Glen Ridge Board Ratifies Teachers Contract Through 2025 as Ridgewood Students Win NASA-Linked Honor

The Board of Education accepted the resignation of Ridgewood Avenue School custodian Seljajdin Memish and permanent substitute Susan Chesnut at Forest Avenue School, and, in a more unusual move, rescinded the retirement of Glen Ridge High School teacher Janet Dobbs, who had reversed her decision to retire.

The board's marquee action of the night was ratifying the Glen Ridge Education Association contract, after the union's membership ratified it on Jan. 31. Board President Elisabeth Ginsburg called the vote "cause for celebration." The agreement runs through June 30, 2025, and includes retroactive pay for staff dating back to July 1, 2022; Vice President Jocelyn Gottlieb thanked the GREA's negotiating team.

Superintendent Dirk Phillips and Dr. Michael Donovan spent much of the meeting spotlighting Ridgewood Avenue School. A team of sixth-graders -- Eden, Greta, Leo, Rafi and Ira -- won "Best in Show" for innovation in an international, NASA-linked science competition tied to the Artemis moon and Mars missions, designing their own experiments to grow plants in simulated lunar and Martian soil under teacher Dr. Turpin; the project drew student entries from as far as India and Canada. The school also handed out its twice-yearly Peace Awards, recognizing 16 students out of more than 300 who were nominated by classmates, and hosted a visit from a 17-year-old representative of the New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome, who met with a third-grade class to support a student with the diagnosis and educate classmates.

Athletically, wrestler Stacy Bloomfield became the first Glen Ridge girl to advance to the state tournament after placing third at regionals alongside teammate Jesse Gibbs; the girls' basketball team beat Weequahic High School in the opening round of the state tournament. Glen Ridge High School senior Clairidge Liotta won the English Department's Shakespeare recitation competition and will advance to the national competition.

The board accepted donations of band and orchestra equipment for the high school marching band and music program: a student model cello, soft case and music stand worth an estimated $1,200 from Carol Kindler, and a three-quarter-size double bass, bow, case and stand worth an estimated $4,500 from Beth and Gerald Lloyd-Thomas. The marching band will travel to Ireland from March 15 to 20 to perform in St. Patrick's Day parades in Killarney and Limerick, a trip partly supported by a trivia-night fundraiser planned for March 22 at the Glen Ridge Women's Club.

The board gave first reading to revised policies on bomb threats, lockdown procedures and active-shooter response, among other bylaw updates. Resident Phil Johnson asked why the new versions had less detail than before; Phillips said the district's policy-writing law firm, which serves roughly 75% of New Jersey school districts, recommended removing specific procedures from publicly posted policy because publicizing them could compromise safety, with the operational detail instead kept in internal school safety guidelines used in staff training and drills.

Board President Ginsburg opened the meeting by noting the community had recently come together around a difficult stretch that included an attempted arson at a local Temple and a Library Board of Trustees meeting on concerns about book challenges, held in the Ridgewood Avenue Auditorium. Johnson thanked the board for accommodating that meeting and asked whether any formal complaints about instructional or library materials had been filed under district Policy 9130; Phillips said none had been received. Resident Stephanie Lee asked about the district's ongoing Social Studies curriculum revision, which Phillips said is being written this summer for rollout next school year.

The board also accepted the findings of three Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying investigations at Glen Ridge High School, each concluding HIB was not substantiated, with Akinwande abstaining on all three votes. Phillips told the board that several intervention positions -- including social-emotional learning counselors, academic interventionists and one behaviorist -- are currently funded through federal ARP pandemic relief grants and will be eliminated once that funding runs out, a concern amid a statewide teacher shortage. The district's tentative 2023-2024 budget presentation is set for March 7, pending state aid figures expected after the governor's Feb. 28 budget address. The Glen Ridge Educational Foundation is planning a 30th-anniversary celebration for April 15.

Action items

• Ratified the Glen Ridge Education Association teachers contract through June 30, 2025, with retroactive pay to July 1, 2022
• Accepted the resignations of custodian Seljajdin Memish and permanent substitute Susan Chesnut, and rescinded the retirement of GRHS teacher Janet Dobbs
• Gave first reading to revised bomb threat, lockdown and active-shooter policies and other bylaw updates
• Accepted findings that HIB was not substantiated in three investigations at Glen Ridge High School
• Accepted donations of band/orchestra equipment from Carol Kindler (~$1,200) and Beth and Gerald Lloyd-Thomas (~$4,500)
• Approved field trips, including the marching band's trip to Ireland's St. Patrick's Day parades in Killarney and Limerick (March 15-20)

Watch key moments

• 31:45 — Ridgewood Avenue sixth-graders' lunar/Martian soil project wins "Best in Show" in an international NASA-linked competition
• 1:02:49 — Resident Phil Johnson presses the superintendent on why new bomb-threat and active-shooter policies were stripped of detail
• 1:06:34 — Board announces the teachers union has ratified its new contract, retroactive to July 2022