Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves personnel slate; trustees raise concerns about summer intern pay and record recusals
Summary
The board approved the personnel section of the agenda, but several trustees voted against specific items and a recusal was recorded; trustees questioned $16/hour pay for technology summer interns compared with substitute pay.
The Roselle Park Board of Education approved the personnel section of its agenda, which included appointments, substitute salaries, a substitute appointment list, staff assignments for 2025–26 and employment contracts. The agenda’s personnel block encompassed multiple items numbered 1–21.
During discussion a trustee questioned line item 18 — a technology-department summer-intern position paid at $16 per hour — noting that the rate exceeds pay for some substitutes and substitute paraeducators who work year-round. The trustee said: “It's a summer job, and they're making more than people that are here sometimes all year as substitutes.”
Board members recorded specific votes and recusals. Cindy Mago announced, “Yes, except no to number 2 and 18.” Constance Quintella said she would recuse herself from number 4 and also voted no on items 2 and 18. Vice President Michael Ann Regan recorded a recusal for item 12a. Other trustees registered “yes.” The board’s official minutes show the motion passed.
Why this matters: Personnel approvals set staffing and pay for the next school year and can reveal intra-board disagreements about pay equity across job categories. The discussion flagged community concern about how short-term intern pay compares with substitute wages.
Clarifying details provided in the meeting: item 18 is a summer internship in the technology department; its $16-per-hour rate was the specific point of contention. Trustees noted the difference in compensation relative to substitute paraprofessionals, lunch aides and custodial substitutes. The motion to approve the personnel section passed on a roll call; the transcript records named exceptions and recusals but does not provide a full per-member tally for every sub-item in the agenda.
Ending: The personnel slate was approved and will be reflected in district staffing for 2025–26. Trustees asked for further consideration of compensation equity outside the meeting.
Quotes used in this article come from board members’ remarks during the personnel discussion and roll-call statements recorded in the public minutes.
