Ridgefield Park board reorganizes; Dr. Ricardo Martinez elected president, Michelle Orth chosen vice president

The Ridgefield Park Public School District Board of Education met at 6 p.m. Jan. 7, 2025, to swear in members, hold leadership elections and read the state Code of Ethics for school board members. The board unanimously elected Dr. Ricardo Martinez as president and chose Michelle Orth as vice president after ballots were cast and tallied.

The meeting opened with the board reading the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act’s public-notice statement and instructions for limited public participation by Zoom and telephone. Public comment was limited to five minutes per speaker; the board stated that remote participants would be muted until called and that the board secretary would unmute speakers in the order hands were raised.

The board administered the oath of office as part of the reorganization. After the oath, Dr. Ricardo Martinez said, "Good to be back. Thank you," and later, "Thank you for entrusting me once again. I'll do my best." Ballots were distributed for the president's seat; the board announced a unanimous decision electing Dr. Martinez president. Ballots were also used to select the vice president; after tallying, the board announced that Michelle Orth had been nominated as vice president.

A resolution accepting the reorganization passed on a roll-call vote. Members responding yes during roll call included Cooney, Craft, Fietros, McNeal, Malue, Martinez, Orth, Rodriguez, Schmidt and Velez. The board then read aloud the Code of Ethics for school board members (N.J.S.A. 18A:12-24.1); members read the code lines in sequence as part of the meeting record. The meeting concluded after a motion and second to close the session.

There was no substantive policy debate or votes on budgets, contracts or ordinances at this meeting; the agenda items recorded in the transcript were limited to the reorganization procedures, oath, leadership elections and the statutorily required ethics reading.