Wyckoff School Board Member to Resign

A majority of the Wyckoff Board of Education seats will be filled by new members once the board reorganizes after the April 20 election, now that one trustee has decided to resign.

The board is scheduled to vote Monday night to accept the immediate resignation of Carl Anello, elected last year to a term that is due to expire in 2012.

Anello, president of Anello Heating and Air Conditioning of Hackensack, is the fourth member of the seven-member body to announce plans to leave in 2010. He could not be immediately reached for comment.

Only three, three-year seats are set to expire next month, but the incumbents all decided against re-election. The board will lose its leadership, as President Daniel Moynihan and Vice President Ray Hovey are not running, along with member Danielle Swenson, who will complete her first term in office.

However, the nominating petition process only attracted the attention of residents Catherine Runge and Jill Mortimer, newcomers who are therefore virtually assured of seats. 

The third open seat on the ballot could be filled by a write-in candidate, who would need to garner a minimum of 10 votes. Failing that, the board will have to fill the seat itself while also trying to attract interest in Anello's seat.

The school board also is scheduled to vote to authorize Alan Reiffe, administrator and secretary, to post notices advising residents of the two vacancies. Interested candidates would have until 5 p.m. April 1 to submit letters of interest to the board at its office at 241 Morse Ave. The board would then interview candidates and select members itself.

The departures will leave three veteran members after the April 20 election—Matthew Cole, Elizabeth DiGregorio and Thomas Giamanco. Cole and Giamanco's terms are set to expire next year, while DiGregorio would not be up for re-election until 2012.

The election of Mortimer and Runge would ensure the board of five members, one more than needed to do business, should the remaining two seats remain open for any length of time.

The board also is scheduled to vote to tentatively adopt the $36,593,029 2010-11 budget Monday, which carries a tax levy of $33,178, 572. The vote would come one day in advance of the unveiling of Gov. Chris Christie's proposed state budget, which would trigger the long-awaited notification of expected aid awards to school districts and municipalities. 

The state already had notified districts that they could expect a 15 percent reduction in their aid award. Therefore, the budget to be voted on Monday is drafted assuming 85 percent of last year's aid figure, roughly $1.7 million.

The vote will allow the board to submit its budget to the county superintendent by a March 22 deadline, although the board also is expected to vote to authorize Reiffe to make any adjustments to the budget upon notification of the aid award.

Additionally, Moynihan is scheduled to deliver a budget update at the beginning of the board meeting. A public hearing will be held at 8 p.m. April 1 at Eisenhower Middle School.

The school board will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at Eisenhower Middle School, 344 Calvin Court.