Monday, May 20, 2013
Step two of the process will include two public forums on Monday, where the district will seek input from community members on the hiring process.
The Franklin Lakes school district will hold two special forums on Monday to gain input from community members on its search to fill the district’s curriculum director position. The post will become vacant when current curriculum director Cheryl Best’s contract expires in June. The board opted not to renew her contract in a vote April 30. The forums will be held Monday in the Franklin Avenue Middle School instrumental music room, one at 10:30 a.m. and another at 7:00 p.m. The board of education advertised the opening two weeks ago, beginning what Superintendent Frank Romano called “an aggressive timeline” that he hopes will zero in on a candidate by mid-summer. The forums, he said, are designed to gain input from community members that …
Friday, May 17, 2013
Nine seats will be up for election in November, three each on the Ramapo Indian Hills, Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes boards of education.
The deadline to file candidacy for a total of nine seats on the Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes and Ramapo Indian Hills school boards is fast approaching. To appear on the ballot in the November elections, prospective candidates must file with the county by 4 p.m. June 4. At that time, they must have completed nominating petitions with 10 signatures, which can be found here. Three seats on each of the three school boards will be up for grabs in November. On the Ramapo Indian Hills board, the seats of Franklin Lakes trustee John Butto and Wyckoff trustees Lynn Budd and Thomas Bunting are on the ballot. In Wyckoff, current terms will expire for Christopher Della Pietra, Danielle Swenson, and Samir Taneja. The seats of Christine Chritopoul, Richard …
Facing parent opposition to shifting kindergarteners from Colonial Road School to keep class sizes down, the board voted instead to add kindergarten classes to the elementary schools.
Following opposition from parents, the Franklin Lakes Board of Education voted down a plan on Tuesday night to shift incoming kindergarteners from Colonial Road School, a plan that had been devised to address uneven class sizes in the face of budgetary constraints. Uneven class sizes among the elementary schools has been a longstanding issue in the district. A committee organized under Superintendent Frank Romano shortly after he began his tenure discussed adopting a “modified Princeton system,” which would have established two schools for pre-school through third grade and another for fourth and fifth graders. “At the elementary level,” Romano recalls of his discussions with residents upon taking the position, “the top issues they …
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Susan McGowan announced Tuesday night she would step down as president of the Franklin Lakes Board of Education. The board voted for Laurence Loprete to replace her.
Susan McGowan stepped down as president of the Franklin Lakes Board of Education at the beginning of a meeting Tuesday night, passing the gavel to Laurence Loprete to finish her term. “After considerable thought and reflection,” McGowan said in a prepared statement, “I stand by the decisions I have made, knowing I have made them for what I believe are the best interests of our community and in order to move forward with our collective pursuit of the highest standards.” The board had recently come under fire for its decision to cut ties with curriculum director Cheryl Best, a decision coming on the heels of accepting the resignation of Superintendent Frank Romano. Following the shake-up in the administrative staff, a candidate for Woodside …
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Christine Laquidara withdrew her acceptance as Woodside principal, calling the career move a potential 'risk.'
Christine Laquidara feared for her future with the Franklin Lakes School District when she withdrew her acceptance of the principal position at Woodside Avenue School last week, she said in an interview Monday. “Based on the discussions and actions take by the Franklin Lakes Board of Education recently, I am not confident the commitment or loyalty would be reciprocated,” said Laquidara. “I can not take that risk.” The Franklin Lakes School Board voted to cut ties with Director of Curriculum Cheryl Best and accpeted the resignation of Superintendent Frank Romano on Tuesday, April 30. Laquidara said that while she expects the board of education in any school district to hold their administration accountable, it should remain supportive. “…
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
In early, unofficial numbers: Michael Ben-David, Jackie Veliky, Shirley Hermansen O'Reilly are in; Margaret Bennett and Kathleen Schwartz are out.
In a contentious race for three seats on the Franklin Lakes K-8 Board of Education, borough voters decided to oust incumbents Margaret Bennett and Kathleen Schwartz and elect Shirley Hermansen O'Reilly, Jackie Veliky and David Michael Ben-David. Ben-David earned 1,674 votes — the most of the bunch. He was followed by Veliky with 1,662 votes and O'Reilly with 1,382 votes. "I'd like to say thank you to everyone who supported me," Veliky said Tuesday night. "I look forward to working with other board members and the administration to ensure that Franklin Lakes has a world class educational system while being fiscally responsible to our taxpayers." O'Reilly's seat on the board isn't a certain thing, however, as she was only 66 votes ahead …
Friday, October 26, 2012
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Friday, October 26, 2012
To the Editor: Thirty years ago, 81 year old Clara Peller captivated America with a simple question: “Where’s the Beef?” Though just selling a bigger hamburger, the phrase became ubiquitous as a way of questioning the substance of any item or idea. It is also strangely applicable in this year’s Franklin Lakes School elections. While I have seen lawn signs aplenty, I have not seen any reasonable (or accurate) complaints about the incumbent board members, nor have I seen a proactive agenda as to what the opposition would do going forward. This leaves me to wonder: “Where is the Beef?” Superficially, the challengers appear to be agents of change but actually project a steadfast resistance to change. They don’t like the new superintendent…
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
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Tuesday, October 23, 2012
To The Editor: It has been my pleasure to serve as a trustee of the Franklin Lakes Board of Education since May of 2011. The following commentary is my personal opinion and not that of the Board. Since a) my wife accuses me of being loquacious b) I'm trying to keep this brief and c) my mother taught me to keep it positive, here is my concise input on this year’s dynamic election cycle. Board of Ed: Kathy Schwartz: Experienced, Team Player, Respectful Margaret Bennett: Passionate, Curriculum Knowledge Michael Ben David: Educator, Qualified Resume Jackie Veliky: Dedicated, Organized, CPA Claims of poor fiscal stewardship of BOE by some in our community: Unfounded and unsupported. Budget and tax increases for last two years were less than…
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Wyckoff-Franklin Lakes Patch recently spoke with several of the candidates for the Franklin Lakes Board of Education. Here's our Q&A with local mother, certified public accountant and volunteer Jackie Veliky.
Jackie Veliky is running for the Franklin Lakes Board of Education. She is a lifelong New Jersey resident, originally from Elmwood Park. Vilky has lived in Wayne, and eventually moved to Franklin Lakes in 2002. The 45-year-old mother of four is a certified public accountant with a bachelor's in accounting and business management from Rutgers and an MBA from Pace's Lubin School of Business. Veliky spent much of her career as a manager in the tax accounting department of Prudential Insurance Company of America in Newark with responsibilities that included budgeting, financial planning and analysis, forecasting, auditing, tax law analysis, supervising staff and preparing and consolidating tax returns. "I stopped working after the birth of …
Send your letters to joseph.gerace@patch.com
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Sunday, October 21, 2012
There’s much talk around town about who to choose for the Franklin Lakes Board of Education. I will cast my vote for the people that I want to sit with at the board table, Margaret Bennett, Kathie Schwartz and Jackie Veliky. When I joined the Board of Education two years ago my goal was simple, to make the best possible decisions for the students and taxpayers of Franklin Lakes. After all, I am a parent so I want my kids to have a stellar education. But I am also a taxpayer and will be, long after my kids graduate. What I learned is that balancing these priorities is not easy. Sometimes decisions that are best for students cost money that we hadn’t planned on spending. Sometimes we simply can’t provide a desired resource because it …
FAMS/CRSFather
11:46 am on Thursday, May 23, 2013
Just found out that Jon Circu the head of rec was forced to resign. Our children are losing in so many ways. The Mayor handled this, but he can't force irresponsible BoE members to resign? This entire town is not focusing on our children. No curriculum director, no principal in one school, superintendent forced to resign and now our rec department head. Is Bivona running again? Our town is going … more ›