In the MERS district the school board is comprised of 9 members, 8 come from Manalapan and 1 comes from Englishtown. Every November there are 3 seats up for election. A person must file their petition to run by the end of July in order for their name to be on the November ballot. Board members are considered non-partisan and therefore are not listed with a designated party like others who are running for an office. The 3 people who get the highest number of votes are declared by the Board of Elections as the winners. A board members term is for 3 years. In the first week of January of the following year after the election, the newly elected board members are sworn in by taking the Oath of Office. A board member must also sign and swear to a Code of Ethics which all members must adhere to. At the January meeting, known as the ReOrg meeting, the nine board members choose a President and Vice President whom hold their positions for the current calendar year. At this time, the board also appoints certain vendors to be used during the year. The board decides on the meeting dates for the upcoming year. The board has 2 different kinds of monthly meetings-1 is a regular meeting where actions are taken and items on the agenda are voted on and 1 is a workshop meeting where the board usually discusses items and has presentations regarding curriculum, new programs and maintenance. For example, the board has recently had presentations on the new report cards, food service and we all received some training on Google which is the direction the district is going towards regarding emails and correspondence. The public is always welcome and encouraged to attend any meetings and during regular meetings there is a public portion where residents are able to comment both on agenda items and anything else they would care to inform the board about. Last year the board all voted to have our meetings televised on our local station MTTN therefore making it easier for the public to see what is going on in the district. The Friday prior to a board meeting all of the members receive a board packet containing the agenda for the upcoming meeting and any necessary information needed so they can make effective decisions. It is suggested that they read their packet and put together any questions they might have prior to Tuesday nights meeting. This is done so all questions can be answered prior to or on the night of the meeting. There are 3 areas that are always handled in what is known as a Closed Session and they are anything pertaining to the staff or children, any litigation or possible litigation items and all security matters. There are rules and statutes in place which board members must abide by regarding these topics. Sometimes action is taken after closed session and sometimes there is no action to be taken as it is just an informative session. The public is excluded from attending the closed session. The board is represented by an attorney so that it complies with all the rules and statutes and has all of their meetings in compliance with Roberts Rules of Order. A board members job is not to run the district but rather to oversee the running of the school district. The job of running the district solely belongs to the Supt who in our case is Dr. Marciante. He handles the day to day operations with the assistance of his Business Administrator, Asst Supt for Curriculum, HR Director, Subject Area Supervisors and all of the School Administrators. All board members should follow the chain of command which for us starts with the Supt who in turn follows up on all issues presented to him. In the case where a parent reaches out to a board member for help, the board member should make the Supt aware of the situation so he is able to address it. Board members have no power or control except when they are sitting in at a board meeting. Even then a board member only has 1 vote and needs to have 5 votes to get something approved. People sometimes believe that they have the power to get things done but a board member must come to the table and be prepared to work as a team. We must also remember that sometimes you are on the winning side and sometimes you are on the losing side but in the end we are a team and must support whatever the outcome may be in any given situation whether we are happy with it or not. For example, I recently brought the idea to the board table regarding putting AC in the buildings that currently do not have it. I did this because PTA members had brought this to my attention. After a discussion by the entire board, it was then voted on and approved by the entire board that we go out and conduct a survey of all of the school parents on this topic. As you can see, nothing is accomplished without the entire board being made aware and having it voted on by all the members who are present at that particular meeting where the item is discussed. Even the President and Vice President only have 1 vote. The Presidents job is to run an effective meeting and to do their best to keep all of the other members informed. So even if a person is elected and quite possibly come on board with their own agendas, nothing gets accomplished without the support of the majority of the other board members. Every person elected chooses to do their job as they see fit. A board member can get totally involved in the district and make themselves available to the parents and the public or not. A board member must go through a fingerprint and background check within 30 days of being elected as stated in the statute. A board member must also attend an extensive training session given by the NJ School Board Assn during the first year of their 3 year term. Failure to comply could result in being removed from their board position. For those of you that know me you know what kind of board member I am. I have chosen to be out there in the publics eye and work tirelessly for the good of all of the districts children. In my time on this board, I have taken the time to learn about the issues parents are concerned about and educate myself on areas such as special needs and the curriculum. I have met with all of the respective PTAs to hear what issues the parents are talking about. I encourage all my fellow board members to be out there listening and talking to all of the parents. This year as President I have seen that NJ School Board reps have come in to further educate the board on various topics. I worked with the respective negotiation teams and together we happily settled 3 union contracts (teachers, custodians and inst aides and secys) all prior to their expiration dates. This had not been accomplished in more than 30 years in this district. I support all of our staff members and encourage them to bring their concerns to the Board.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 18:35:05 +0000
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