Politics & Government

Week in Review: Seitz Contract Void; Paras Get Theirs

The top stories from the last week in Parsippany

: The Parsippany Board of Education dodged at least one bullet at a Tuesday night special session. Under pressure from Executive County Superintendent Kathleen Serafino, the body resinced the contract struck last November with Superintendent LeRoy Seitz. That agreement would have paid Seitz up to $234,000 per year, well in excess of the governor's superintendent salary cap. The board also offered Seitz a new 4 1/2 year pact that meets the cap. If the board had not voided the agreement by July 22, it faced loss of state aid and ethics charges. The superintendent is mulling over his options; among other choices, it is possible that he could opt to take legal action aganst the board and/or the state.

: The Board of Education Tuesday voted to accept a fact finder's report suggesting terms for a contract with the paraprofessionals' union. That vote puts an end to a more than four-year impasse. Vickie Walsh of the New Jersey Education Association said that paraprofessionals are pleased to have a contract finally. Under the terms in the report, paras receive 3 percent raises covering the school years 2007-08 and 2008-09, 2 percent raises for 2009-10, 2011-12 and 2012-13, and no raise at all in 2010-11. They get no health benefits and no seniority.

: The Christie Administration announced late last week that Parsippany will receive an additional $1.25 million in state aid. The governor wants the additional money to be used for tax relief for taxpayers. “The additional education aid included in this year’s budget is an opportunity to reduce property tax burdens by lowering local property tax levies for this fiscal year or the next and move closer toward real reform in our schools," said Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts in a statement. “The administration strongly encourages using this additional aid to lower taxes and make the important step toward new and effective management of our schools that focuses on improving student achievement, rather than increased spending.”

: The Board of Education had the opportunity to use new state aid for property tax relief during its regular meeting Thursday night. Despite a deadline of July 19 for allocating the funds in that manner, board member Michael Strumolo insisted that the matter be taken off the table because he needed more time to consider the notion. The next day, he announced he wanted the money to go toward tax relief, but time to call another board meeting did not exist. Some other board members were not impressed, noting that they would have voted for tax relief Thursday--if Strumolo hadn't nixed the vote.

: The Township Council announced the hiring of a new municipal clerk at its agenda meeting last Tuesday. Elesha Johnson, presently deputy clerk of Camden, begins her $75,000 per year job August 1. Johnson, 50, takes over for former clerk Judy Silver, who served Parsippany for 30 years.

: Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno made two stops in Parsippany Wednesday. As part of her plan to visit 100 New Jersey businesses, Guadagno met with business leaders and took corporate tours of Solix Inc. and Wyndham Worldwide. The lieutenant governor said the visits were successful and educational for her. She said the purpose of the stops is to show government's support for business and to show residents that good-news business stories are happening in the Garden State.


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