Friday, September 9, 2011
High school ranks seventh in 'Inside Jersey' list of top public schools.
Road closures resulting from the aftermath of the recent rainy weather have forced the Kinnelon school district to make transportation accommodations. After the tropical storm that hit the area caused a portion of Kinnelon Road, near Lake Rickabear, to collapse, forcing a detour, the district had to come up with a plan to accommodate families on the other side of the road closure, Superintendent James Opiekun said during Thursday’s Board of Education meeting. “We have separate [bus] runs now,” Opiekun said. “We had to hire a bus company to go in several times and bring those children around because our bus doesn’t have time to do it.” He said Business Administrator Alice Robinson is currently applying for federal aid to help alleviate …
Friday, August 19, 2011
Advisory group to be formed to examine how class ranking is calculated.
Members of the Butler Board of Education agreed that class rank in the borough’s public schools should remain during the board’s workshop meeting Thursday night. Board Member Cynthia Sokoloff brought the question of whether ranking should remain or be eliminated to the meeting after a similar discussion occurred during a policy committee meeting a few days earlier. “We discussed whether we want to stop ranking our students,” Sokoloff said, noting that some local districts, such as Mountain Lakes, have eliminated class rankings. “The policy committee was somewhat divided. Ultimately, whatever the committee recommends will come to the full board for approval.” Sokoloff said the major question is whether class rankings should be made public …
Friday, July 29, 2011
Board members canceled out votes on nominations.
The Morris County Executive Superintendent of Schools will choose the newest board member to the Kinnelon Board of Education after board members canceled out each other's votes on nominations of two candidates Thursday. The board seat has remained vacant since May, when Patricia Moeser resigned less than two weeks after the school board election. Moeser had resigned for personal reasons. The board solicited applications for a new member and was able to nominate from a pool of five candidates at Thursday's regular meeting. Board Member Dr. Marcy Pryor nominated Agata Gately and the nomination was voted on and failed. Since only six members are currently on the board, when there is a tie, the vote fails. Board Members Keith Dama, Denise …
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Board will discuss how the money will be spent, but business administrator said money will not be used for tax relief.
While the Bloomingdale Board of Education has decided not to use the additional state aid announced by Gov. Chris Christie last week for tax relief, the board will be discussing how it will be spending the money in meetings this week. "After polling the board members, we are not re-setting our taxes," Business Administrator George Hagl said Tuesday. Bloomingdale will receive an additional $164,176, matching the increase that was announced in February. The increase was that over the 2010-2011 budgeted allocation of $1,475,351, bringing the total amount of state aid for this year for Bloomingdale Public Schools to $1,803,702. Hagl said that in speaking with several other Passaic County school districts, many have decided not to use the money…
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
District hopes to complete new math curriculum and continue to work well with Bloomingdale.
The Butler school district hopes to finish re-writing its math curriculum and continue to develop its positive relationship with the Bloomingdale school district this year according to goals the board of education set Monday. With help from Joanne Borin from the New Jersey School Boards Association, the board reflected on the district's accomplishments over the past year and established new goals moving forward during its regular meeting. Some of the accomplishments the board was proud of included passing their budget, hiring a new principal and vice principal, nearly finishing a complete overhaul of the district's policies and replacing 40 percent of the district's computers. "It's long overdue, but done," Superintendent Mario Cardinale …
Monday, June 27, 2011
A look ahead at what you'll see on Kinnelon-Butler Patch.
You know it's summer when instead of silence, you can hear kids playing outside during the day, running in the sprinkler and riding bikes up and down the neighbor's driveway. Add an outdoor concert series to the mix and there's no question that the dog days are on their way. This week, such a concert series will begin in Butler, as well as the first board of education meetings for the Butler and Kinnelon school districts since school ended this year. Those are a few things you will see coverage from on Kinnelon-Butler Patch this week. Here are a few more:
Friday, June 17, 2011
Two Aaron Decker School students received service awards at the Butler Board of Education meeting Thursday.
Two Aaron Decker School students were recognized for devotion to their school during Thursday’s Butler Board of Education workshop meeting. Michal Pasierb and Samantha DiLiberto were the two recipients of this year’s Andy Knapp Service Award, which recognizes fourth-graders who are involved in the community and participate in extracurricular activities. Before presenting the winners to the public, Principal Virginia Scala explained the significance of the award’s namesake. “Andy Knapp was a longtime member of our board of education, very well-respected and revered,” Scala said. “He was all about the kids and about being a good citizen and good community member. This award reflects him.” Scala said Pasierb was chosen by his teachers due to …
Environmental, drama club advisers honored.
A teacher from each of the three schools in the Butler school district was recognized at the board of education’s workshop meeting Thursday night. The teacher recognitions, which are awarded annually at the end of every school year, received triple the amount of nominations usually received by the decision committee, according to Aaron Decker School Principal Virginia Scala, who also serves as the administrative representative for the committee. To decide on the winners, Scala said the administration constructs a committee filled with former winners, board members and others. “We sit and review the application, narrow it down to small groups and then vote for the actual winner from each school,” Scala said. Teacher Pamela Romain was the …
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Kinnelon students receive certificates at BOE meeting.
Kinnelon High School students were recognized for their accomplishments in arts and athletics during the board of education’s work session meeting Thursday. A total of 26 artistic students and 30 athletes were called up to the high school auditorium stage to receive a certificate to honor their achievements. Before the certificates were presented, high school principal Dr. Wayne Merckling said that students were recognized last month for their academic achievements and that it is “only appropriate to recognize the other things they’ve worked so hard on.” Superintendent James Opiekun said the recognitions served as a precursor to graduation on June 17. “I know you’ll be receiving a lot of congratulations and a lot of accolades,” Opiekun …
Friday, June 10, 2011
Longtime Kinnelon math teacher would move from high school to middle school.
Current and former Kinnelon High School students gathered at the board of education’s work session meeting Thursday to speak out against the possible transfer of one of the school’s teachers. Linda Johnson, a longtime math and computers teacher at the high school, is one of six teachers within the Kinnelon school district being considered for an “assignment to transfer” for the following school year to another position within the district, according to Superintendent James Opiekun, who has suggested all of the transfers. Johnson, specifically, or “Miss J” as she was called by the students during the meeting, is being considered for a move from the high school to Pearl R. Miller School. “If Miss J is moved down to the middle school, it …
Nichole Jones
2:21 am on Wednesday, June 29, 2011
We need improved math curriculum for each grade. We are sick of easy to do math curriculums. These are just waste of money; these curriculums don’t help our children to compete with the international students. Our students are extremely good, smart, intelligent and competent. If they get proper guidance then they can rock the world. They can do better; accelerate innovation by having more … more ›