Ex-Trustee: Jim Morgan Would Violate Ethics Code if Involved in Superintendent Contract Talks

In a letter to the editor of The Ridgewood News, former Ridgewood school board trustee Charlie Reilly continued his criticism of new member Jim Morgan, this time calling for Morgan to avoid any .

In the letter, published Friday, Reilly says Morgan is unable to be "objective" regarding any possible contract extension to Fishbein, whose stay is up at the end of the 2012-2013 school year.

"Mr. Morgan’s participation would be a violation of the Code of Ethics for school board members," Reilly wrote. He later added that before taking office in April, Morgan has said Fishbein is not "trustworthy,"  disputes.

Morgan did not respond to several requests for comment.

Certainly not the best of friends, Morgan and Reilly have switched roles in recent months. Morgan, a neighbor of Ridgewood HS and a retired CFO, was often critical of board process and decisions made by top administrators, including Fishbein, before he had taken office.

Reilly, who served on the board for close to two decades before stepping down in November, recently called on the school board to extend Fishbein for another term and has publicly criticized Morgan.

The trial attorney said Fishbein's leadership has been of great benefit to Ridgewood during times of financial pressure and dwindling state aid.

He also took time in his letter to call for a probe into which school board members Morgan may have "tainted" in discussions on Fishbein's performance.

A Ridgewood resident with kids in the system, Fishbein has a tough choice to make over the next year. With Governor Christie's cap on superintendent pay, should Fishbein choose to stay in Ridgewood (or NJ, period), he'll be facing a pay cut of over $40,000. Fishbein currently makes over $220,000 a year.

Ridgewood will have a total of $165,000 it can spend on a superintendent beginning in the 2013-2014 school year, and the school board is none too pleased.

In a letter sent to the state, now-school board president Sheila Brogan said the cuts are going to push out qualified, experienced administrators like Fishbein, who froze his salary in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 despite fulfilling his district goals.

Many in recent years have fled to New York and other states without caps in place.

"Boards of Education should be allowed to continue to negotiate fair and appropriate compensation packages with their superintendent of schools," Brogan wrote.