Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Board Business topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Old Bridge board passes curriculum, personnel and finance resolutions; OBEA president Andrew Lewis announces departure
Summary
The Old Bridge Township Board of Education approved curriculum and multiple personnel and finance resolutions at its March 10 meeting; Andrew Lewis, president of the Old Bridge Education Association, told the board this was his final meeting as OBEA president.
The Old Bridge Township Board of Education approved a set of routine agenda items on March 10, including a curriculum and professional development resolution, multiple finance resolutions and certificated and non‑certificated personnel measures.
During the second reading of policy, the board voted to pass the curriculum and professional development item; an administrator explained the district has moved curriculum writing into the school year so teachers can collaborate and materials are implemented over the summer, and board members said the change gives the board more time to review materials.
On finance, board members asked for clarification about how refunding savings are realized. An administrator explained the savings will show up in the debt‑service portion of the tax levy and that the projected reduction does not become an immediate general‑fund cash balance. The board subsequently approved finance items 1, 2 and 3 on roll call.
The board took up personnel matters. For non‑certificated personnel item 1 and certificated personnel resolutions 1 and 2, motions were made and the resolutions passed on roll call. During certificated personnel discussion, administrators said about 75 staff members are currently on leaves of absence; the district fills vacancies with long‑term substitutes, external staffing services (Kelly Services) or by posting and hiring directly, and administrators said nursing positions in particular can be difficult to fill.
During resident comments, Andrew Lewis, identified himself as president of the Old Bridge Education Association, told the board this would be his final meeting after more than 11 years. "After 11 plus years, this is my final board of education meeting as president of the OBEA," Lewis said, thanking the district and wishing success to Ryan Sobin, whom he named as the association's newly elected president.
Other items: board members and administrators thanked schools for Read Across America events, described field trip activity and clarified the next regular meeting schedule. In response to a question about notification when a nearby school experienced a lockdown, an administrator said decisions about external notifications are discretionary to police and prosecutors and could depend on whether an incident has a wider impact beyond the township.
The board adjourned at the close of the meeting.
