Board Honors a Teacher of the Year From Every School as Parents Press on Class Sizes, Chemistry Coverage

The Board of Education used its January 27 meeting to celebrate this year's Governor's Educator of the Year and Educational Services Professional of the Year honorees from all five schools: Central School's Linda Perrotta and Barbara Sutcliffe; Forest Avenue School's Genna Pollara and Lori Metroka; Linden Avenue School's Beth Coletta and Amy Hoffman; Ridgewood Avenue School's Theresa Tarrabocchia and Gabby Marks; and Glen Ridge High School's Yan Wang and Ira Ford. Principal John Lawler said Wang, a Chinese-language and math teacher, was chosen from more than 75 student nominations and over 20 finalists for a school of fewer than 800 students.

The board accepted, with regret, the resignation of paraprofessional Joseph Garreffa from Glen Ridge High School, and separately approved a separation of service agreement for an employee identified only by personnel number. The board also found a harassment, intimidation and bullying complaint at Ridgewood Avenue School substantiated, with board member Luke Franklin abstaining from that vote.

Two parents used public comment to press the district on staffing concerns. Resident Aly Marshall told the board her son's kindergarten class at Forest Avenue School already has about 23 students, and asked the district to keep that in mind heading into next year's first grade planning; Acting Superintendent Winnie Kievit said she would raise it with the primary-school principals during upcoming class-planning discussions. Later, resident David Kroll of 15 Laurel Place said his daughter's 10th grade chemistry class -- co-taught by Ms. Lopez, who is going on maternity leave, and Ms. Savio -- was set to lose in-person lab instruction for the rest of the year under a planned remote-teacher arrangement, and pressed the board on why a district with hundreds of employees didn't have a better contingency plan. Kievit, a former chemistry teacher herself, said retired teacher Ms. Tully had agreed to come out of retirement to teach the class in person, keeping labs intact, with a backup plan through the NJCTL alternate-certification program if that fell through.

Board member Anthony Bonnett reported that the personnel and policy committee has scheduled superintendent search interviews for the first week of February, with a decision possible by the second week of the month.

The board approved $1,503,619.85 in bills and claims, ratified $2,865,801.30 in payroll and related payments, and approved $2,667,448.58 in open purchase orders for the school year. It also accepted a donation from the Linden Avenue Home & School Association of a laminator and maintenance contract valued at $1,517.59 plus $506 in maintenance, and approved field trips for Linden Avenue second graders to the Mayo Performing Arts Center and for Chinese-language and gifted-and-talented students to a table tennis outing in Dunellen.

• Honored a Governor's Educator of the Year and Educational Services Professional of the Year from every school in the district
• Accepted the resignation of paraprofessional Joseph Garreffa and approved a separation of service agreement for another employee
• Found a harassment, intimidation and bullying complaint at Ridgewood Avenue School substantiated
• Approved $1,503,619.85 in bills/claims and ratified $2,865,801.30 in payroll
• Accepted a $1,517.59 laminator donation (plus a $506 maintenance contract) from the Linden Avenue Home & School Association

Watch key moments

• 38:35 — Principal John Lawler reveals Glen Ridge High School's Teacher of the Year drew more than 75 student nominations
• 46:00 — Resident Aly Marshall raises the alarm on kindergarten class sizes heading into next year
• 1:08:13 — Resident David Kroll presses the board over a chemistry class losing its in-person teacher and labs