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Residents ask about superintendent hiring authority and unannounced school visits as Ridgefield board receives ethics training
Summary
During the Jan. 2, 2025 reorganization meeting residents asked whether the board can reject superintendent hiring recommendations and whether board members may visit schools unannounced; the board's attorney delivered ethics training beforehand and President Grippa advised that visits should go through the superintendent's office.
Residents and officials addressed governance and procedural questions during the public comment portion of the Ridgefield Board of Education's Jan. 2, 2025 reorganization meeting after the board received ethics training.
The Ridgefield Board of Education's attorney conducted the board's required ethics training earlier in the meeting. During public comment, Joanna Congalton-Hali and other residents congratulated newly elected board members. Resident Warren Vincentz asked what would happen if the board voted against an employment recommendation made by the superintendent. President Andrew Grippa replied that the board can vote as it chooses but stated that the board "trusts the Superintendent with such recommendations" in practice; the transcript records the question and this general response but does not set out a formal procedure or precedent.
Kleidon Ndreu, a member of the Cliffside Park Board of Education, congratulated the newly elected Ridgefield members and suggested the two neighboring districts should work together. Ridgefield Borough Councilman Dr. Ryu asked whether board members are permitted to visit schools unannounced; President Grippa said members should not conduct unannounced visits and that any visits should be coordinated through the Office of the Superintendent. Mayor Hugo Jimenez also offered congratulations to the board.
The board closed public comment and proceeded with the consent agenda and other reorganization business.
