Wyckoff School Board Accepts Second Resignation

And then there were two.

Only two current members of the seven-member Wyckoff Board of Education will continue to serve after it reorganizes following the April 20 election after the board accepted the resignations of two members Monday night.

The school board, at its regular meeting, voted to accept the previously announced resignation of member Carl Anello, who has been frequently absent from meetings since his 2009 election. Additionally, the board also voted to accept the immediate resignation of member Matthew Cole, who was in his third term.

Reasons for the members' departures could not be ascertained by last night. Anello, the president of Anello Heating and Air Conditioning, did not return calls for comment.

Board Vice President Raymond Hovey assured the crowd at the board meeting that the two resignations and decisions by three other members not to seek re-election was a "coincidence" explained by "five different reasons."

Hovey joins President Daniel Moynihan and member Danielle Swenson in not seeking re-election to their three-year seats, all of which come due this year. While an election will be held on April 20, there is not a contested race. Only two residents filed to run for the board—Catherine Runge and Jill Mortimer—which assures them of seats, assuming at least some residents come out to the polls.

Runge and Mortimer would be joined by existing members Elizabeth DiGregorio and Thomas Giamanco, which would provide the minimum number of residents needed for the board to operate. DiGregorio will not be up for re-election until 2012, while Giamanco's seat expires next year.

The three remaining seats will be open to any interested residents, who would have to put forth relatively minimal effort to achieve a seat on the volunteer body. The third seat on the ballot is expected to be filled with a write-in candidate, who would need to garner at least 10 votes to assume the three-year term. The two seats resulting from the member resignations will be filled by the board itself.

The board also voted Monday to authorize business Administrator Alan Reiffe to advertise the openings, setting a deadline of 5 p.m. April 1 by which residents must submit a letter of interest to the board at its offices at 241 Morse Ave. 

Existing members would then interview those residents and fill the seat directly. Hovey said he and the other departing members, Moynihan and Swenson, will take part in the interview process, with an eye toward filling the seats quickly, as the board faces a 65-day deadline to fill out its membership.

In fact, the board could vote to accept new members as soon as its April 5 meeting, according to the administration.

Reiffe said those residents who would assume Anello and Cole's seats would serve for only one year, with both seats opening up again next year for three-year terms.

Monday's meeting was moved from its normal Eisenhower Middle School location to Sicomac Elementary School due to a power outage at Eisenhower. Still, residents found their way to Sicomac, with one asking about the resignations.

Reiffe directly addressed the crowd of parents and teachers in a plea for board interest: "I implore people out there who are caring parents, run for the board."

Hovey said board membership is a "great opportunity to have a huge impact on the children of Wyckoff.

"I've enjoyed it tremendously," he said.

"It's an investment in our children."

Anello and Cole were not present at the meeting, which was led by Hovey, as Moynihan also was absent.