New Black Diversity Group Debuts as Residents Press Board on Race, Hiring and Legal Fees

The Board of Education said goodbye to two longtime employees at its June 15 meeting: Teresa Messineo, a Linden Avenue School teacher for 18 years and two-time winner of the Governor's Educator of the Year award, and Joan DeJong, the Ridgewood Avenue School nurse for 25 years. The board also accepted the resignations of teacher Xiaoqin Yin and custodian Edward Lawrence, and approved new contracts for Superintendent Dirk Phillips and Business Administrator Barbara Murphy that fold the superintendent's old "merit pay" allowance into his base salary -- leaving his first-year pay flat -- with 2.5 percent raises after that for both positions, plus an option for Phillips to waive district health coverage for a $3,000 incentive that officials said would save the district more than $20,000.

Board President Elisabeth Ginsburg introduced Tricia Akinwande, who presented the newly formed Glen Ridge Black Diversity and Inclusion Association (GRBDIA), a resident-led group of six mothers -- Akinwande, Nadine Burnett, Karima Ravenell, Amy Samuels, Regina Henry and Nicole Qualls -- organized to push for more diverse hiring, staff training and a stronger Black history curriculum. Ginsburg volunteered to serve as the board's first liaison to the group.

That launch set the stage for close to two hours of public comment on race and equity, reflecting a summer of national reckoning after George Floyd's death. Residents cited district figures showing 92 percent of Glen Ridge staff is white and only 2.2 percent of teachers are Black, compared with 4.4 percent of students; GRHS junior Cameron Sterling presented standardized test data showing Black students underperformed the school average by 28.7 points in ELA and 40.8 points in math. Resident Diane Schaming raised concerns about kindergartners still dressing as "pilgrims and Indians" for Thanksgiving, and recent GRHS graduates Sam Landis and Alec Black described a new 1,700-member "Glen Ridge Public Forum" Facebook group organizing around anti-racist curriculum and compliance with the state's new LGBTQ history requirement. Phillips and Ginsburg acknowledged the district's hiring numbers lag and pointed to a statewide shortage of teacher candidates of color, the new equity committee, and outreach to groups including Central Jersey Pride as steps already underway.

Separately, residents Caitlin Teran and Harris Teran pressed the board on why Glen Ridge's per-pupil legal costs run roughly three times the state average and asked why the district's longtime law firm, Sciarrillo, Cornell, Merlino, McKeever & Osborne, continues to be renewed without competitive bidding. Business Administrator Murphy said state law exempts professional service contracts like legal counsel from public bidding, and Phillips attributed some of the elevated costs to an unusually heavy year of construction projects and teacher contract negotiations.

Director of Student Services Jack DeWitt presented the district's twice-yearly safety report, showing one confirmed harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) case at Ridgewood Avenue School, involving race or color, and three confirmed cases at the high school involving religion, ancestry, national origin or disability.

The board approved $954,552.32 in bills and claims, ratified $2,227,930.24 in payroll, and approved tree pruning and removal work at Central School ($6,950) and Ridgewood Avenue School ($3,300). It also accepted a $1,500 donation from the Glen Ridge High School Home & School Association for a guest speaker presentation and adopted the 2021-2022 school calendar.

• Accepted the retirements of teacher Teresa Messineo (18 years) and nurse Joan DeJong (25 years), and resignations of teacher Xiaoqin Yin and custodian Edward Lawrence
• Approved new contracts for Superintendent Phillips and Business Administrator Murphy, folding merit pay into base salary with 2.5 percent annual raises
• Formalized the board's partnership with the newly formed Glen Ridge Black Diversity and Inclusion Association
• Approved $954,552.32 in bills/claims and ratified $2,227,930.24 in payroll
• Adopted the 2021-2022 school calendar

Watch key moments

• 15:10 — Tricia Akinwande introduces the newly formed Glen Ridge Black Diversity and Inclusion Association
• 1:30:31 — GRHS junior Cameron Sterling lays out racial testing-gap data and challenges the board to explain it
• 1:49:06 — Residents confront the board over legal fees nearly triple the state average and the law firm's uncontested renewal