The newly elected Board of Education, which will face some of the hardest choices any board has had to make in years, took its first few steps toward reorganization by electing Ed Rittberg as president and Michael Schlemm vice president at the April 24 meeting.
Although voters passed this year’s $21 million school budget, school officials said the district would see cuts in extracurricular programs as well as the laying off of as many as three teachers. These decisions will likely be made at the May 9 meeting.
Rittberg, when contacted by telephone this week, said he had worked out committee assignments for each of the seven members on the board and said – without irony – that he was grateful for the vote to make him president.
“It’s nice to be considered worthy by your peers,” he said.
Since the board is largely the same – with the exception of Susan Pirro, who replaced Paul Amico – the makeup of the board is the same, Rittberg said, and thus the philosophy will remain the same.
“The board won’t change at all with a new president,” he said. “There’s no such thing as reinventing the wheel.”
What will change are the committee appointments. Rittberg said he has tried to give appointments that gave each member some busy and some less busy committees.
“Some committees meet frequently, some meet less frequently,” he said. “I divided them up so that a few people are serving on all the frequent committees.”
All except one board member will serve on four committees.
Although the board does not have to negotiate a teachers’ contract until 2003, the negotiating committee will be meeting with teachers this year to begin preliminary talks. Rittberg will chair this committee with Michael Pesci, Anthony Rinaldi and Michael Schlemm serving.
Pesci – as chairperson to the finance committee – will find himself with the unenviable task of making this year’s $21 million budget work, and dealing with the impact of cuts to staff and programs. Serving with him will be Schlemm, Tom Troyer and John Voli.
Despite the expected opening of the new wing at Clarendon School – completing previous expansion plans – the Buildings and Grounds Committee will have a lot of work this year, going over all the details involved with past projects. They may also be faced with proposing a new bond in September that will address the increasing school populations that the Middle School/High School complex is expected to face. Schlemm will be chairing this committee with Pesci, William Millevoi, and Rinaldi as members. Rinaldi, a contractor by trade and past chairman of this committee, helped shepherd the last expansion project.
Less critical but significant due to the need to maintain recent gains in computers in all the schools, the Technology Committee – chaired by Rinaldi – may have to face some hard choices in the new budgeting environment. Will the schools have to hold back on technology upgrades because of lack of money? Pesci and Schlemm – instrumental in previous technology improvements – were also named to this committee.
Some answers to the district’s financial woes may be found through cooperating with other governmental bodies in town such as the Secaucus Town Council and the Secaucus Housing Authority. The Shared Services Committee, to which Millevoi has been assigned as chairman, meets regularly with other agencies to see what services might be pooled in order to lower costs. Rinaldi, Rittberg and Voli are also on this committee.
Less critical, but involved in the everyday activities of the schools, the School Government Committee often has a more hands-on relationship with the educational process. Eleanore Reinl will chair, with Millevoi, Pirro and Troyer as members.
Voli will chair the less active Policy Committee – although this can be a labor-intensive job when asked to review or change the district’s policies. Reinl and Troyer are members.
Rittberg also appointed board members as liaisons: Voli, athletic; Reinl, Adult School; Troyer, Huber Street School; Reinl, Clarendon School; Millevoi, Middle School; and Pirro, High School. Pirro will also review pertinent legislation. Rittberg and Schlemm will handle public relations.
Rittberg said there are issues the board has to address over the next year, such as addressing the state’s model for classroom sizes.
“We’re going to have to look at our undersized classrooms and make certain they are in compliance with state law,” he said.
By far the biggest issue, however, will be the issue of increases in health insurance. This item was a large part of the reason for the massive increase in this year’s budget, and the board will have to look ahead in an attempt to predict if the district faces similar increases next year as well.
“This isn’t only our problem,” Rittberg said. “The town faces insurance problems as well.”