Glen Ridge School Board Tackles Linden Avenue Asbestos, Central School Playground, and Superintendent Merit Pay

The Glen Ridge Board of Education's July 22 meeting was dominated by news that additional asbestos was discovered during unit ventilator removal work at Linden Avenue School, forcing the building to close for 10 to 12 days for abatement. Related construction work will stretch into the school year at both Linden Avenue and Forest Avenue Schools because equipment isn't due to arrive until mid-August. The board separately approved a $93,187.50 change order to H&S Construction & Mechanical for removing and repairing asbestos-containing plaster from walls and ceilings at Linden Avenue, plus a $24,650 modification to an engineering services agreement with T&M Associates tied to the same abatement work.

In personnel matters, the board accepted the Superintendent's recommendation that a harassment, intimidation, and bullying investigation (Report #18-19 RAS#6) was not substantiated. Members also approved $26,029 in merit pay for Superintendent Dirk Phillips for meeting his 2018-2019 goals, split across five separate goal categories. The board accepted, with regret, the resignation of Linden Avenue School teacher Kelly O'Hara, effective July 22, 2019, and approved new hires including school psychologist Nicole Lombard, a special education teacher at Linden Avenue, and a physical education teacher at the high school.

The board renewed its property and liability insurance membership in the School Alliance Insurance Fund for three years, running from July 1, 2019 through July 1, 2022, and named Business Administrator Barbara Murphy as Fund Commissioner. Financially, the board approved $621,670.17 in bills and claims, ratified nearly $4 million in payroll payments, and signed off on open purchase orders totaling over $28.5 million; board member Ms. Ginsburg abstained from the vote on the open purchase order report. The board also approved several out-of-district special education placements for the coming school year, terminated one such placement at the Arc of Essex County School, and approved a settlement agreement for another student.

On facilities, the board approved nearly $128,000 combined for new safety surfacing, equipment, and installation for the Central School playground, and signed off on cellular signal boosters for the high school and two elementary schools totaling about $57,735. The board also approved roughly $91,000 for new Chromebooks at the high school, accepted $59,662.55 in cost-saving change order credits at Central School, and approved ten additional change orders across four schools ranging from about $1,336 to $47,400 each. Superintendent Phillips, responding to a question from resident Charles Breslin, laid out the traffic plan for Central School's new pre-K program, which will use the circular parking lot with staff assistance and serve about 65 students on a school day running 8:30 am to 2:30 pm. The board also approved $39,000 to reimburse a urology practice for relocation costs tied to vacating the Central School building.

The board accepted $74,000 in community donations, including funds from the Glen Ridge Educational Foundation and two Home & School Associations, and approved a $20,010 student accident insurance policy. Ms. Ginsburg also reported that Governor Murphy signed legislation eliminating superintendent salary caps, though boards remain bound by a 2% tax levy cap and other administrative limits. At the board's retreat, representatives from Effective School Solutions presented on their in-school mental health program, citing a national rise in depression, anxiety, and suicidal tendencies among students. During public comment, resident Miles Platt asked about a change order related to a concrete slab, and Ms. Sawa submitted correspondence questioning the practice of teachers instructing their own children, which Superintendent Phillips said the district avoids except for one unavoidable case at the high school this year.

What to watch

• The extent and full cost of continued asbestos-related construction work at Linden Avenue and Forest Avenue Schools as it continues into the school year.
• Whether further detail or resolution emerges on the concrete slab change order raised by resident Miles Platt.