Monday, May 13, 2013
Vote came after a board member questioned what he saw as a deviation from the proper procedure for approving raises for unaffiliated workers.
The Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education approved a plan to give 3 percent pay raises to the district's non-union administrative and supervisory personnel at its meeting at Brooklawn Middle School last Thursday. The plan for the increase appeared as part of the omnibus Superintendent's Report voted upon by members at the end of each meeting. Per usual, Board President Susy Golderer called for a vote on the report, of which a number of items dealt with approving the re-employment of workers ranging from non-affiliated teachers and administrators to the Video on the Go staff and department supervisors; proposed salaries included a 3 percent pay hike. When it was time for member Anthony Mancuso to vote, he opted to make a statement. "I …
With improving school security in mind, Board of Education votes to try closing schools during the next school year on the days residents head to the polls.
At its Thursday meeting at Brooklawn Middle School, the Parsippany Board of Education easily passed a measure to change the school calendar to allow educational buildings that house students to shut down on election days. The move will be in place for the next school year, said BOE member Fran Orthwein; schools will be closed on Nov.5, general election day, and June 3, 2014, primary election day. Under the plan teacher orientation and development will be offered Sept. 1, teachers will have Sept. 2 and 3 for preparation days and students in grades 6 and 9 will report for their orientation Sept. 4. "We took away Dr. Martin Luther King day—for this one year only—while we look at whether we'll permanently adjust our calendar," Orthwein said. …
Friday, May 10, 2013
Board of Education heard annual technology presentation at Thursday meeting.
The Parsippany Board of Education's Thursday meeting at Brooklawn Middle School featured the body's annual look at technology in the schools. Barry Haines, the district's director of technology, offered a presentation on Par-Troy schools' 3-year plan for using computers and the Internet to boost student achievement. Haines said the district had to consider a snapshot of current technology use, what needs teachers have for effective instructional technology and determine how to use these tools over the next three years. He said the primary goal of using technology in schools is to produce effective learners who can cope with the demands of an ever-changing society. Haines and a number of teachers from elementary, middle and high schools …
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Student and faculty lunches are going up an average of 10 cents.
Most parents who buy school lunches will have to dig a little deeper to cover the cost next year. At Thursday's Parsippany Board of Education meeting, the body announced a price hike for the noontime meals provided for students by Pomptonian Food Service. Board President Susy Golderer told those in attendance that the district had no control over the increases, which she said were mandated by the federal government. As part of the superintendent's report, the board voted to approve and accept the contract renewal between Pomptonian and the district and the new elementary, middle and high school lunch price lists. The contract includes language stating that in addition to the meals program's operational costs, the district must pay …
Friday, April 26, 2013
Dr. John Fitzsimons hits the ground running in his new job.
Parsippany finally met its new schools chief. Dr. John T. Fitzsimons, the township's new acting superintendent of schools, was introduced to residents at Thursday's Board of Education meeting at Littleton Elementary School. Board President Susy Golderer told the audience that Fitzsimons so far has been "very busy getting acclimated," noting that he was visiting schools and getting to know people throughout the district. "Welcome, it's your show," she said to him. Fitzsimons thanked Golderer and praised his administrative assistant Joni Benos for all of her help. "She's made my life very, very easy," he said. The new superintendent agreed that he has been involved in a whirlwind of activity while getting to know the district and getting up…
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Dr. LeRoy Seitz's replacement officially started his new job Tuesday.
The Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education announced Tuesday that Dr. John Fitzsimons of New York is on the job as the district's new interim superintendent of schools through April 23, 2014. Residents get their first chance to see the new superintendent in town at Thursday's school board meeting, which takes place at Littleton Elementary Schoolat 7:30 p.m. Technically, Fitzsimons is now acting superintendent, according to his contractl he gets the interim title on May 15, the official retirement day of his predecessor, Dr. LeRoy Seitz. The contract stipulates that the new schools chief will receive $682 per day for the job, or a total of $177,320; with the potential achievement of unnamed "quantitative and quantitative" benchmarks, he …
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Dr. LeRoy Seitz leaves the school district after serving area students for the past seven years.
The official retirement date for Parsippany Superintendent of Schools LeRoy Seitz is May 15. But his final day is April 23; earned but unused vacation time will cover the remaining time. An official farewell took place at the April 9 Board of Education meeting. Cake was served and residents, the head of the local teachers' union and Board President Susy Golderer were among those who wished Seitz well in moving into a new chapter of his life. Naturally, the retiring superintendent has taken stock of his more than 25 years in New Jersey schools, his seven years in Parsippany and the highs and lows he's experienced along the way. When our talk begins, Seitz spoke of the challenges he faced as superintendent of the public school system for the…
Friday, April 12, 2013
After Lee Seitz retires, John Fitzsimons becomes the number one interim among a team of interim administrators.
The Parsippany-Troy Hills school district has a new leader. At Thursday's Board of Education meeting at the Parsippany Road administration building, the body approved the hiring of Dr. John T. Fitzsimons to become interim chief superintendent of schools. The vote was not unanimous: Of the eight members present, President Susy Golderer, Gary Martin, Michael Strumolo, James Carifi and Anthony DeIntinis voted yes; Anthony Mancuso and Fran Orthwein voted no and Dr. Frank Calabria abstained. According to the contract between the district and Fitzsimons, he will be paid $682 per day, or an annual base salary of $177,320, which complies with Gov. Christie's superintendent salary cap. However, should he leave his sick, personal and vacation …
Monday, April 8, 2013
The 2013-14 plan will raise the tax levy by 2.41 percent and keep a provision to reinstate five media specialists.
Editor's Note: This updated version includes comments from Board of Education President Susy Golderer. The 2013-14 budget for Parsippany schools won county approval April 4, according to a statement on the district website. The Board of Education cut the originally proposed spending plan by $1.5 million at its March 28 meeting, making the grand total for next year's budget $130,684,558. The plan does not include expenditures for athletic improvements at the high school, which led to last-minute scrambling by board members, who had to come up with a final plan to send to Interim County Executive Superintendent Rosalie S. Lamonte on the 28th. At the meeting, Parsippany Superintendent of Schools LeRoy Seitz surprised board members and …
Monday, March 25, 2013
The new plan removes extras such as lights, bathrooms, bleacher upgrades and disability access.
The Parsippany Board of Education's ad hoc committee on the high school athletic fields held its first meeting Saturday, March 16, to brainstorm ideas for making improvements to facilities at the township's high schools. BOE members and community volunteers holding a variety of points of view are part of the committee, which was formed after voters rejected the school board's $7.7 million fields improvement plan during the Jan. 22 referendum. At the gathering, the members determined that short- and long-term strategies were needed to accomplish the body's stated mission to make athletic refurbishments a reality. The group came up with what's known as Phase 1, a scaled back recommendation for improvements. In answer to the resounding "no" …
steve revette
1:12 am on Thursday, May 16, 2013
Dr. Seitz is gone. That was the biggest change I was asking for. The man needed to go. Many people say this board ran him out. Good for them. Yes teachers got a contract with 2 percent raises. However, what were the raises for the last contracts? 4 percent raises for 3 years. Absolutely insane. So in my opinion they negotiated better than the Mancuso appointees. Some people will argue that … more ›