Lenhard, Hutton Retain School Board Positions; Members Push for Better Communication with Public

The presiding officers of the Ridgewood Board of Education will be familiar faces for the 2011-2012 school year after current board president Michele Lenhard and vice president Bob Hutton were unanimously re-elected to their positions at Monday night's board reorganization meeting.

Board members also made a push to suggest better ways of addressing public concerns as well as the public's understanding of the school budget on Monday night.

Members, committees

In addition to the positions Lenhard and Hutton were re-elected to, the board also swore in six-term member while thanking departed member Laurie Goodman for her contributions to the Ridgewood community during her three-year term. Goodman was given flowers as a gift before embracing Lenhard.

The trustees of the public school system are also looking to have nailed down committee assignments by Friday, likely to be reported for the next school board meeting in May. Goodman, now replaced by Krauss on the board, was the liaison to the Fields Committee as well as a member of the Facilities Committee and the Communications Committee, currently in negotiations with the teacher's union.

Communication with residents, budget forum

One of the board's goals at a meeting last summer with a representative of the state school board association was to improve communication with residents.

Brogan, on Monday night, told the board she would like to see changes to the public commenting section of the meetings, one that may remove the bell limiting a speaker's time to three minutes while also working out logistics to reflect when the board answers a question from the member of the public but does so via e-mail, outside the eye of the general public.

Neighbors of the high school fields again voiced strong complaints that the district has withheld information from them that may affect the quality of their lives, as well as property.

Vice President Hutton also said he would like to hold two sessions open to the public to hear their thoughts on the budget, particularly those who voted against it. While Hutton said he didn't believe it was realistic that the district would ever convince all residents to vote for its budget, he remarked that being able to answer questions and hear why some voted the way they did would be informational for the board as it crafts its 2012-2013 budget.

Member Charles Reilly agreed, saying the budget–which requires specific state formats–often appears "opaque" and a frank conversation with the public would help understand some of the nuances.