BOE Member: Does Seitz Have A Contract Or Not?

At Thursday's meeting, school board member Gary Martin asked a question many in Parsippany are wondering: Does Superintendent LeRoy Seitz finally have a working contract?

According to Board Attorney Katherine Gilfillan, of the firm Weiner Lesnial, there is no easy answer to that question.

The reason, the lawyer said, is "pending litigation between Seitz and this board."

In the unfinished business portion of the meeting, Martin said he had received an email from "a civilian" who wanted to know the status of the superintendent's contract.

Gilfillan said the pending legal action seeks to answer the question of "whether or not a contract does currently exist between this board and Dr. Seitz."

"Allegations [from the Seitz camp] are that there is a contract that has rolled over from the prior contract," she explained, while the BOE position is that there is a "constructive contract in place."

Gilfillan said because of the lawsuit, further discussion on the matter would have to take place in closed session.

Martin continued anyway.

"What bothers me is we're paying Dr. Seitz and he is performing a service," he said before reminding those in attendance of the over the board's alleged mishandling of the superintendent's contract. "I want to make sure that in the future we haven't violated anything by paying Dr. Seitz. I want to make sure that Dr. Seitz and the board are protected."

The attorney defended the BOE. 

Gilfillan reminded Martin that that complied with Gov. Chris Christie's mandated salary cap. 

"The contract the board approved has been with the county superintendent for about eight weeks," the attorney said. "We have sent continuous reminders and requests to her office, and that office has refused to move and refused to provide the board with an answer one way or another."

Gillian said she believes the ball is in County Executive Superintendent Kathleen Serafino's court.

"The board...sent in the contract…and has continually asked for the status," she insisted. "We have stayed on top of these folks every two weeks.

"I don't believe this board can be criticized in any fashion at this point."

President Frank Calabria agreed.

"I assure you we have been in contact with the county superintendent asking for her reaction," he said. "It's very frustrating that we haven't heard back. We're not letting this go."

Board member Michael Strumolo shared that a recent Open Public Act request from a citizen asked for a copy of Seitz's contract.

"The answer was that there was no documentation to back up the request," he said. "That raises a red flag for me."

After viewing the applicable document, Gilliam offered her legal opinion.

"The answer was correct. There is no signed contract right now," she said.

Patch's requests for a response from Serafino's office have not been returned.