Back in Session: District Will Have 6 New Staff Members

We're less than a week away from the first day of school in the Village, but the Ridgewood Board of Education have been busy this summer placing staff in positions of need after budget cuts forced a large reduction in their force.

Coming off the worst round of budget cuts in memory–and a budget that failed to pass by a slim margin– board members said they plan to introduce six new staff members to the district for this upcoming school year. The board unanimously voted on recommending the prospective new members for positions.

Superintendent Dr. Daniel Fishbein said that the new staff members–two full-time teachers at Ridge; one at the high school; and three part-time seasonal athletic directors–will be brought in because the incoming salaries will be lower than those of departing staff. Money that would have been allocated to higher-paid staff was furloughed to the new additions, the superintendent said.

While the district's enrollment continues to increase (it's up 11 percent in the past decade), the number of teachers remains at the same rate from 2000-2001. During a public Village Council meeting back in late April, Fishbein said the district prides itself on having one of the lowest cost-per-pupil rates around, but the various trustees and administrators on the board said Monday night that they'll be greatly challenged by the reality of more pupils and less staff, particularly as administrative positions have also been reduced.

The teachers at Ridge–one of whom is teaching second grade, the other fourth–will be helping keep class sizes down at the Westside-area school. The positions have officially been filled, but no salary figures for the new teachers have been made official.

Information was not made available on what role the prospective high school teacher will fill, but the district reduced a full-time English position at their public session in June; and one English teacher will be leaving on maternity leave, the latest school board documents note.

The high school teaching position is also to help keep class sizes down, Fishbein said. Aside from maternity leave, Assistant Business Secretary Angelo DeSimone said there shouldn't be any more holes left needing to be filled.

The part-time athletic director position is actually the rebirth of a program from five years prior, one that only ran for one year. The seasonal employees will be tasked with assisting the athletic director/director of wellness in coordinating and overseeing athletic programs, and taking larger responsibilities when the A.D. isn't available.

The athletic director, Nicholas Scerbo, took on additional responsibilities when the director of wellness, Garland Allen, retired from the district after 11 years and the position was consolidated. Negotiations have not began for the part-time seasonal positions, Fishbein reported.

The district will be also plugging holes to make up for the overall loss of staff by redeploying current staff members where needs arise after escalating costs in staff fringe benefits, medical insurance and a complete loss of state aid forced the district to reduce $6.4 million in personnel, capital projects (irrespective of the bond referendum), programs and supplies. Teachers were called on to renegotiate contracts to prevent such a reduction in the budget, but those efforts fell apart after a few negotiating sessions.

More than 50 aides, secretaries, and others were let go to get into the black and there have been a number of teachers who had retired over the past few months as well, meaning Ridgewood will have to make do with less. And it may not be a one-time thing, either.

Librarians, music teachers, resource center staff and child deployment staff were eventually (and grudgingly) recommended for cuts by the school board to the village council, but were spared when a line-item transportation cut was made instead at $100,000.

With concerns regarding the upcoming budget and its potential of passing, a  rising health costs, upcoming expansion projects, upcoming teacher negotiations–more programs and staff could be in jeopardy next year.

There may be some signs for hope for administrators, as teacher unions may have reduced power in negotiations next year as part of Christie's toolkit proposal. A more favorable negotiation with the Ridgewood Education Association may help the district stave off costs going forward. Teachers will be beginning a new contract in June.

Board president Michelle Lenhard said Monday night that in light of the reduced personnel and resources and greater number of students, the goal is now "simply to maintain" the excellent school system.

Others on the board said it's no easy task considering the depth of cuts they're already facing, and potential ones looming even further down the road.