Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents press Belleville board on communication, staff morale and public-participation rules
Summary
Multiple speakers at the board meeting urged better communication with staff and families after facilities incidents, defended custodial workers, questioned public-participation timing and raised concerns about a merit-pay increase for the superintendent; a local special-needs program also requested better outreach and facility access.
Several residents used the board’s public-comment periods to press the district on communication with staff, the quality of minutes and public-participation rules and to ask the board to facilitate community programs for students with disabilities.
Mike Mignon (387 Union Ave) told the board he had received no substantive follow-up from district leadership since the last meeting and said staff morale was “at an all-time low.” He urged the board to insist on better labor–management collaboration and timely notification of staff when construction or remediation occurs. “We’re asking for one thing: communication,” Mignon said.
Superintendent Dr. Eric Alfonso and other district representatives described outreach and timelines in response. Alfonso said buildings-and-grounds staff alerted him at 5:25 a.m. after the Hornblower incident and the principal emailed staff at 8:11 a.m.; he also said he had been in communication with the landlord and insurer and that a remediation plan was underway.
Alex Pacarelli, president of the Belleville Custodian and Maintenance Association, defended custodial staff after earlier remarks at a previous meeting, saying his members repaired and repainted the affected classroom and felt unfairly criticized. “We were the only association here working throughout COVID,” Pacarelli said, noting custodians respond to emergencies at all hours.
Arlene Shore raised two procedural issues: she could not find board minutes posted after Nov. 17 and said the board’s public-participation timing (the audible three-minute cue) should not be treated as a strict maximum. The board attorney and trustees responded that the Open Public Meetings Act sets minimum public-comment requirements and that the board provides more than the statutory minimum; the attorney also said the bylaw governing public comment is under review.
Michael Sheldon returned later in the session to urge modernization of bylaw 0167 and to call attention to a board-approved merit-pay program for Dr. Alfonso, which he said increases the superintendent’s pay by about $34,000 annually on top of a roughly $226,000 base.
Finally, George Bastore described Special Dragons, a therapeutic karate program for children with autism and other disabilities with five Northern New Jersey locations, and asked the board to improve district communication so families know the program exists and to help explore use of district or municipally affiliated facilities for programming.
Board members thanked custodial and grounds staff for storm work and said the board must balance oversight with day-to-day operational responsibilities handled by the superintendent and business office. Trustees said they welcome feedback and would share comments with staff and the administration for follow-up.
