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River Dell board honors students and dozens of staff at annual service and retirement recognition
Summary
The River Dell Regional School District board held its annual service-and-retirement recognition on June 15, honoring student representatives and staff spanning 15 to 45 years of service, and presenting an honorary diploma to a longtime community volunteer.
The River Dell Regional School District board opened its June 15 meeting with a combined service recognition and retirements ceremony, presenting certificates to three student representatives and honoring staff members with service milestones ranging from 15 to 45 years.
The superintendent, who led the presentations, introduced student representatives Kate Nippas, Nick Galloway and Hannah Lee and presented each with a certificate and a board resolution recognizing their contributions. "It's my favorite part of the year," the superintendent said, calling the evening "a fun night for us as a board." The board also passed a formal resolution recognizing the students' service to the district.
Following the student recognitions, the board presented years-of-service awards across multiple categories. Staff honored for 15 years included Casey Dia (high school special education / English-language arts), Jane Fernano (middle school math), Miriam Gardulo (Spanish) and John Herbeck (middle school science). The board recognized multiple 20-year employees including Todd Bjo (special education, incoming LLD program lead), Lauren Delpiano (high school English; not present) and Anthony Manurano (middle school social studies). Employees at the 25-year mark and beyond included Sarah Teresa Bartalone (art and former technology-integration coach), Carrie Bulmar (high-school mathematics) and John Zakone (middle school English).
Longer-tenure awards highlighted facilities and support staff. The board acknowledged Al Zera for 40 years of service in custodial and maintenance roles and named Kevin Lurum as the district's longest-serving staff member with 45 years of service. Several retirees offered short remarks; Carol Frink (educational aide) and Madame Carol Guerrero (French teacher, retiring after 21 years) thanked colleagues and students.
In a related recognition, the board announced it will present an honorary diploma at the high school graduation to River Edge resident Freddy Hoffman in recognition of decades of community service and large-scale charitable fundraising. The board said Hoffman never had the opportunity to graduate because of historical gaps in special-education access and that the diploma will be presented during the June 18 graduation ceremony.
The ceremony concluded with photographs and applause before the meeting returned to its regular agenda. The board livestreamed the event and invited the community to view the graduations and recognitions online.
