CORRECTIONS TO THIS STORY WERE ADDED ON 6/2/08 -TJC
Schools Superintendent Jack Raslowsky informed the school board at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting that due to state and local education budget constraints, 16 Hoboken teachers will lose their jobs.
However, Raslowsky is working with the Board of Trustees to reduce that number one teacher at a time, he said.
Due to a retirement, a maternity leave, and a re-established position, three jobs were recently saved, further reducing the number of jobless teachers from as high as 30 in early March.
“This still leaves 16 teachers who have served the district well without positions in Hoboken next year. It is a sad day, and it is a loss,” Raslowky said at the meeting. “Yet it is unfortunately a necessary loss. It is impossible to control spending and budget growth without having an impact on personnel.”
He said that board members – even those who made promises to retain teachers – are not to blame for those being cut.
He said it is a budgetary reality and that it cannot be avoided at this time.
Raslowsky said the situation “must be addressed before hysteria, accusations, and counter-accusations rain,” calling it the “elephant in the room.”
However, the actual elephant in the room was the more than $900,000 in unallocated program money that had been inserted into this year’s budget. Some members want it to go to district programs, while others have discussed using it to save more jobs.
State imposing more constraints
The board invited Ray Pinney, advocacy coordinator from the N.J. School Board Association, to speak at the meeting.
Pinney explained some relevant changes being proposed by the state that affect Hoboken schools. These changes call for increased accountability, but some administrators believe they interfere too much in local management of the schools
“[A]s if Trenton knows better than Hoboken and every other local district”
– Jack Raslowsky
________
“Years ago, this began on a national level with the passage of No Child Left Behind,” he said, referring to a federal bill that forced schools to offer certain programs. “The bills currently being considered in Trenton strike even greater blows at local control, as if Trenton knows better than Hoboken and every other local district. It is a proposition that I find particularly hard to swallow.”
State concerned about PR contracts
One change – the finalized version was expected last week – is state limitations on how districts handle public relations contracts.
According to Pinney, the state is prepared to ban outside firms from handling PR, instead asking districts to use in-house employees to handle the workload.
Interestingly, this news coincides with the start of the bidding process in Hoboken for a $75,000 PR contract. The contract is under scrutiny because in the past, it had gone to politically connected firms.
Board member Carmelo Garcia asked Pinney to clarify the restrictions on seeking outside PR help, but Pinney said that as of Tuesday, the regulations were not settled yet.
Garcia recommended retracting the bid request in order to get “ahead of the game,” given budget constraints and impeding state restrictions.
Board attorney Joseph Morano said that even if the board seeks PR bids, it is under no obligation to hire the winning bidder.
The board had voted to seek bids at their previous meeting, and has set this Wednesday, May 28 as the deadline to get them in.
Other budget issues
Pinney also said that the proposed state funding for schools is being reduced.
“If you think your budget was tough this year, next year, if you don’t get any additional aid, it’d be near impossible,” Pinney said.
In addition to aid reductions, the state may ask districts to reduce administrative costs by 10 percent over three years, but Pinney was not sure whether the proposal would include Hoboken.
The state is gearing up to move school board elections from April to November to be conducted in conjunction with municipal elections. The proposal would also eliminate a public budget vote for schools in which taxpayers decide whether or not to approve school spending plans.
The move would hopefully increase voting in school board elections which generally garner low turnout, but Pinney said most board members are against the move.
“They think it will cost them more to run,” he said. “They also think it will be harder to get their voice heard as a school board candidate because there will be a lot more things on the ballot.”
State initiated accountability regulations may impact certain aspects of school life for administrators, teachers, and students.
The bill could restrict funding for school field trips, eliminate teacher recognition award ceremonies, and limit ways funds can be spent on behalf of staff members, like providing food at functions.
Meeting a surprisingly big draw
Pinney was surprised to see such a large crowd for a school board meeting, noting the want for interaction and inclusion by Hoboken residents.
“I’m shocked at how many people are here,” he said. “I’ve been to hundreds of school districts in the state, and usually it’s me, the board, and two people … It’s amazing because most boards are looking for community involvement.”
Election less of an issue
At the previous meeting, held May 1, board members let lingering election tactics get in the way of handling issues.
“The reorganization saw enough rancor, politics, and politicking to last us a year,” Raslowsky said during the meeting.
Last week’s meeting still found some grumbling, but less of it.
Committee seat assignments were handed out by new Board President Frances Rhodes-Kearns.
Board members Anthony Romano and Garcia earned seats on three committees, while Kids First platform Board member Theresa Minutillo earned one seat. The Kids First faction was the losing ticket in the most recent election.
All other members were awarded two seats, with seats for the Negotiations Committee yet to be assigned. That committee generally handles employee contract negotiations.
Minutillo, who was recently unseated as board president, raised objections to what she considered inconsistent recording of the board’s minutes.
Minutillo asked board secretary David Anthony why comments made by some trustees, such as board member Jim Farina, were specific in the minutes of previous meetings, while comments made by Minutillo and former Board member Tricia Snyder were vague.
“Are we being specific or are we not being specific?” Minutillo said.
Anthony said that he is following guidelines laid out by an appointed Superior Court judge, who is mentoring Anthony on proper minute procedures.
The judge was recently assigned to mentor Anthony after Hoboken Councilwoman Beth Mason settled a lawsuit to get public information from the board.
Morano, the board’s attorney, said that minutes could be amended by Anthony if board members take issue with the wording.
CORRECTIONS: 1. Carrie Gilliard was assigned to two committee seats; 2. Beth Mason settled a lawsuit with the Board of Education; she did not win the lawsuit. 6/2/08
For comments on this story, e-mail editorial@hudsonreporter.com.