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ROBBINSVILLE: News briefs from the Robbinsville school board

By Joanne Degnan, Managing Editor
Teachers honored
   The Board of Education honored the district’s elementary, middle and high school teachers of the year during its May 29 meeting.
   Sharon School Principal Janet Sinkewicz presented a plaque to Debby Muench, a second-grade teacher who has been with the district more than 30 years.
   ”Any child and any family that has had the good fortune of being in Mrs. Muench’s class has been blessed,” Ms. Sinkewicz said. “She is extraordinary; she is one in a million.
   ”We are so lucky to have her as a mentor not only to the teachers, but to myself … and to some of the board members and superintendents as well,” Ms. Sinkewicz said.
   Schools Superintendent Steve Mayer also joked about Mrs. Muench’s tell-it-like-it-is personality.
   ”Mrs. Muench counsels me when I need to be brought back in line,” he said as the room erupted in laughter.
   Dr. Mayer also praised Mrs. Muench’s dedication.
   ”It’s wonderful when someone more than 30 years into her career continues to be an active and eager leaner and mentor of others, with a desire to stay current with best practices,” Dr. Mayer said.
   Pond Road Middle School Principal Paul Gizzo presented the plaque to Marci Singer. As the school’s guidance counselor, Ms. Singer has had a positive impact on the lives of thousands of children and their families over the years, he said.
   ”There are families who have kids in college who still call her for advice and send her gifts,” Mr. Gizzo said.
   Nicole Rossi, the assistant principal of Robbinsville High School, presented the award to Sandy Overton, who teaches biology and forensic science.
   ”Dr. O is a passionate and compassionate teacher,” Ms. Rossi said. “If you listen very closely, he has been recognized in every valedictorian’s speech since we started the high school — that is the huge level of respect that the staff has for him and the students have for him.”
21 receive tenure
   The Board of Education voted on May 29 to approve the reappointment of faculty, administrators and staff for the 2012-2013 chool year, including 21 employees who will earn tenure.
   ”There’s really no more valuable resource to our schools and our kids than our teaching faculty,” Superintendent Steve Mayer said.
   ”I’m very proud of the candidates that we are awarding tenure to,” Dr. Mayer said, noting the district does a “rigorous three-year induction program” and holds “nine separate formal conversations” for faculty members who are up for tenure.
   According to the board agenda, the employees receiving tenure are: Melissa Avellino, Courtney Bellets, Deborah Binder, John Blair, Megan Bones, Nicole Bootier, Tiffany Brennan, Kimberly Brudner, Nicole Falso, Sean Fry, Terry Indrikovic, Clare Krulewicz, Katelyn LaMachia, Kristina Mannino, Scott Meredith, Lisa Peters, Jillian Potash, AnnMarie Potts, Samantha Rua, Rachel Whiteman, and Lisa Wilkinson.
Outside contracts
   The Board of Education made interim reorganization appointments for outside professionals on May 29.
   The Spiezle Group of Trenton was named the district’s architect of record; Cleary Giacobbe, Alfieri, Jacobs, LLC of Florham Park was named the district’s attorney and labor counsel; McManimon & Scotland, LLC was named the district’s bond counsel; Holman & Frenia PC of Medford was named the district’s auditor.
   In addition, GR Murray was named the district’s health benefits consultant and insurance broker; Dr. Mark Magariello of Robbinsville was named school physician; and Pablo Canela of Bergen was named treasurer of school monies.
   The appointments remain in effect until Dec. 31.
   Board member Rich Kasper asked Business Administrator Bob DeVita if any of the professional contracts were for more money than the current year.
   Mr. DeVita said there was no change for any of them except the auditor, whose contract was increasing “$1,000 or $2,000.”
   The architect’s fees will continue to be negotiated on a per project basis as before, Mr. DeVita said.
   The board agenda listed the board attorney’s hourly rate as $150; the bond counsel’s hourly rate as $215; the auditor’s fee as $24,000; the school physician’s fee as $12,000; and the treasurer’s fee as $5,400.
Dugout repairs
   The Board of Education approved the transfer of $10,000 from its security account to its maintenance account to pay for repairs to the high school softball and baseball dugouts to bring them up to code.
   The item was one of 16 account transfers totaling $103,699 that were approved at the May 29 Board of Education meeting.
   Schools Superintendent Steve Mayer said the dugouts, which were donated to the district a couple of years ago, did not pass township construction official Bob Corby’s final inspection and the teams have not been able to use them.
   Dr. Mayer said the approved plans for the dugouts were done per code, but the town found “omissions or substitutions” were made during the actual construction process that were not part of the original drawings.
   ”We had to make an internal decision on these dugouts,” Dr. Mayer said. “We need to complete these projects so that they are useable for the kids.”
   Board member Rich Kasper asked why there hadn’t been more “administrative oversight” to ensure that the dugouts were built to code in the first place.
   ”I’m not sure who that someone would be when we’re not hiring a contractor,” Dr. Mayer said.
   ”It doesn’t need to be a contractor,” Mr. Kasper said. “You can bring in the township to inspect periodically.”
   ”We did, Rich,” Dr. Mayer said. “The township came out at every stage that you do in a housing project and then failed the final inspection.”
   Mr. Kasper replied: “There’s something flawed in the process.”
   Board member Thomas Halm sought to put the district’s liability in the matter into perspective.
   ”Is it fair to say we would have spent much more than $10,000 on building these facilities if we would have done it ourselves?” Mr. Halm asked.
   School Business Administrator Bob DeVita said he didn’t know the figures off hand, but agreed that it would have easily cost the district “tens of thousands” in labor and materials if it had to hire an outside contractor to build the dugouts.