I’m telling you my BOE schedule this week just to report on what I’m doing. I’m sure some of you wonder…what does she do anyway, besides attend those boring meetings twice a month? Now you know. As a BOE member, there’s a lot more to do than I originally understood. I truly love being around the schools, though, so when I can, I’m eager to take part in activities that get me into school buildings and that give me a good view of what goes on every day. (My clients aren't quite so enthusiastic about our schools, so sometimes I have to play a little hooky...fortunately as a freelancer I have the flexibility to catch up on work later...sometimes much later...like a few minutes from now.)

After tomorrow night’s BOE meeting – maybe by Tuesday or Wednesday – I’ll write something about the Board’s discussion about the fields and lights (one of the more popular topics in my inbox lately!). Have a great week!

On the agenda for the 10/18 Board of Ed meeting.

The Ridgewood BOE will meet at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow (Monday) at the Ed Center, third floor. A few highlights from the agenda:
-- Annual report on school violence and vandalism, presented by Basil Pizzuto, Assistant Principal at Ridgewood High School. Mr. Pizzuto will also review school activities designed to reduce and prevent violence
-- Approval of out-of-district placements for 2010-11. There are a total of 93 students placed in non-Ridgewood schools, primarily for special education needs specified in the students’ IEPs (Individual Educational Plan).
-- Acceptance of various donations, including $25,000 allocated by the Fields Committee for the RHS field lights.
-- Approval of agreements with West Side Presbyterian Church for parking for GW staff, and with the Ice House for ice time for RHS hockey
-- Approval of various change orders for construction projects

As always, the meeting will be broadcast on Cablevision channel 77, and webcast on the District website (click here).

Monday's Board of Ed meeting: what's on the agenda.

Monday the Ridgewood Board of Education will meet and the agenda doesn't look too unwieldy -- mainly because we just met a week ago. Some of the highlights (full agenda available by clicking here):

-- Recognizing Ridgewood High School's National Merit and Advanced Placement scholars
-- Presentation on some of the math routines our kindergarten students participate in every day
-- Info on crisis management in our schools
-- Approval of our submission of a Grant Application to the Bergen County Historic Preservation Fund for funds to replace the Ed Center's slate roof.
-- Review of some proposed revisions to BOE by-laws and Board policy.

As always, the Board of Education meeting can be viewed live and in person at the Ed Center, 3rd floor, at 7:30 p.m. You can watch the meeting on Cablevision Channel 77, or you can view the live webcast by clicking here. Later, you can view the archived webcast by clicking here.

BOE Meeting tonight.

You can tell how busy my work is by my less frequent posting on this blog. Sorry...as much as I would love to spend all day, every day on education and the Ridgewood Public Schools (and quite honestly, most days I would love to do that), I do need to make a living. Work is very busy right now.

Tonight the BOE will meet at 7:30 p.m. and as always you are invited to join us! You can also watch the live webcast by clicking here, or view the live broadcast on Cablevision Channel 77.

Quick agenda highlights:

-- Financial Report on Ridgewood Community School
-- Discussion of Strategic/Community planning process
-- Referendum projects update
-- Discussion of Board and District goals for 2010-11

The full agenda can be viewed by clicking here.

Board of Ed Agenda for Sept. 13

The Board of Education will be meeting tomorrow night (7:30 p.m., Ed Center), and here are a few highlights from the agenda:

We'll have several presentations, including the official Opening of School Report with attendance figures. (Here's a hint: good thing we're expanding some buildings!).

We'll get a report on maintenance projects completed over the summer, and an update from our architects and engineer on referendum projects.

We'll review the new organization chart for the IT (formerly MIS) department.

The Board will have the first reading of revisions to Policy 7250 (School and Facility Names), which you can read attached to the agenda (click here).

We're approving the enrollment of a couple of tuition students: one at the high school and one at Hawes and, yes, they will be paying tuition. I don't know if I'm allowed to discuss their reasons for attending Ridgewood schools (it's probably confidential student info), but their enrollment was approved by the building principals and Dr. Fishbein.

Various changes of assignment, appointments, leave of absence, etc.

The Board will acknowledge the total donations from various groups and individuals over the 2009-10 school year.

Hmm...doesn't sound like too late a meeting, does it? We'll see! You are welcome to attend -- there are seats for everyone! Or you can watch live on Cablevision Channel 77 or see the webcast at click here. (Webcast can be viewed live or go to the website any time to view archived webcasts!).

On the agenda for Monday’s meeting of the BOE.

Tomorrow night is our first BOE meeting since mid-July. There are several business items on the agenda, as well as our annual “Board Retreat” where we discuss our self-evaluation of the Board and discuss goals for the 2010-11 school year.

Please note: unlike what is stated in the agenda, we will begin at 6:00 with Board business FIRST, and then move on to the Board Retreat items after 7:30 p.m. (Our representative from the New Jersey School Boards Association will be facilitating the Retreat section, and he cannot be here until 7:30.)

Agenda highlights (click here for full agenda on RPS website):

Update on referendum projects, including status and estimated completion dates for the various projects currently underway.

Approval of new curriculum, which was worked on over the summer. Some of the new curriculum is for Math in grades K-2. (Remember, we previously started with grades 3-5 with EnVision Math. Now it’s time to phase in Grades 3-5.) There is also new curriculum for several new courses added at the high school. Whenever new textbooks are purchased, there is a need to review and make sure the curriculum guide matches up. You can see the list of new curriculum guides at the end of the agenda on the website.

Approval of several appointments of new staff, including our new Supervisor of Wellness/Athletic Director, several new teachers, many changes in staff assignment, co-curricular stipends, new substitutes, etc.

Acceptance of donations for the athletic field lighting.

Approval of change orders for various referendum projects. The agenda includes descriptions of each change, along with the status of the bid and what the change order means to the project’s total budget. All of the change orders are for unforeseen construction issues, such as discovering the wrong (not per current code) type of wiring inside the Ridge ceiling, discovering the water main under Stevens Field, discovering rotted wood inside Willard’s roof, etc. This is why there were contingency funds included in every project’s budget – because we knew that when we opened up some of these buildings, we would undoubtedly find things we didn’t expect, but that need to be fixed.

Discussion of the revised policy for School & Facility Naming Rights. The Board believes there is a potential for raising some funds with naming rights for facilities such as fields, etc. We have been approached by some interested parties. This new policy spells out how it would work. We’ll talk about it tomorrow night.

As always, you are invited to attend our Public Meeting, which begins tomorrow at 6:00 PM at the Ed Center, 3rd floor. It will also be broadcast on Channel 77 and webcast on our website (click here). You can also watch the archived webcast later.

Any questions, comment here or email me lauriegood@mac.com

Tomorrow’s BOE Meeting agenda.

Some of the topics on tomorrow’s Board of Education agenda:

• Recognition of various parent volunteer groups, including Jamboree, Federated HSA, Super Science Saturday, Dads’ Night…as well as celebration of the RHS Girls’ Lacrosse Team for winning the state championship.

• Approval of a variety of staff changes for 2010-11. Many of these are due to the “bumping” that occurs when positions are eliminated and the tenured staff in those positions have bumping rights to other positions in the district. It’s a lot like musical chairs and it’s impossible to predict up front where everyone is going to land. We’ll also approve the resignation/retirements of several long-time staff members.

• Many of the construction bids are in for the Referendum Projects, and we’ll be approving several of them tomorrow night. The bids are mostly coming in below what was budgeted, so that’s good news! Very exciting to think about all the work that will be taking place beginning this summer.

Wow, it doesn’t look like a big agenda when I list it here, but those are big, detailed topics. As always, you are all welcome to join us at the Ed Center, 3rd floor, at 7:30 p.m. Or, watch on Channel 77 or online at the District website.

On the agenda for Monday’s meeting of the BOE.

Tomorrow’s Regular Public Meeting of the Board of Education will be preceded by our special meeting with the Village Council at 5:30 p.m. at Village Hall. At that first meeting, we will learn what the Council has decided to do with our district budget – cut it more or leave it as proposed. The VC will make a resolution and vote. Then at 7:30 the BOE will reconvene at the Ed Center (third floor) for our meeting.

Some of the items on the BOE agenda:

-- Approving another set of revised/updated policies/regulations.
-- More staff changes, appointments, resignations, retirements, etc.
-- Approval to move the BOE’s banking services to Columbia Bank (taking advantage of a higher interest rate)
-- Approval of bids for asbestos remediation at Willard, replacement of the “window wall” at Glen, Locker/Bathroom renovations at RHS
-- Approval of any budget cut from the Village Council

Discussion items will include the state of New Jersey’s latest application for the Race to the Top, the district-wide Parent Survey proposed for later this month, charter school applications, Valley Hospital and the BOE member committee assignments.

As always, the BOE meeting will be broadcast on Channel 77 (Cablevision) or live webcast on the District website (click here).

On the BOE agenda for May 3.

A few highlights from the agenda for tomorrow night’s Board of Education meeting:

First of all, there are really two meetings tomorrow night. First we have the Reorganization meeting, which is when Michele Lenhard and Charlie Reilly will be sworn in to their three-year terms. Then the Board will elect a President and Vice President. And then the Board will go through a long list of approvals, which are required by law to take place at the Reorganization Meeting. This includes adopting the Policy Manual and the NJSBA Code of Ethics, appointing our architect, auditor, general counsel, Board secretary, etc., etc. We also approve the complete list of textbooks and the schedule of BOE meetings for the 2010-2011 school year.

After the Reorganization Meeting, we will hold a Regular Public Meeting. Some of the highlights from that meeting include:

Approval of summer programs. Remember, this isn’t summer school at the high school, which was eliminated last year. But we do still offer a summer program for preschool special needs students, K-5 special needs students and the RIse program, an elementary enrichment program (fee based) and the Summer New Players program (fee based).

Staff changes for 2010-11. We will approve the renewals of non-tenured staff and will approve the abolishment of positions which have been cut as part of the budget process. There will be approval of a few new positions, which are the result of positions being combined due to budget changes. We will also approve the termination of tenured employees due to Reduction-in-Force, and changes of assignments and transfers of staff to different positions. There will also be a list of resignations and retirements, and the usual type of changes of assignment and supplemental pay due to extra-curricular activities, field trips, etc.

New medical insurance provider. We will (finally!) be approving the contract with our new medical insurance provider, Cigna HealthCare. The Cigna contract represents an overall average increase of 17.4% vs. the 29.51% proposal from Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield. This means that list of restored cuts in our proposed budget will no longer be “tentative” – those items (Full-time librarian staffing, Public Information Officer, Middle School music teacher, Middle School assistant principal, Elementary instrumental music, high school library and learning disabled teachers) will be restored.

The full agendas for both meetings are available now on the District website (click here). You can see more detail of the things we’re approving for the new year, including staff changes and salaries.

As always, the meeting will be viewable on Channel 77 or live on the district website. You can also view the webcast later at this link. And, of course, you are welcome to join us at the Ed Center, 3rd floor, at 7:30 p.m.

BOE meets Monday with Village Council.

Tomorrow (Monday) the BOE will meet at 5:00 p.m. at the Ed Center, 3rd floor, for a very quick meeting to approve a staffing change and to pay some bills. Then we will adjourn and reconvene over at Village Hall with the Council. That second meeting is supposed to begin at 6:00, and the purpose will be to discuss the school district budget for 2010-11, the failure of the budget to be approved by the community, and what other information the Council needs before they can set the new tax rate.

According to the law, the Council is directed to set the tax levy. There is no presumption or direction that they must cut the levy, although the last time the budget failed, they did make a cut.

I do not know to what extent the Council will want to discuss line items of the budget or where savings might be found or why certain things cost what they do. This is my first time going through this process.

I do not know if there is opportunity for public comment in the meeting at Village Hall. I do know, however, that our abbreviated meeting at the Ed Center will include the customary two opportunities for public comment. Just in case there's anything anybody wants to say to the Board.

I also cannot tell you if the Village Council meeting is televised on Channel 77. I'm sorry, I just don't know about these things. If I find out anything more, I'll post it here.

Board of Ed meeting is moved to RHS Campus Center.

The next Board of Ed meeting will be tonight (Monday) at 7:30 p.m. at the Campus Center at Ridgewood High School. The meeting begins with a joint meeting of the BOE and the Village Council, where we will review the budget with them. Later in the agenda we'll take care of some other business, and give further attention to the budget and the status of proposed cuts. Meeting will be broadcast on Cablevision Channel 77 and webcast live on the district website (click here). As always, there will be two opportunities for public comment. You can view the entire agenda here.

Tonight’s Board of Ed meeting

We’ve got a pretty full agenda for tonight’s meeting of the Ridgewood Board of Education. You can join us at the Ed Center at 7:30 p.m….or tune in on CableVision Channel 77…or watch the live Webcast on the district website…or watch the webcast archive later. Here’s a sampling of what we’ll be doing:

Acceptance of some generous grant awards from the Ridgewood Education Foundation (thank you REF!).

Discussion of our bond rating and the types of financing options available for our Referendum bonds. Our financial advisors and bonding attorney will be present to talk about the different options.

Dr. Fishbein will give us an update on Referendum projects and work being done by our architect and engineer.

We’ll have an update on the 2010-11 budget, with a balanced budget presented. Of course, this is still preliminary as we’re waiting for the Governor’s budget address to get our firm numbers on state aid. We can’t finalize the budget and lock-in the cuts we need to make until we have that info. But as we’ve been saying all along – it’s likely we will need to cut around $3.5 million. The administration is working through various ideas for getting to that number, but however it shakes out, we’re all going to feel the cuts.

The Board will be asked to award the new contract for custodial/maintenance/grounds services to GCA Services Group (our current provider). GCA had the low bid and will be able to continue with the systems and work they’ve been doing (and doing well, in my opinion).

The Board will be discussing the Parent Satisfaction Survey, which the Communications Committee has drafted. The survey is proposed to be administered to all parents in the district to gauge their satisfaction with various aspects of their children’s schools, including academics, extra-curriculars, facilities and communications.

We’ll also be discussing the renewal of Pomptonian Food Services for 2010-2011 school year.

A couple of reminders on upcoming events:

DEP hearing on the field improvements at RHS and Stevens Fields – March 15 @ 6:30 p.m. at the Ed Center, 3rd floor. Note – this is the DEP’s hearing, not ours. We don’t know what the format will be, if there will be a time limit for speakers, etc. All we know is they asked for one hour to be scheduled and we’ll do it right before our regular meeting which will start at 7:30 p.m.

Budget Workshops – Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. at GW and Wednesday at 1:00 at RHS Campus Center. The focus will be on the budget process and Trenton’s influence on what happens in Ridgewood.

March 22 the Village Council will attend our Board meeting to review the proposed budget.

March 31 Official Public Hearing on the Budget.

Board of Education Agenda for Feb. 22

The full agenda for tomorrow night's Board of Ed meeting is on the District website (click here), but here are a few highlights:

-- Update on Referendum projects
-- Update on the Budget process
-- Middle School Math Achievement
-- Awarding the bid for garbage services (the low bidder was Miele Corp...the Village's bid was more than twice the amount)

The meeting starts at 7:30, in the 3rd floor Board Room at the Ed Center. As always, there will be two opportunities for public comment, at the beginning of the meeting and then toward the end. Come on down and share!

Tonight's BOE meeting agenda

Tonight's meeting of the Board of Education will include the following highlights:

-- Referendum Projects Update
-- Discussion of Ridgewood High School AP and SAT scores (relative to other districts)
-- Discussion of survey instrument to gauge post-RHS student success
-- Budget 2010-11: Revenues (obviously a lot of hypotheticals, since we don't know what's happening with our state aid, surplus, etc., but should be informative for everyone to understand where we get our funds, how they are determined, and how we estimate)

You can join us -- and bring your questions and/or comments -- at the Ed Center, Third Floor, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Or you can watch online live or archived tomorrow (click here for both) or on Cablevision Channel 77.

Click here for the complete Agenda.

Tonight's BOE meeting agenda

First Board of Education meeting of 2010 tonight (same Bat time, 7:30 p.m., same Bat place, Ed Center 3rd floor). Some highlights from the agenda:

-- Update on the Referendum. By now you should have heard the good news that the state is NOT holding our grant money. We'll also hear from our bond attorneys and financial advisors re: our bond issue rating.

-- New middle school schedule and courses for 2010-2011

-- Discussion of Race to the Top, and whether the District should participate in the state's bid for Federal funds. (I've written about my misgivings in the past, click here to read.)

The usual financial approvals, personnel changes of assignment, resignations, additions, etc.

Click here to read the full agenda.