Letters to the Editor

Ex-BOE Member Plans to Vote Ali Nonnenmacher

Alan Routh cites education, other civic causes as Ali Nonnenmacher's passion.

To the Editor: I am writing in support of Laura Ali Nonnenmacher’s candidacy for a spot on the Chatham Township committee.   In my three years on the Board of Education for the School District of the Chathams, I worked with Laura on education issues. She has served in leadership positions in the Chatham Parent Teacher Organization. She is a very active, action-oriented person and is generous with Chatham Education Foundation and other civic causes.  I’m certain she will make a fine addition to Chatham Township government.  I served with her husband John on the Board of Education and know that he is also active in community activities. We are lucky to have such involved citizens in our community.  Laura is putting significant effort into …

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School Vote 2011

UPDATE: Budget Passes With 66.1 Percent of Votes

Weber, Connors and Cronin win seats; Routh ousted from Board of Education.

The proposed budget for the School District of the Chathams passed Wednesday with 1,598, or 66.1 percent, of the votes. Board of Education incumbent Alan Routh was voted out of his seat representing Chatham Township with 413 votes. Kim Cronin, who earned 561 votes, will take his place. Lata Kenney, who ran unopposed and earned 815 votes, will keep her seat for one year. In Chatham Borough, Jill Weber and incumbent Richard Connors will represent the municipality on the board, having earned 633 and 526 votes, respectively. Candidates Jeff Truppo earned 445 votes and 177 votes were cast for Albert Bozzo. Township residents voted by 802 votes, or 64.8 percent, to pass the budget and 434, or 35.2 percent, against it. Borough residents voted 796…

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Captain Jack

5:35 pm on Thursday, April 28, 2011

Andrew Currin, welcome to Chatham. your concerns are valid.   more ›

Board of Ed Rejects Resolution to Eliminate Public Vote on Budgets Under Cap

Public vote would not have been needed for budgets within the 2 percent tax levy increase.

The Board of Education voted down a resolution at its meeting last week that would eliminate the public from voting on the school budget if it is presented within the statutory cap of a two percent tax levy increase. Superintendent Jim O’Neill, who presented the resolution to the board, said the rationale behind it comes from other districts where budgets are defeated regularly by the public vote even when all lawful requirements are met and adequate education is provided. In these cases, he said, both the current year’s budget, which would then be turned over to the municipalities to trim down, and the base for the following year’s budget would be drastically diminished. Explaining that a number of districts in the state have met with …

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School Vote 2011

Meet Board of Ed Incumbent Alan Routh

Routh's three-year seat as a representative from Chatham Township is up for election on April 27.

Alan Routh is running to keep his seat on the Board of Education in the School District of the Chathams as a representative from Chatham Township. Routh is currently wrapping up his first term on the board. He currently serves as the chair of the Finance Committee and as a liaison to the Music and Theater Boosters. Township resident Kim Cronin will challenge Routh for the three-year seat. Lata Kenney is also running unopposed for a separate one-year seat on the board as a representative from the township. In the borough, incumbent Richard Connors will run against Jeff Truppo, Jill Weber and Albert Bozzo for one of two open seats. Jonathan Chatinover, who currently serves on the board as a representative from Chatham Borough, will not run …

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Permission Required for Students to Record on School Grounds

Policy's restrictiveness and lawfulness a concern for some.

The Board of Education voted unanimously Monday night to approve changes to the district’s communication devices policy, requiring permission from all students, teachers and parents before any recording devices are used on school property. Board president Steve Barna explained after the meeting that the policy change was enacted as a result of the suicide of Ridgewood teen and Rutgers student Tyler Clementi in September 2010. He said it is designed to insert privacy protections for students and prevent similar situations from occurring in Chatham. Despite the unanimous vote for changes to the policy, there was still some concern raised as to its restrictiveness and lawfulness. Board member Alan Routh, who had expressed concerns about the …

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School Budget Shortfall Increases to $1 Million

Deficit more than doubles from original estimate of $500K earlier this month.

New figures available from the School District of the Chathams reveal the budget deficit is more than $1 million, or double the original estimation presented at the Board of Education meeting on Feb. 7 of $500,000. "We didn't have all of the personnel discussions worked into that [number from Feb. 7]," Alan Routh, the chairman of the budget advisory committee, said Tuesday. The precise amount of the shortfall is $1,030,604, assuming state aid does not decrease from what it was last year. If that $408,719 is taken away completely, the budget shortfall increases to$1,439,323. Gov. Chris Christie is scheduled to make his budget proposal in a speech on Feb. 22. The district will learn withn 48 hours of the speech what it state aid will be. …

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Preliminary District Budget Has $500K Shortfall

Finance committee has until March 4 to decide whether to issue a second question on the ballot; elections will be April 27.

According to the preliminary budget information presented at the open finance committee meeting Monday night, the School District of the Chathams faces a budgetary shortfall of $494,980 outside of the 2 percent cap for the 2011-12 academic year. Committee Chairman Alan Routh said the committee would make some “difficult decisions” in the coming weeks to determine where potential cuts could be made to make up for the gap. Some of the areas Routh said they would look at were: Several other holes still exist in the budget, especially since the district will not know how much state aid it will receive this year. This time last year, the district learned it would lose about $128,000 in its state aid. In March 2010, that number increased to $2.…

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Greg LaConte

2:42 pm on Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Vote-By-Mail ballot applications are available at the municipal buildings. The Township municipal building keeps a supply by the front door, in case you can't make it during business hours. Or you can call the Clerk's office and have one mailed to you. Once you fill out the application, it gets mailed to the Morris County Clerk's office (the form is pre-addressed).   more ›

BOE Member Chatinover: I Will Not Run Again

Four incumbent school board members announce intentions for upcoming elections.

Four positions on the Board of Education come up for election this year, and on Monday night, the incumbent members announced their intentions. Board Member Jonathan Chatinover was the only one to definitively say that he will not run for another term. "It's been an honor and a privilege," he said of his four years serving on the board. Chatinover and his family will move to Martha's Vineyard, a plan that he said has been in place for "a long time." He said that the family's home was on the market in the fall of 2010 and that they hope to move before the start of the next academic year. "We'll miss it here and we'll miss all our friends," he said. Chatinover garnered much attention in December when he addressed Gov. Chris Christie at a …

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EduNation: A Patch Report on Our Schools

UPDATED: About Half of Residents Asked Oppose Superintendent Contract

In a poll of 50 residents, opinions nearly split on O'Neill's deal.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that this was not intended to be a scientific study, rather a sampling of how some Chatham residents feel on the issue. About half of 50 Chatham residents approached by Patch and asked about the proposed salary increase for schools Superintendent Jim O'Neill said they object to the raise. Patch approached residents in December at the Chatham Train Station, in the CVS shopping center, downtown on Main Street and at the Reasoner Park gazebo. The inquiry was not a scientific poll, and there is no formally calculated margin of error. Of the 50 residents who responded, 20 people—40 percent of respondents—said they believed the contract should be approved as it is currently outlined while …

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