Three new members of the Middletown Board of Education jumped right into a discussion on professional contracts at the annual school reorganization meeting on April 28, arguing for a closer look at prices for professional contracts.
Newly elected board members Vincent Brand, Chris Aveta and Michael Mascone, who were sworn in at the meeting, urged the district to table a motion that would appoint professionals such as attorneys, auditors and architects for contracts for the upcoming academic year.
“What really happened a week ago is that the town of Middletown said, ‘OK, we have to put the brakes on,’ and all of New Jersey is saying it,” Brand said, requesting a 30-day period to revisit the item at the next board meeting in May. “They [the voters] are saying, ‘Don’t spend our money willy-nilly,’ and if we can take a look at this, we should.”
Each of the new members earned a three-year seat on the board, replacing longtime incumbents Dawn Diorio, Patricia Walsh and Leonora Caminiti.
Board member Michael Donlon was appointed as the board’s new president, and Daniel Skelton was selected as the new vice president.
Brand, who presented the motion to table, explained that all district spending should be monitored closely, given the state’s fiscal crisis. The voting public rejected the district’s $140 million 2010-11 budget on April 20 by a 5,361-7,296 vote.
Had the budget passed as introduced, it would have generated a 3.9 percent tax increase, or a 4.2-cent estimated increase in the school tax rate.
“I don’t believe the people of Middletown voted this way,” Brand said. “They said, ‘Listen, let’s have a fresh set of eyes look at it.’ ”
After a half-hour discussion, the motion to table the awarding of 13 different professional appointments passed with a 6-to-2 vote.
Only two contracts were approved by the board: Judith Werchinski as treasurer of school monies, and attorney Christopher B. Parton, of Kenney, Gross, Kovats, Campbell & Pruchnik, Red Bank, to serve as board attorney and a representative for labor relations and negotiations.
Responding to the concerns of the new board members, Superintendent Karen Bilbao said the district already performed its due diligence and conducted reviews of the professional recommendations on the agenda.
“We have not included some appointments that we thought we might be able to negotiate a lower rate or we might be able to seek a different agency,” Bilbao said. “The ones we did recommend are the ones we feel very confident about and are of the highest quality. They are also agencies we have developed working relationships with over the years.”
The first included the appointment of Rita Barone, of Purcell, Ries, Shannon, Mulcahy & O’Neill, Bedminster, for $155 per hour and a zero percent increase, effective July 1 through June 30, 2011.
Another item for approval was the appointment of Holman & Frenia, Medford, to serve as school auditors and to conduct a financial year 2010-11 audit for a fee of $42,822 with a zero percent increase.
Business Administrator William Doering said an auditor position needs to be approved in order to comply with state statutes.
“Forty-two thousand dollars for a district our size and a $150 million budget, there are at least seven or eight districts in Monmouth County alone that have significantly higher audit fees than this Board of Education does, because we prepared a comprehensive annual financial report in the district and it’s a pure audit,” he said.
Sonnenfeld and Trocchia Architects, Holmdel, would handle district capital projects as architects of record for various rates. A principal architect would receive a rate of $135 an hour, a construction manager would earn $100 an hour, and an administrative assistant would receive $50 an hour.
BGIA, a Woodbridge-based firm, would be appointed as the health insurance broker of record for a flat fee of $244,800 with a zero percent increase.
“We took the initiative a few years ago to negotiate flat fees for our insurance brokers so that there would not be any incentive in terms for getting more compensation the higher the renewal premium is for the district,” Doering said. “We implemented flat fees, and by doing so, just by way of example, with medical insurance, the flat-fee amount is less than half of what the standard scheduled premium would be for the industry of health insurance.”
In total, the broker fees equate to 1.7 percent of premium, Doering said, explaining that the district is “very comfortable” with the flat fee. He added that most of the appointments have a zero percent increase.
“We’ve negotiated that down as far as we reasonably could and then some,” he said.
Winant Bomack Insurance Agency, Red Bank, would be designated as the student accident and workers’ compensation insurance broker of record for a flat fee of $61,200.
Other appointments included the district’s medical officer and sports physician, school psychiatrists and neurologist. One, Janis Mayer & Associates, for consulting services to the Bottlecappers program from High School North and High School South, at a fee of $10,000, drew opposition from Brand.
The Bottlecappers program is a peer-topeer awareness and education project in response to the increased rate of student fatalities related to drunken driving, according to the district website.
Brand used the program as an example where the district could find cost savings, eliciting applause from the audience.
“Ten thousand dollars for Bottlecappers?” he said. “I don’t know if I feel comfortable with that while writing my check.”
Parton said tabling the professional contract appointment decisions was not a statutory violation.
“There are minimal things that are required to take place at a reorganization meeting,” Parton said. “The majority of appointments run through June 30, and you could legally table them.”
Mascone said the motion was a reasonable idea because he believed there was no harm in tabling the decisions for next month.
Conversely, Bilbao explained that the district would risk not being able to secure professional services and rates if the board did not take action.
“We have worked long and hard to develop and establish relationships with these services,” she said. “There are some that I think are really important that we might want to consider approving, and others that I think could wait and investigate further.”
Board member Joan Minnuies, who was nominated for both board president and vice president, said she believes there would be little risk in today’s economic climate because the professionals need the work.
“I really do have a hard time believing that these people will run off and find another job and we won’t have the people to fill these positions,” Minnuies said. “Right now, everyone is scrambling to get jobs. There are so many people out there without jobs. I find it hard to believe they will walk away if we say no tonight.”
The next regular board voting meeting will be held May 26 at High School North, 63 Tindall Road.