Thursday, March 7, 2013
Mahwah's budget considers adding a few staff members and taking on some facilities improvements this year
The Mahwah Board of Education proposed a preliminary $64.8M budget for the 2013-14 school year Wednesday night. The budget calls for a 1.8% increase in school taxes. The majority of the budget, about $57.6M, will come from the local tax base, district Business Administrator Ed Deptula said during a preliminary budget presentation Wednesday night. “The good news is that state aid stayed the same,” he said, so Mahwah will once again be getting over $2.3M from the state. The rest of the funding for the 2013 budget comes from grants, capital reserve money and other sources of income to the school, like renting out facilities, he said. Some of the considerations in this year’s budget include hiring a full-time social studies supervisor. …
Friday, February 1, 2013
New Board of Education member John Ebanietti has taken his seat on the board, and says he is ready to get to work
The second new board of education member to take his seat in as many months has officially settled into his new role. John Ebanietti, a longtime township resident, attended his first three board meetings as a member this January. Last year, Ebanietti ran unopposed for one of three open seats on the board, replacing retiring board member Candace Larson. John Dolan and Christine Davis were reelected to their seats in November’s election. “I was actually at my older daughter’s senior prom picture party last June when I decided to run [for a seat on the Mahwah board of education],” Ebanietti said. “I looked around, and just realized what a great education my daughter had gotten, she was off to a great school, and I sort of just had this …
Friday, November 16, 2012
Taking a nod from his dad, Rick DeSilva, Jr., who helps run the family-owned Liberty car dealerships, was chosen to fill a vacant spot on the Mahwah Board of Education
After a string of public interviews, the Mahwah Board of Education whittled six candidates for an open spot on the board down to one. Local business owner, longtime township resident and Mahwah High School graduate Rick DeSilva, Jr. was appointed to a vacant seat on the school board Wednesday night. DeSilva helps operate the Liberty car dealerships, a family-owned business. He manages Liberty Subaru in Emerson while his brother manages Liberty Hyundai in Mahwah. As a nearly lifelong resident, DeSilva is no stranger to the district. His father, Rick Sr., served on the township’s Board of Education from 1995-2002. DeSilva is also a 1993 graduate of MHS. But, DeSilva said during his interview with the board Wednesday night that his three …
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Appointee will replace Ken Angelo, who resigned from the Board last month
The Mahwah Board of Education is accepting applications for a new member who will serve in an appointed position on the board until December of 2013, according to a release sent out by the district Thursday. The new member will replace Ken Angelo, who was reelected to his seat last year, but resigned in September due to professional commitments. This appointment is not related to the three spots on the board up for election this November. According to the release, applicants must meet state-mandated criteria in order to be considered for the position. An applicant must be: Board members are expected to set the policies and goals of the district, approve district hires, communicate with the community about district happenings and evaluate …
Thursday, September 20, 2012
District will appoint a replacement within 60 days
Longtime Board of Education member Ken Angelo, who was reelected to his seat last year, announced Wednesday he will resign from the post this month. “This will be my last board meeting,” he said Wednesday night. Angelo blamed work commitments for the departure. “I recently have a bunch more professional obligations,” he said. “I don’t think it’d be fair to the residents for me to miss [a bunch] of board meetings when you could have someone in this seat who can make the time commitment and be here.” He said he was not anticipating the new professional obligations when he ran for reelection last April. Angelo, who has been on the board for over 10 years, said he will look back fondly at his time on the board – which included overseeing …
Friday, May 4, 2012
Negotiations that have been going on since 2010 may soon be over
Next month, Mahwah teachers would have hit the two-year mark of working under an expired contract. After a professionally-mediated fact finding meeting between the Mahwah Board of Education and the Mahwah Education Association Wednesday, school officials say teachers may have a new contract before that happens. “There has been a tentative settlement between the MBOE and the MEA,” Board President Tricia Shada told Patch Thursday. “Details will be made public after both parties have ratified the contract.” MEA President Laura Beattie confirmed that the two sides reached a “tentative settlement” Wednesday night. She too said she could not give any more specific details about the contract yet. After a two-year negotiation process that touched …
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Board says moving school board elections would take away budget vote, decrease visibility of candidates, but save the school district money
The Mahwah Board of Education debated Wednesday night whether or not moving school elections from April to November, and possibly eliminating the community’s vote on the annual school budget, would work in Mahwah. The discussion at this week’s Board of Education meeting was prompted by a new state bill that was passed by the Assembly this week and is now awaiting Governor Chris Christie’s signature. According to Mahwah School District Business Administrator Ed Deptula “we have every indication that the governor is going to sign the bill.” If and when Christie signs the bill, the Mahwah Board of Ed will be given the option to move school board elections to November, and BOE positions would appear on the general election ballot, along with …
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
"How to take an online course" is another idea that might be offered to Mahwah seniors next year
As kids are just starting to focus on midterms and getting through the second half of the school year, the Mahwah High School administration and Board of Education are already considering new classes that may be offered beginning in the Fall of 2012. According to a curriculum update by Board President Tricia Shada at the last board of education meeting in 2011, some of the “pilot” programs the high school administration is considering incorporate technology into learning in a new way. As early as next year, seniors at MHS might be taking an in-school class on how to take an online class. According to Shada, the class is an important one as “more and more colleges are offering online classes.” She said the initial thoughts on the course …
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Board says current hiring practices work
The Mahwah school board took action earlier this month against a proposed bill that, if passed by the state legislature and signed by the governor, would change the way Mahwah teachers are hired. The Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability for the Children of New Jersey, or “TEACHNJ” Act proposes to essentially take away the power of the school board and Superintendent to hire the district’s teachers. Instead, it would give the hiring authority to building principals, and a “school improvement panel” that includes an assistant principal and staff member voted on by the rest of the staff. Currently, the Mahwah Board of Education and administrative staff hire employees of the district. In Mahwah, the board thinks it should stay that way. “…
Friday, December 16, 2011
Both sides say progress was made, job actions will be suspended
After a face-to-face meeting between the negotiations committees of the Mahwah Board of Education and the Mahwah Education Association teachers union, a tentative contract deal was not reached, Board President Tricia Shada said Friday morning. “[We] made a great deal of progress. Both sides left on friendly terms,” Shada said. This was the first face-to-face meeting between the two groups since 2010, when the MEA declared an impasse in negotiations. At the close of negotiations Thursday night, the two sides agreed to another meeting in January, Shada said. She said details of the contract negotiations will likely be finalized at that meeting. According to MEA President Laura Beattie, the union also left the meeting feeling optimistic. “[B]…
Maria Morales
1:07 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
A Mandarin teacher at high school level is a waste of time. Everyone knows that language classes should be introduced at earlier grade levels and some of the schools in Mahwah (Joyce Kilmer for example) are not even 100% proficient in English. Seriously, how many people remember their Spanish or even some of their English for that matter from High School? It is a time to CUT SPENDING and even a … more ›