Pascack Valley board swears in members, elects officers and adopts code of ethics
Summary
At its organizational meeting, the Pascack Valley Regional High School District Board of Education swore in newly elected members, elected Deborah Stephens president and a vice president by roll call, read the district code of ethics under N.J.S.A. 18A, and approved routine consent items including minutes and multiple HR and finance items (one abstention).
The Pascack Valley Regional High School District Board of Education held its organizational meeting, swearing in newly elected members and choosing board leadership for the coming year.
Elizabeth Calderon and James Stankus were announced as winning candidates for three-year terms and each took the oath of office administered by board staff. Calderon repeated: “I do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey” before affirming she possesses the qualifications prescribed by law. Stankus likewise affirmed he meets statutory qualifications under N.J.S.A. 18A:12-1.
The board then opened nominations for president and elected Deborah Stephens after a motion to close nominations and a roll-call vote. A subsequent roll call elected the vice president (the meeting record referred to the candidates during the vote). The board president read the district’s school board code of ethics under N.J.S.A. 18A:12-24.1, emphasizing compliance with state regulations, nonpartisanship, and that board members limit their role to policy and oversight.
Staff updated the published agenda to note an agreement received for item 7(b), removed a duplicate listing for item 7(g), and clarified that Edwards Engineering has been acquired and appears under the vendor name L2A Layout Design on the agenda. The board moved and approved minutes at the interim superintendent’s recommendation.
The board approved consent items in policy, human resources (10 items) and finance (15 items) as blocks. During the policy consent vote an abstention was recorded for item 7(a) by board member Weaver; otherwise roll-call responses were recorded as 'yes' in the meeting record.
The meeting closed after a public-comment period. The board did not announce an administrative discipline or personnel action on the record related to comments made during public comment.
The board is expected to continue work associated with the district’s administrative agenda and the upcoming superintendent search.
