Board of Education Reconvenes, Appoints Barna President

The School District of the Chathams' Board of Education elevated former board vice president Steve Barna to the president's slot and named Tom Belding vice president at its annual reorganization meeting Monday.

The board unanimously appointed Barna and Belding to the positions. Business Administrator Ralph Goodwin—whose retirement, which will go into effect Aug. 1, was accepted by the board at the meeting—swore in new board member John Nonnenmacher before the appointments were made.

Nonnenmacher won a township seat on the Board of Education in last week's election. Matt Gilfillan, who also won a township seat, was out of the state and was not at Monday's meeting. He will be sworn in at the next board meeting.

"I just want to say thank you to my fellow board members for helping shepherd us through this phase," Barna said after his appointment. Voters approved the district's $54.2 million budget during the election last week.

Barna, who replaces former board member Roger Rogalin in the president spot, proposed at least one change in the structure of board meetings during Monday's meeting. He recommended that during a particular portion of the meeting, board members discuss in greater detail certain issues that come before them. Board members generally agreed to the proposal.

Barna said he hoped members of the public would also offer input.

The board also appointed members to its personnel, curriculum, facilities, finance and negotiations committees; it has decided to disband its policy committee and combine it with its other committees.

Some of the board's meetings next year—primarily those in January, March, April and May 2011—will coincide with Borough Council meetings. Most board meetings currently overlap with those of the Borough Council.

The board also discussed whether it wants to officially publish its legal notices in Chatham Patch. It currently gives itself the capability to do so in the Daily Record, Star-Ledger, Independent Press and Chatham Courier.

District administrators said they would discuss the matter with the district's attorney before they made a determination, saying they were unsure whether the state recognized an online newspaper as a place where a school board could officially publish a legal notice.