Friday, March 22, 2013
The Fair Lawn Board of Education Thursday unanimously passed an $88.3 million budget for the 2013-2014 school year that includes a smaller tax increase than in recent years.
The Fair Lawn Board of Education unanimously approved an $88.3 million budget Thursday that superintendent Bruce Watson said contains the lowest-ever tax increase in district history. Cost savings from last year's custodial privatization, switch to the State Health Benefits Program for employees and receipt of unanticipated additional state aid freed up the board to increase expenditures by more than $2 million while upping taxes only 0.85 percent, or $73.88 on the average assessed homeowner, Watson said. Far from being a one-year gimmick, Watson stressed that the district's finances are in order for the foreseeable future. "Fair Lawn is financially positioned as probably one of the best districts in at least Bergen County," he said. "…
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Dr. Leonardo Rodriguez, of the United States Navy, sent a plaque to students and staff at Milnes Elementary who had lifted his spirits earlier in the year by sending a care package of cards and candy to Afghanistan.
Dr. Leonardo Rodriguez, a Navy doctor serving in Afghanistan, was so touched by the care package of cards and candy he received last year from the students and staff at Milnes Elementary that he thanked them with a moving tribute of his own. To show his appreciation, Rodriguez, the stepbrother of Milnes physical education teacher Jason Becker, sent the school a plaque with an American Flag that was hung over the base he was stationed at in Kandahar. The plaque's inscription reads: This flag was proudly displayed during the care of multiple U.S. combat casualties in the Emergency Department NATO Role III, Multinational Medical Unit, Kandahar, Afghanistan 22 August 2012 in recognition of the support provided to us by H.B. Milnes Elementary …
Friday, March 1, 2013
The Fair Lawn Board of Education Thursday unanimously passed an $88.3 million preliminary budget for the 2013-2014 school year.
As a result of cost-savings from the district's custodial privatization and switch to the State Health Benefits Program for employees last year, Fair Lawn schools superintendent Bruce Watson said the district's 2013-2014 budget paints the rosiest tax picture residents will have ever seen. The Fair Lawn Board of Education unanimously passed an $88.3 million 2013-2014 preliminary budget Thursday that raises annual taxes $73.92 on the average assessed homeowner -- a 0.85 percent increase that Watson claimed was "the lowest it's ever been in the history of Fair Lawn schools." The proposed budget, which is scheduled for official adoption on March 21, adds approximately 11 staff positions, introduces a supplemental "full-day" kindergarten …
Monday, January 14, 2013
The district will introduce a supplementary kindergarten program next year to support certain children in basic skills development, and set elementary students off on firm ground.
When Fair Lawn teachers and administrators saw certain students continue to struggle with learning difficulties through elementary and middle school, they decided to address the problem at its source. The district will introduce a supplemental kindergarten program for the 2013 school year, adding two hours and fifteen minutes of instruction time in literacy and math for kindergarteners identified by the district as in special need of basic skills development. “The whole idea of getting kids help is the earlier you get it, the quicker it sets in and the better chance they have of a better education as they move up,” Superintendent Bruce Watson said. The screening process to identify children in need of support will begin in March, as …
Monday, November 19, 2012
Absentee ballot results all but confirm that Fair Lawn Board of Education challenger Mark Spindel will join challenger Jeff Klein and incumbent Eugene Banta on the board next year.
Absentee ballot returns, released last week by the county, have solidified Mark Spindel's hold on the third and final contested seat in the Fair Lawn Board of Education election. Barring an enormous outpouring for incumbent Ron Barbarulo in the yet-to-be-counted provisional ballots, Spindel will join incumbent and leading vote-getter Eugene Banta and challenger Jeff Klein on the board come January. Banta and Klein held significant leads that virtually assured their victories before absentee ballots were counted, but Spindel's 87 vote lead over Barbarulo put him in a more precarious position. "I can't be very jubilant at this time until it is completely finalized," Spindel said the morning after the election. "There's still that uncertainty…
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
A compendium of information on the six candidates who are running for three three-year terms on the Fair Lawn Board of Education this November.
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Tuesday, November 6, 2012
When Fair Lawn residents go to the polls on Nov. 6, they'll have six candidates —three incumbents, three challengers — to choose from for the Board of Education. Of those six, three will be elected to three-year terms. This page is the clearing house where you can find relevant information about the candidates as well as their policy stances drawn from information gleaned in interviews, a League of Women Voters-developed survey and the candidates debate. Note: LWV Survey responses were provided by the candidates A transcript from the candidates debate is available, click here. For the updated list of polling places in Fair Lawn, click here. Candidate Profile: Banta Banks on Experience, Track Record in Board of Ed Race Elementary school …
Saturday, October 27, 2012
The Fair Lawn Board of Education candidates debate, which involved six candidates running for three open seats, was held Thursday, Oct. 25
The League of Women Voters and the PTA Council of Fair Lawn sponsored a Candidates Forum for the Fair Lawn Board of Education on Thursday, Oct. 25. All six of the candidates vying for three three-year terms participated in the forum, which was well attended by residents. The incumbents running for re-election are Eugene Banta, Ron Barbarulo and Josh Gillenson. The challengers are Vladimir Itkin, Jeffrey Klein and Mark Spindel. During the candidates forum, audience members directed questions at candidates, who were then given 90 seconds to respond. Following the question and answer portion, each candidate was given five minutes to make a closing statement. Below is a transcript of the event, taken while it was occurring. It's not a verbatim…
Thursday, October 25, 2012
First-time Fair Lawn Board of Education candidate Vladimir Itkin wants to ensure students are provided a rigorous mathematics curriculum.
This is the second in a series of profiles about each of the six Fair Lawn Board of Education candidates. Vladimir Itkin never paid much attention to elections growing up in his native Moscow. The process just wasn’t very interesting, he said. “In Russia, either there was no choice — there was only one choice — or later on there was a choice between a bad guy and a very bad guy,” said Itkin, who left Russia for the United States in 1994 to attend graduate school at Ohio State University. “Here in the U.S., there is a real choice.” Today, Itkin is not only interested in the upcoming election, he’s one of the six candidates vying for three Fair Lawn Board of Education seats. Itkin, who has two young daughters, began attending board meetings …
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Ron Barbarulo, a master plumber with a passion for coaching youth sports, is running for re-election to the Fair Lawn Board of Education.
This is the first in a series of profiles about each of the six Fair Lawn Board of Education candidates. Three educators with advanced degrees, a financial risk expert and a lawyer comprise this year’s stable of Board of Education candidates. And then there’s Ron Barbarulo, the master plumber with an assertive, tell-it-like-it-is approach. Barbarulo, who went straight to trade school after graduating from Paramus Catholic in 1981, believes his unique background has brought a breath of fresh air to the board during his three-year tenure. “I don’t think you need a board made up of all educators,” said Barbarulo, after a recent board meeting. “I think you need a variety of people on the board to help because it takes a variety of items to run…
Monday, October 22, 2012
Challenger Jeff Klein said he wants to see more transparency and fewer excuses from the board of education.
Compared to the municipal governing body, Fair Lawn’s board of education has traditionally flown under the radar. Despite the fact that school taxes account for a majority of the residential tax burden, board of education candidates rarely campaign, elections are only sometimes contested and voters generally skip the polls. This year, one school board candidate is hoping to change that. “The foundation of your country’s future, your community’s future lies in the hands of the people who are sitting in those meetings, yet it doesn’t get any attention,” said Jeff Klein, a first-time challenger for a seat on the board. “I hope to change that. To grab some attention from people, and at the very least, I hope that people are engaging in …
Ed Rooney
9:56 pm on Monday, March 4, 2013
Field is paid for with a cap. reserve fund and actually saves money in the budget. That cash could not be used for Kindergarten. more ›