Monday, February 25, 2013
The board voted at the Feb. 21 meeting to purchase a nearly one acre piece property adjacent to Terrill Middle School.
A last minute addition to the business agenda at the Feb. 21 Board of Education meeting was the purchase of a piece of property directly next to Terrill Middle School for $223,000, which was passed by the board with one no vote. The piece of land in question is directly to the right of Terrill Middle School where you would say the entrance is, Board President Trip Whitehouse said. Currently there is a house on the nearly one acre property, which will have to be removed, according to Business Administrator Deborah Saridaki. Whitehouse added that the contract to purchase the property is dependent on it adhering to all environmental standards. Initially, Whitehouse said he was not in support of the purchase of the land and did not think …
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Mathematics Supervisor John Veninger of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood school district urged the board to renew the Everyday Math program as early as possible.
At the Feb. 14 Scotch Plains-Fanwood Board of Education meeting, Mathematics Supervisor John Veninger made a presentation on the successes of the Everyday Math program and encouraged the board to renew the program to the 2012 version. Many of the board members found Veninger’s presentation informative and helpful and they seemed to agree that renewing the program would be in the best interest of the children. The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Board of Education will be voting on the renewal of the Everyday Math program at the Feb. 21 meeting. Veninger informed the board that last year’s goal of the mathematics department was to align the programs with the content standards of the common core standards put forth by the state. Now that the programs…
Monday, January 28, 2013
At the Jan. 24 Board of Education meeting a tentative budget of the special education department was presented.
The tentative Special Education Budget for the Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District was presented at the Jan. 24 Board of Education meeting by Business Manager Deborah Saridaki and Special Education Director Thomas Beese. Saridaki took the lead on the tentative special education budget presentation, the first of three budget presentations that will be presented to the public at a board meeting. The Special Education budget makes up around 20 percent of the entire Board of Education’s budget, Saridaki said and this year the tentative amount allotted is $18,214,874. For the 2012-2013 school year the budget for special education was $17,876,206. Beese noted that the increase is due to an increase in costs from the service delivery program…
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Board members discussed the Curriculum Committees proposal to renew Everyday Math as the Jan. 17 meeting. Also discussed was replacing exterior doors for security.
During a meeting of the Curriculum Committee, math supervisor John Veninger and math teacher Charlene Hall discussed the program Everyday Math and whether the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Board of Education should replace or renew it. Vice President of the Board of Education, Nancy Bauer announced at the Jan. 17 Board meeting that Veninger pointed out that many of the Everyday Math materials are from 2001 and 2004 and it has become increasingly difficult to replace journals, workbooks, etc. Bauer said she was impressed by the amount of time Veninger and Hall put into researching different math programs and they ultimately suggested to renew the Everyday Math program. “We’ve had very good math scores with this program,” Bauer said. After …
Monday, December 17, 2012
Hayes released a statement following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, CT. Counselors will be prepared to assist students and staff in Scotch-Plains Fanwood schools beginning Monday.
- PUBLIC SAFETY
-
Monday, December 17, 2012
Dear SPF Families and Colleagues, In the aftermath of the unthinkable tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, we all feel more vulnerable. As we grieve for the families and community who experienced this profound loss, we are also considering our children’s needs during this difficult time. When our children return to school on Monday, counselors and child study team members will be prepared to support individual students as needed. All of our staff will be watchful for signs that children may need support. Please reach out to your child’s principal or school counselor with any specific concerns. In talking with your children, you may find helpful the guidelines printed below. Moving forward we will focus on learning from these tragic …
Friday, December 14, 2012
At the Dec. 13 Board of Education Meeting, it was reported that Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying cases have dropped since the previous season.
Caitlin Taggart, the school district’s anti-bullying coordinator was present at the Dec. 13 Board of Education meeting to provide her bi-annual report on Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) cases. According to Taggart, Scotch Plains and Fanwood schools have seen a drop in both reported and confirmed cases of Harassment Intimidation and Bullying for January to June in comparison to the September to December report. Taggart said the HIB teams worked a lot on explaining to students and parents the differences between conflict and bullying throughout last spring. In her opinion, she stated this might be the reason for the drop in cases reported. During the period of January 2012 to June 2012, 97 cases were reported and investigated, …
Michael Lewis
10:09 am on Monday, February 25, 2013
Having attended this meeting, the rationale behind the acquisition made a certain amount of sense although I am taking the cost portion on faith. In real estate location is everything, and the lot is strategically situated. Short-term, the acquisition allows the Board to address a real safety issue. Longer-term, the acquisition also purchases a certain amount of time and planning flexibility. It … more ›