School Board Moves Meetings to Wednesdays

Tom Belding and Jill Weber voted in as board president and vice president.

The Board of Education of the School District of the Chathams unanimously voted Monday to move their meetings to Wednesday nights — at least for a while. Board member Jill Weber, newly installed as the board's vice president for the second consecutive year, suggested the board "try for a few months" to have the meetings on Wednesdays so they do not conflict with meetings of the Chatham Borough Council or Chatham Township Committee. The issue was proposed as part of the board's annual reorganization activities Monday. Two schedules were proposed, one where the 2013-14 meetings take place on Mondays, as the board has done since 1988, and one where the board meets on Wednesdays. The first vote taken was on the question of having meetings on …

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Letters to the Editor

BOE Candidate Thanks Voters, Residents

Edward DiFiglia offers his congratulations to Phil Franz.

Dear Neighbors, I am writing today for a few reasons. First, I’d like to offer congratulations to Phil Franz on winning re-election to the school board. I wish him the best of luck while he continues to serve. Secondly, this letter is to thank all of you who listened to -and supported- my ideas and thoughts on how to make the school board better. But most importantly, I'd like to thank those of you who shared your concerns with me: From the oft-repeated concerns about rising taxes, to concerns on topics such as world languages, gifted and talented programs, ranking standings, curriculum, community outreach, facilities, and everything in between. Many of you voiced concerns and ideas that have not been brought before the board for one …

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Franz Sees Budget Discipline, Student Welfare as Ultimate Goals

Phil Franz is running for the board as an interim incumbent member.

Phil Franz is running for a seat on the Board of Education representing Chatham Borough. He currently sits on the board as an interim member, appointed in November to complete Stephen Barna's term on the board. While on the board, Franz has served on the Personnel Committee and the Policy Committee, and has sat in on other committee meetings. "At the end of the day, obviously, our responsibility is ultimately to the students in the school system," Franz said, but he recognizes residents of town who may not have children in the district still need to be involved. "What I hope to do is continue to build on that interaction, that cooperation, that sense of community," he said. Franz moved to the borough in 1999 with his wife Christine. …

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Resident Urges 'Yes' Vote on School Budget

Alan Routh, a former Board of Education member, writes to encourage residents to support the proposed school budget.

School Board Candidates Debate 2% Cap, Public Outreach

Phil Franz and Ed DiFiglia discussed their goals for the upcoming term on the Board of Education, where they see room for improvement and what the district's most important facets are.

Board of Education candidates Ed DiFiglia and Phil Franz answered questions from the public at the Candidate Forum held Tuesday at Chatham High School. The two were asked their thoughts on the upcoming school budget vote, which includes two additional questions, one for school counseling and one for school security. Franz said in crafting the budget, "you have to identify what you need today" and put that in the base budget. The additional questins he said, were for "valid" needs that "the kids would benefit from," but it was the community's decision whether to pay for them. DiFiglia said he too thought they were both worthwhile questions, especially the first question to enhance school counseling staff, but he questioned the need for an …

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Meeting Schedule Up for Discussion at BOE Meeting

The Board of Education meets Monday.

The Board of Education will discuss its meeting schedule for the 2013-14 year when they meet Monday for their last meeting of the 2012-13 year. The meeting schedule will be finalized and voted on at the first meeting of the new year on Monday, April 22. Before that meeting, members of the public will vote on the 2013-14 school budget, two additional questions (one to enhance counseling staff, one to enhance school security) and board members. The Board previously discussed meeting dates at an October meeting when members asked about taping and broadcasting the meetings. Ed DiFiglia, one of the candidates for the Board of Education from Chatham Borough, has pledged to try to make meetings more public by putting them on YouTube or otherwise …

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Two Questions Still Part of School Budget

The Board of Education will meet to vote on the budget Thursday night.

The Board of Education will meet Thursday to cast a final vote on the 2013-14 school budget. As currently drafted, the budget includes a tax levy increase of 2.6 percent over the prior year, which is inside the allowable exceptional 4.13 percent increase of student enrollment, health insurance costs and banked cap. A 2.6 percent increase in the tax levy means an additional $1,404,134 will be raised in local taxes over the 2012-13 amount, for a total tax levy of $55,409,234 for the operating fund. Another $827,475 will go into the banked cap fund for potential use over the next three years. According to the agenda for the Thursday meeting, the budget includes two additional questions, one for enhancing counseling staff in the district and …

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Residents Debate Approach to School Budget

Several say they'd rather see security as part of the base budget and not as a second question at all.

The Board of Education of the School District of the Chathams got some feedback on its plan to submit two second questions to the voters in this year's school elections. Superintendent Michael LaSusa said in his presentations to the various school PTOs, he received feedback "regarding first the proposed addition at the high school and the desire of many parents to try to be as aggressive as possible, ... and (to) perhaps expand the scope of the addition." Chatham High finished an expansion project in 2012 which added four new classrooms, with a maximum capacity of about 100 students. These classrooms have the capacity to support a second floor with four more classrooms on top. According to a demographer's report, enrollment at the high …

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Don D

8:36 pm on Wednesday, March 20, 2013

in other words, its how they get what they want by going around the cap   more ›