Rumson-Fair Haven board approves personnel, finance and education items; new member abstains on several votes

The Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School District Board of Education met Oct. 7 in the Learning Commons and approved a slate of routine personnel, finance and education items while administering the Oath of Office to newly appointed board member Brian Leddin.

Board President Mrs. McGinty called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m., read the statement of compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act, and welcomed visitors. The board acknowledged nine employees awarded tenure.

The board approved the Sept. 16, 2025 regular and executive session minutes after a motion by Mr. Grant, seconded by Mrs. Kiley; the roll call recorded six yes votes and two abstentions (Mr. Dougherty and Mr. Leddin). Later in the meeting the board approved personnel items #2–15 on a motion by Mr. Grant, seconded by Mrs. Whitehouse. Personnel approvals included salary guide movements for named staff (for example, Susan Pagano and Dino Pagano), amended sixth-assignment stipends, appointment of a substitute coordinator (Luz Coby), approval of chaperones for travel and homecoming duties, increases in paraprofessional hours for extracurricular support, and other routine hires and leave approvals. The personnel slate carried by roll call with seven yes votes, one abstention (Mr. Leddin) and one recorded absence (Mr. Page).

On finance items the School Business Administrator/Board Secretary, Sean S. Cranston, certified no line items were over-expended under the cited administrative rules and presented a bill list dated Oct. 7, 2025 showing a total of $960,298.07 (General Fund $831,297.99; Special Revenue Fund $23,522.43; Food Services Fund $105,477.65). Payroll for Sept. 30 was reported as $601,251.70 and total expenditures for the period as $1,561,549.77. The board approved finance items #16–26 by roll call with seven yes votes, one abstention (Mr. Leddin) and one absence (Mr. Page).

The board approved multiple professional conferences and workshops for staff through the 2025–26 school year, and approved AI Think Tank stipends of $50 per hour for parent workshops and after-school sessions, listing the staff who will receive stipends for specific sessions. The board also approved hiring Dr. Derek Tranchina, Director of Special Projects, MOESC, to present to the AI Think Tank on Nov. 12, 2025, at a cost of $2,250.

Other approvals included declaring specified items surplus under N.J.S.A. 18A:18A-45, authorizing enrollment of a nonresident tuition student for 2025–26 at $22,060, approving multiple field trips and fundraising activities, approving home instruction for a medically indicated case, and accepting revised curriculum proposals (Advanced Creative Writing Portfolio; Principles of Marketing). The Nursing Services Plan for 2025–26 was approved under Policy & Planning.

The agenda included an item ending the appointment of Brian Leddin as construction consultant effective Sept. 16, 2025; the motion to end the appointment was listed among finance items and related votes show Mr. Leddin recorded as abstaining on the board’s roll calls where he is listed as abstaining.

An addendum item approving a chess-team field trip for Oct. 28 was moved by Mrs. Kiley and seconded by Mrs. Whitehouse and approved by roll call. No members of the public spoke during the meeting’s public comment periods. The meeting adjourned at 7:05 p.m. on a motion by Mr. Dougherty, seconded by Mrs. Whitehouse.

What happens next: the minutes and approved items will be recorded in the district’s official minutes and implemented where applicable; the AI Think Tank will convene for its scheduled parent workshop and the Nov. 12 presentation.