Monday, December 17, 2012
Parsippany resident appeals OPRA request denial for board member's electronic correspondences.
A citizen-activist's appeal of a Parsippany school district Open Public Records Act request hasn't been answered yet, but the process itself reveals a bit of the information he seeks. In September, Robert Crawford, a former Board of Education member, made an official request to discover what was said in emails allegedly sent in 2011 and 2012 by school board member Anthony Mancuso and to whom they were sent. Mancuso would not comment on the matter of the documents, which allegedly were sent from his personal email address, except to insist that they were personal communications. Crawford contended that the emails, which he believes include discussions of confidential board business between board members including Superintendent of Schools …
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Michael Strumolo still demands to have access to what colleague Anthony Mancuso calls his private emails.
The issue over emails written by a Parsippany Board of Education member—deemed not to be public government documents by the district last week—was still on the minds of some at the body's meeting last Thursday. Early in the gathering, BOE member Michael Strumolo revived last month's call to be allowed to see the documents written and shared by member Anthony Mancuso. Addressing Board Attorney Kathleen Gilfillan, Strumolo again insisted that "as a duly elected member of this board, I have the right to see these emails." Gilfillan, as she did in October, said that board members do not have an automatic right to see every document that resides on the BOE computer server. "To the extent that these records do not represent something that the …
Thursday, November 15, 2012
School board member Anthony Mancuso said Robert Crawford's activities regarding his 'private' communications invaded his privacy.
The author of the so-called "secret" emails sought by citizen-activist Robert Crawford says he isn't surprised that what he calls "private" communications were deemed by the school district not to be government documents. School board member Anthony Mancuso, concluding that his personal privacy was invaded, said he is talking with an attorney and considering taking legal action. "The whole thing raises questions for me," Mancuso told Patch. "These documents were found to be un-OPRA-able. Mr. Crawford clearly has seen them. How did he obtain them?" In September, Crawford made an Open Public Records Act request to the school district inquiring about a number of emails that came from Mancuso's personal email address. Crawford, a former Board …
Friday, October 19, 2012
Board of Ed members testify Thursday as Dr. LeRoy Seitz's breach of contract suit against the BOE and Department of Education quietly began last month.
The long-promised legal face-off between Parsippany Superintendent of Schools LeRoy Seitz, the school board and the state Department of Education over the schools chief's disputed contract is underway. Testimony in the case being heard at the Office of Administrative Law in Newark began quietly in September, with no announcement by the school district. Seitz, who gave his testimony last month, is alleging breach of contract against the school board and the state. In December 2010, Parsippany's board signed a contract with the superintendent—a year before the old pact's expiration date. The state then demanded that the pact be rescinded because it did not comply with a salary cap announced in summer 2010 and enacted in February 2011 by Gov…
Monday, February 27, 2012
Former board president and current member shares his thoughts on controversies surrounding the BOE.
Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education member Anthony Mancuso says accusations regarding board members and alleged conflicts of interest regarding the controversial Fields of Dreams proposal are "silly." Emails relating to and transcripts of Recreation Advisory Committee meetings reveal that long before the public heard of a plan to use Open Space Trust Fund dollars to finance the installation of artificial turf fields and other improvements at Parsippany and Parsippany Hills high schools, the plan was floated by then-BOE President Mancuso and Superintendent LeRoy Seitz. Mancuso said those revelations are accurate, but do not tell the entire story. "It has been pointed out that I met with two members of the town's recreation committee. …
Saturday, February 25, 2012
The night Susy Golderer was stripped of her co-VP title, she offered an idea that might help build board unity.
At the Thursday meeting of the Parsippany Board of Education, Communications Committee chair Susy Golderer offered a potential solution to the apparent divide between groups of board members. During her committee report, Golderer said the goal of the panel, which was newly instituted under Board President Frank Calabria, was to facilitate better relations between the school board and the people of Parsippany. "The consensus [is that] we need a more cohesive board," she said. To achieve this, Golderer suggested holding a board retreat, where members would have an opportunity to hash out conflicts, work on communications and trust issues and build board unity. The committee chair said the panel is working on details and possible dates. She …
VietNam Vet
1:18 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
I happen to think that stopping the corruption on the board is school business, and would be a savings to the taxpayers in this town that really give a damn. more ›