Glen Ridge Board Bids Farewell to Longtime Member St. Auburn, Reviews Clean Audit and Bullying Reports

The Glen Ridge Board of Education opened its December 5 meeting by remembering three community members who died since the last meeting: longtime crossing guard Anthony Calzone, who spent years posted at Linden Avenue School before transferring to the south end of town; longtime EMT volunteer Carolyn Ferguson; and Richard Murphy, the father-in-law of Business Administrator Barbara Murphy. Board President Elisabeth Ginsburg asked those present to keep their families in their thoughts.

Much of the evening was devoted to celebrating board member Tracey St. Auburn, who is retiring after nine years of service. Fellow board members and Superintendent Dirk Phillips recalled her role in passing a bond issue, acquiring and renovating Central School, guiding the district through the pandemic, and helping select Phillips himself as superintendent. The board plans to plant a tree in her honor next spring and gave her a gift tied to her love of gardening; her husband, Roland, attended the meeting.

The board also honored bus aide Bonnie Rothenberger for 25 years of service; Rothenberger, who works a split morning-and-afternoon shift, is retiring at the end of this month. Separately, the board accepted, with regret, the resignation of payroll employee Teresa Laurie effective November 15 and permanent substitute Yesenia Lindner at Central School effective December 13.

Auditor Paul Lerch of Lerch, Vinci & Bliss presented the district's Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, giving the district unmodified opinions despite what he called an unusually thorough review as a newly hired firm. The audit flagged one item requiring a formal corrective action plan, over expenditures miscoded within the special revenue fund, which the board adopted, along with a recommendation that student-activity and athletics deposits be made at least twice a week. Lerch noted that state assistance of $11.2 million and federal funding of $1.9 million, mostly pandemic relief that must be spent by September 2024, triggered a mandatory single audit, and that the district's unassigned fund balance fell from $1.8 million to $1.2 million after a statutory cap on surplus dropped from 4% back to 2% of the budget. The board also approved bills and claims of $630,639.38, ratified an additional $2,946,902.65 in payroll and vendor payments, and approved an open purchase order report of $207,417.89.

The board voted on four separate Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying investigations, two at Glen Ridge High School and two at Ridgewood Avenue School, finding each of the reported incidents not substantiated.

Three more staff members were recognized for 25 years of service: high school teacher Genine D'Andrea, media specialist MaryLynn Savio, and athletic trainer and teacher Tia Gist, along with fine arts teacher Anne Malone. High school teacher Shihong Zhang was named the New Jersey Chinese Teachers Association's 2023 Educator of the Year and is planning a student trip to China next spring, which the board approved on the meeting's addendum. Phillips also thanked the Glen Ridge Educational Foundation and Councilman Dan Murphy for organizing the Ashenfelter 8k and Tom Fleming 2k, which drew roughly 2,700 runners this year, up from about 300 in its first year, with proceeds benefiting the school system. The board accepted donations of $837.43 in books and $1,057.76 in cash from the Educational Foundation for an Orton-Gillingham reading certification program, and a $699 exercise bike from the Wrestling Booster Club for the high school wrestling program.

Forest Avenue School principal Matthew Murphy, along with teachers Ms. Kanasky and Ms. Millien, gave a presentation on the school's Phonics First and Heggerty phonemic-awareness programs, with six students demonstrating classroom activities for the board.

In community news, the Linden Avenue Home & School Association reported a successful fall Discovery program and a second-grade promotion fundraiser featuring photos with Santa and doughnut decorating at the Glen Ridge train station. The Glen Ridge Association for Special Education said it is seeking additional parent volunteers. The Gas Lamp Players' production of "Rent" opens this weekend following the run of "Mean Girls," and the Glen Ridge Visual Art Association held a fundraiser at the high school's holiday market to benefit art scholarships.

The board awarded a contract for a state-funded High Impact Tutoring grant that will provide one-on-one tutoring to 25 third-graders and 25 fourth-graders in three six-week sessions beginning in January. Phillips said the district's superintendent search timeline would be posted the following day, with applications accepted through January 3 and a goal of having a successor in place by July 1, when Phillips departs.

During public comment, resident Shilpa Patel of Douglas Road, whose son is a fourth-grader at Ridgewood Avenue School, criticized the district's use of a virtual "Language Learning Network" program in place of a live teacher for Spanish instruction, saying technical problems have left her son bored and learning little. Phillips said the teaching position had been posted for months without any applicants, calling it part of a statewide shortage of World Language teachers, and said the district signed a contract for the virtual alternative late in the summer.

Resident Charlie Breslin pressed the board on how it tracks bullying and code-of-conduct patterns, asking whether investigations reveal repeat offenders or victims. Board members, including Ginsburg and Dr. Yaros-Ramos, said code-of-conduct issues that don't rise to the level of a substantiated HIB complaint are still tracked internally so the district can watch for recurring patterns.

Action items

• Approved four Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying investigation findings (two at Glen Ridge High School, two at Ridgewood Avenue School); all found not substantiated.
• Accepted, with regret, the resignation of payroll employee Teresa Laurie (effective 11/15/23) and permanent substitute Yesenia Lindner at Central School (effective 12/13/23).
• Adopted a Corrective Action Plan requiring special-revenue-fund expenditures to be properly coded, per the district's outside audit.
• Approved financial reports including bills and claims of $630,639.38, ratified payroll/vendor payments of $2,946,902.65, and an open purchase order report of $207,417.89.
• Accepted donations of $837.43 in books and $1,057.76 in cash from the Glen Ridge Educational Foundation, and a $699 exercise bike from the Wrestling Booster Club.
• Approved field trips for first-graders at Central School to the Liberty Science Center (1/19/24) and kindergartners at Linden Avenue School to the Essex County Environmental Center (5/14/24), plus a high school trip to China led by teacher Shihong Zhang.
• Awarded a state High Impact Tutoring grant contract providing one-on-one tutoring for third- and fourth-graders starting in January.

Watch key moments

• 8:00 — Board members and the superintendent give an emotional, nine-year retrospective tribute to retiring member Tracey St. Auburn, including a promised memorial tree and a gardening-themed gift.
• 1:23:01 — Board members trade jokes over a newly donated "assault bike," asking whether the wrestling program's exercise equipment "fights back."
• 1:31:27 — Public commenter Charlie Breslin presses the board on bullying and code-of-conduct tracking, invoking a pointed line about lateness being treated as more of a problem than bullying.