Board Reorganizes for 2025, Re-Elects Ginsburg as President After Rare Tie Vote
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The Glen Ridge Board of Education held its annual reorganization meeting, certifying the results of the school board election and swearing in Anthony Bonnett, Kristin O'Neil and Ray DeLorenzi to three-year terms. The board unanimously re-elected Elisabeth Ginsburg as president and Jocelyn Gottlieb as first vice president. The vote for second vice president tied between Bonnett and O'Neil; after board members agreed either would be qualified, Bonnett withdrew his name so O'Neil could be elected second vice president by unanimous vote.
The board accepted, with regret, the resignations of custodian Rashad Armstrong at Ridgewood Avenue School, effective December 30, and multilingual learner teacher Denise Kanal, effective February 7.
Board members approved a $46,620 public address system upgrade for Glen Ridge High School through Eastern DataComm, and ratified bills and claims of $536,035.92 along with payroll and related expenses of $2,817,328.78.
Ginsburg previewed a challenging budget season ahead, noting Governor Phil Murphy will deliver his State of the State address on January 14 and his fiscal year 2026 budget address on February 25, with the district's state aid figures expected within 48 hours of the latter. She cautioned that the state has already signaled tighter revenues, including a freeze on hiring in state departments, adding uncertainty to the district's budget planning process, which is already underway.
Action items
- Certified election results and swore in Anthony Bonnett, Kristin O'Neil and Ray DeLorenzi as board members.
- Elected Elisabeth Ginsburg as board president, Jocelyn Gottlieb as first vice president, and Kristin O'Neil as second vice president following a tiebreaking withdrawal by Anthony Bonnett.
- Accepted resignations of custodian Rashad Armstrong and multilingual learner teacher Denise Kanal.
- Approved a $46,620 high school PA system upgrade.
- Approved bills and claims of $536,035.92 and payroll of $2,817,328.78.