What a mess. The lawyers are the only sure winners here.

I probably could have stomached it if the board simply extended Dr. Seitz's contract at the salary he had hit under his last contract — something like $212,000. But no, the board and Seitz had to fly in the face of economic reality and insult the taxpayers of Parsippany with a new contract that even gave him a raise six months early.

If Seitz gets to keep the raises under his new contract, it's not going to sit well with the teachers union and other bargaining units when it comes time to negotiate future contracts. The resulting cost could be astronomical.

It's been apparent for years that the Parsippany Board of Education has been unable to exercise fiscal restraint.

This is getting out of hand completely. Can't the BOE just understand that THEY are the ones that are hurting the children in the long run. This guy doesn't need that increase. Our kids need that money, not him. We need to get them ALL out and start new. This is just plain sick.

Our BOE doesn't seem to remember their priority. We need to send a message to this board by changing all current members with some new memebers. We need to think about replacing members with people who has good experience possibly someone who has kids in school system. Nobody better then a parent.

Disgusted Parsippany Resident
Absolutely the BOE & Seitz have insulted the taxpayers. How dare Choffo say it's only a matter of a few thousand dollars!? The greed of Seitz is embarrassing. The audacity of the BOE to push Seitz's contract through before it was even up. How can there be money for that??? BOE won't settle with the Paraprofessional of Parsippany; which have NOT had a raise in almost four (4) years. THE PARAPROFESSIONALS WHO WORK HAND TO HAND WITH THE CHILDREN OF PARSIPPANY ALL DAY LONG. Who live in ParTroy & pay taxes to ParTroy. Who here is thinking about the children of Parsippany. The governor is not hurting our students-- the BOE of Parsippany is going to hurt them by allocating the money to someone who is making ENOUGH ALREADY. We need new board members!

Jeff she's got my vote. I meant to ask you if that was your wife .

I will pass the word about your wife.

I have an idea...Why don't they freeze his raise until the election and then ask the taxpayers if WE think they should pursue this lawsuit and if he should get that increase? Highly doubtful that they'd even consider allowing us to make the decision, right?? Time for Change, Change is now and Change will be GREAT!!!

Every voter/taxpayer/citizen should see this movie - "The Cartel" (about NJ BOEs):

http://www.thecartelmovie.com/

Just goes to show that greed has no limits. I still don't understand why we are going to consider taking food off our own children's plates, to put it on this one superintendent!

It's also important to note that Dr. Seitz's new contract not only costs us in Parsippany, but will cost everyone in the state of NJ because we will pay him an additional $700,000 assuming he lives only 20 years in retirement - more if he lives longer. So that's a double whammy for us Parsippany residents.

Yea I know not to mention it will cost us an additional million. As much as I hate to say it I understand why the governor would take the state aid. I really hope the Board rescinds the contract. I will be really really pissed off if Mancuso does not let it get to a vote.

Has it occured to you yet that Mancuso is not ONLY dictatorial, but also a tool controlled by Seitz? Mancuso/Seitz are stonewalling the citizens and the State of NJ. The BOE/Seitz does not care how much it costs the citizens of Parsippany in legal fees and lost funding. They will force their way or die trying. Let's make it the latter.
They have cleverly tried to co-opt the vote of parents of young children in Parsippany, by threatening to cut off Kindergarten, make it half-day or pay-as-you-go. Thus, many parents might have to give up their jobs or make other expensive arrangements for daycare for their Kindergarten age children. Since BOE elections are not heavily voted the current BOE/Seitz think this might be enough to keep Choffo in office. This would guarantee no change in behavior. We need to let people know that the BOE will not be able to cut Kindergarten. The Town Council and Mayor need to get on board NOW to help us.
At the last BOE meeting Seitz answered a public question by intimating the Town Council's hired auditor (re: the last BOE budget) did not know what he was talking about because the auditor and the BOE/Administration never met to iron out the terms of the audit. This allowed this BOE/Seitz to reject the findings. Our Town Council needs to be visited NOW so none of the "responsible" parties can say that the Town Council did not do anything constructive but spend $100,000 of taxpayers money. They should not be the BOE's "patsy's".
Hank Heller

Hank I am confused was that statement meant towards me lol? Because if it was I agree with you but I do not think Seitz is controlling Mancuso I think Mancuso is controlling Seitz. Also if the board does not rescind the contract than I do not think even the town council will have mercy on them. All I know is if state aid is cut I will ask council to make an additional 1.1 million dollar cut. See the sad thing is that board will not even get to vote on it and Mancuso will have his day. They need to make a policy that a two thirds vote can overrule the over ruling of the board President.

Hi, Steve,
No, my comment was to the entire voting population of Parsippany. Frankly, I am very impressed with the depth and sophistication of your thinking on the issues related to the BOE. You have obviously spent alot of time and energy in observing and trying to understand their behavior pattern.
I may be wrong, but I do believe that as calculating as Mancuso seems to be, Seitz is really directing him to a degree. Seitz and Mancuso seems to be dedicated to getting their way in all things.
I am hoping that they cannot manouever the parents of the Kindergarten children to vote for their budget just because the parents are afraid that full day Kindergarten might be cut out if they don't vote for the budget. These guys are selfish and dishonorable politicians not educators, in my opinion. If the Town Council and the Mayor allow this travesty to be played out, then they will need to be replaced along with the current crew of Mancuso, Choffo, Orme, Neglia and Calabria.
Regarding a change in BOE policy, I am very much in agreement with you. A change of policy mandating that a majority vote can override the ruling of the BOE President makes great sense to me. It would at least give the members of the BOE an opportunity to be able to be heard, instead of just having to go along with the BOE President in any unfair, or crack-brained decision. i.e., a three year retroactive raise for Wendolowski, or Seitz or suing the State of NJ.
Hank Heller

Hi ,Hank,

Sorry the reason I got confused was because I was the last person to reply before your post.Yea ever since I graduated in 2008 I have always kept a close eye on the board and the district. I mean I guess you could be right as who directs who and if that be the case it just makes things worse. I new they were going to do something with the kindergarten just like last year. But like I said before if they do not rescind the contract and they lose the state aid the budget will not pass regardless of what is at stake. Also I think there will be a revolt if the Council does not make a decent cut and the Board loses the state aid. If they rescind this contract there is hope that the budget may pass. If they do not rescind the contract they are going lose the state aid spend more money to sue the state over not getting the money and then lose. Whether Seitz is worth 200 thousand is debatable but nobody is worth 1.3 million dollars.

If one decides to become a Superintendent of schools, you would think they are education-minded, with the best interests of the children as their top priority, right? Not Seitz. His top priority is how much his salary increase is going to be! Think of our kids who are already feeling the cuts! If he was out to make $250k + in his career, he should have become a VP in corporate America, and been eligible for bonuses, stock options and a company car!
When will the Superintendent and BOE start thinking about what is best for the kids??

While I understand all of the comments on this and many other articles, I question why people are not rallying on a state level. Parsippany is being slighted and it has nothing to do with our BOE decisions.

People are rallying in Hudson county as they may lose STATE FUNDING for PREK.
N.J. parents, teachers and public officials rally to defend all-day pre-Kindergarten education
From The Jersey Journal

People cheer at a protest against state Republican efforts to cut funding to full-day preschool in urban school districts at School 11 in Jersey City
Rally against full-day preschool funding cuts gallery (9 photos)
More than 200 parents, teachers, and public officials crowded inside School 11's auditorium today to protest state Republican efforts to cut funding for full-day preschool in urban school districts.

To chants of "All day Pre-K" and "No way half day," a parade of educators and parents urged supporters to contact state legislators and demand the proposal, which has not yet been introduced as a bill, be withdrawn.

"We are at war. Let's not make any bones about it," said Hudson County Freeholder Chairman Bill O'Dea to the passionate crowd. "We've got to fight back."

The state Republican plan would restrict full-day preschool in urban Abbott districts to half-day, and divert the savings to suburban and rural districts that have lost state education funding in recent years.

.sorry didn't realize there is a character limit

For districts such as Bayonne and West New York, which have between 3,001 and 10,000 students, the proposed salary cap would be $175,000.

McGeehan, who presides over a district with roughly 9,000 students, earns $230,330 annually, according to public records.

Look around, I don't care if you agree or disagree with our BOE, Parsippany is getting a raw deal! Fight for equity on a state level

I agree with you Ellen it is kind of sad that Parsippany does not get our fair share of state aid. Parsippany sends around 70 million and we should in return get around 20 million. However is the fault of the Supreme court because of the Abbot decisions. The people of Parsippany will not get the aid and tax break unless the Supreme Court reverses it's decision.

Ellen,
Stop being an apologist for this lousy, autocratic and hugely political BOE. You are forgiving this BOE for the Wendolowski, Seitz inflationary early contracts, the stupid and provocative lawsuit supporting the Seitz contract, the desire to force an unneccesary and unpopular Uniform code on our children and parents, bylaws that are more opaque and power-stealing, arcane rules demanding BOE complicity with the Board President's demands and total lack of respect for the parents, taxpayers and dissident views of citizens in Parsippany. Not the least is the newest slight, Mancuso/Seitz political manipulation to frighten parents into voting for what will certainly be a bad budget by threatening Kindergarten without thinking about how they can save money.
If you want to take issue with the Supreme Court of NJ, that is fine with me, but why are you trying to deflect attention from our own homegrown BOE problems by bringing up a new and unrelated condition? By that I mean PRE-Kindergarten. Pre-Kindergarten is an entitlement issue. Kindergarten is a necessity. There is a big difference between the two. This BOE is led by a bully and his henchmen who are trying to frighten the parents of Kindergarten children to the BOE side via threats of cuts. What needs to be cut is Mancuso/Seitz and their followers. Please stop trying to obscure the real issues. We do not need to rally for Hudson County. Let's rally here to effect real change in Parsippany's BOE.
Hank Heller

Mr Heller, I am thinking you misunderstood my comments and if not your one sided personal view and attack on me is certainly unwarranted.

I am pointing out that will I am not happy about the possibility of paying for Kindergarten, I am not sure why the residents of Parsippany aren't looking at the real spot to solve the problem, the state. Do our admins get paid a lot, yes. Are they out of line in the state...no. We are the largest school district in Morris County, yet our Super is the 5th highest paid (logic says to me it would not be out of line for him to be the top paid); We are the 32nd largest district in the state, he is the 57th highest paid. Please don't misunderstand my comments, I am not recommending even higher pay, I am just saying Parsippany is not pulling unrealistic numbers out of thin air. We are being competitive within our industry.

I am not suggesting we rally for Hudson County, rather that we rally against Hudson County. Why should their children get paid PreK on tax dollars and we can't afford Kindergarten on tax dollars as Parsippany is not getting our share.

Isn't the problem funding and how our BOE is making funding choices? I don't see that as a deflection. If we had higher aid and thus less of a tax burden, while you still may not like Mancuso, your issue would be different, in my opinion

Ellen
I agree with you on the point of paying for Kindergarten. I disagree with you as to the real issue. The State is close to bankruptcy due to government's needing so much taxpayer money to fund employees retirements policies, municipalities huge employee bases and their constantly expanding needs etc. We, the people, can not afford the huge costs attached to home rule and local governments. When we consider the Federal Government's expansion and State Government's expansion, we will need to work forever just to take care of the current obligations.
We need our local government at every level to see where we can cut costs. That includes schools, police, firemen, garbage collection, snow removal and on and on. We cannot afford more entitlement gifts and we cannot afford to take the easy way out.
The handling of both the Seitz situation and the Wendolowski situation was arrogant, disrespectful and dumb, in my opinion. This BOE has painted itself into a corner and now, because Mancuso does not have the character to back away from a mistake, he is pushing us into a deep hole that he and we might not be able to climb out of. You say that the problem is funding and the BOE's funding choices. I agree. I heard Seitz make a budget proposal that mentioned Kindergarten without having mentioned other line items for study.
Tell you what, if you want to really discuss this issue, I will be happy to buy you coffee at The Spa. Let me know.
Hank Heller

Hank, totally agree. And if you've followed the BOE you know that Mr. Crawford has asked these questions for years (looking for ways to save, questioning contracts or choice of vendors) it did not just start with the Seitz issue. People claim that now he's just using this issue for his own gain, but he's been raising these questions throughout his seven years on the BOE, when absolutely no one was paying any attention.

He has tried to have the taxpayers' backs on this stuff, and what has he gotten for it? A public attack on his character by a fellow board member. And I doubt they'll stop accusing him of things, and Mr. Strumolo for that matter, if they keep voicing opposition. People in the town need to wake up and realize who actually has their interests at heart, and who is hiding behind the old, tired "it's in the best interest of our children" excuse for their actions. It is not in any kid's best interest for mom and dad to pay more and more in taxes and get less and less in return.

I think that those of you with such insight should have an 'open forum' meeting so that you can give us all the knowledge we need to understand the BOE and the such, and help us when it comes time to voting and stuff.