Schools

BOE Approves Budget with $204,125 Line Item For Seitz Salary

County superintendent told board they could put $16K difference between Seitz contractual salary and line item in reserve fund.

At an emergency meeting ordered by the state and county, the  unanimously approved a, but places the difference between that figure and his contracted 2011-12 pay of $220,000 into a reserve fund pending litigation.

According to business administrator Marlene Wendolowski, county superintendent of schools Kathleen Serafino informed the board on Monday that it would be acceptable to put the $16,000 into a miscellaneous fund.

"Obviously, the superintendent is willing to compromise and let us protect ourselves,'' board member Fran Orthwein said.

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She was speaking to board member Robert Crawford, who initially protested the budgeted plan at the meeting, but in the end voted "yes.'' Board member Michael Strumolo, who is opposed to the  did not attend the meeting.

"You have fought the good fight in your belief that we need to comply with orders to rescind the contract, and I supported you on that,'' Orthwein said to Crawford. "But we're at a point where we've exhausted all possibilities. There is no other avenue to pursue."

Find out what's happening in Parsippanywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Crawford, who since November has made four unsuccessful motions for a vote on rescinding the contract, said he recognized that approval was needed for the township to have a budget at all. But he voiced anger that Seitz's salary still did not meet to the $175,000 state cap on school administrators in districts the size of Parsippany, even if on paper it met state requirements.

According to guidelines, districts may pay an additional $5,000 for a superintendent who has two high schools to run, along with a 15 percent merit increase.

Crawford said he was also frustrated that Board President Anthony Mancuso seemed to be acting on his own without consulting the board since the fall, when the county ordered Parsippany to rescind Seitz's contract or face the loss of state aid or a rejected budget.

"I'm tired of the process by which the board is backed into a corner. This has to be in the open. We can't be getting emails from the board president, telling us what the board president has just done," Crawford said.

He asked the board if anyone knew why Serafino had ordered them to hold an "emergency meeting'' to adopt the budget and the answer was no.

Wendolowski said she asked Serafino why, since there was no precedent for school board's having an emergency meeting on the final stages of budget approval.

"She said there was no precedent and  (the Parsippany emergency meeting) was required by the state department of education,'' she said.


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