ROBBINSVILLE: Reca to lead school board again

By Joanne Degnan, Staff Writer
   ROBBINSVILLE — Four members of the Board of Education took the oath of office and Michael Reca was the board’s unanimous choice to serve another one-year term as president during the school board’s annual reorganization May 3.
   School Business Administrator Robert DeVita administered the oath to the four winners of the April 27 school election, all of whom were incumbent board members. Vincent Costanza was elected to a one-year unexpired term, and Sharon DeVito, Carol Boyne and Matthew O’Grady were elected to three-year terms.
   Mr. O’Grady also was unanimously chosen by his colleagues to continue as the school board’s vice president for 2011-2012.
   Schools Superintendent Steve Mayer and Mr. Reca expressed their relief that the school budget, which contains a $31.5 million tax levy, had narrowly passed. Last year the budget was defeated, which led to teacher and staff layoffs, program cuts and an unfair labor practice filed by the teachers union after the district tried to cut costs by issuing furloughs on three staff development days. The matter is still pending before the state Public Employment Relations Commission.
   ”It’s a wonderful, tiny bit of momentum for us that the budget passed,” Mr. Mayer said. “The degree to which the incumbents all won, despite some difficult decisions that were made, despite the difficult things out there, in my mind, is the biggest win of all … (because) the community has affirmed some of the direction and vision that this board has put forward.”
   In other action May 3, Mr. Reca opted to make no changes to the school board’s five standing committees. Faith Silvestrov will chair the Education, Development & Policy Committee; Florence Gange will chair the Personnel Committee; Mrs. Boyne will chair the Finance, Facilities and Transportation Committee; Mrs. DeVito will chair the Community Relations Committee; and Thomas Halm Jr. will chair the Negotiations Committee.
   The board also approved the outside professionals who will assist in various capacities throughout the 2011-2012 year including: The Spiezle Group, of Trenton, as the architect of record; Cleary, Giacobbe, Alfieri, Jacobs LLC, of Florham Park, as its attorney and labor counsel; McManimon & Scotland LLC, of Newark, as bond counsel; Rodney Haines, of Holman & Frenia PC in Medford, as auditor; G.R. Murray, of Princeton, as health benefits consultant and insurance broker; and Mark Magariello, of Robbinsville, as the school physician.