*** Meeting tonight at 8:PM ***

Board Meeting Schedule for May 2004 - April 2005

MATAWAN-ABERDEEN REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT



2004-2005
BOARD OF EDUCATION


In accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act, Chapter 231, PL 1975,
the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District Board of Education at its Organization Meeting on April 26, 2004 , approved the following schedule of regular monthly ACTION MEETINGS to be held on the THIRD MONDAY of each month except as listed below.

Meetings will commence at 8:00 p.m. at the Administration Building,One Crest Way,Aberdeen,NJ,unless otherwise designated.



MONDAY,May 24, 2004 *
MONDAY,June 28, 2004
MONDAY,July 19, 2004
MONDAY,August 30, 2004 * *
MONDAY,September 20, 2004
MONDAY,October 18, 2004
MONDAY,November 15, 2004
MONDAY,December 20, 2004
MONDAY,January 24, 2005 ***
MONDAY,February 28, 2005 ****
MONDAY,March 21, 2005



*To adopt final budget

**To Address Pending School Opening Issues

***Avoids Conflict with Martin Luther King's Birthday

****Avoids Conflict with President's Day

From 5/17/2004 Asbury Park Press
***I thought this was being done to improve performance? I do not believe it saves money as Quinn himself told us. Note the input from "State Officials".

Full Article:
http://www.app.com/app/story/0,21625,965511,00.html




Take Bruce Quinn, superintendent of Matawan-Aberdeen Regional Schools. Quinn's district is 30 percent minority, but his four elementary schools don't reflect that.

Lloyd Road Elementary School is about 20 percent minority and scored the highest marks on the state's fourth-grade test in 2002-03, the latest year available. Cliffwood Avenue Elementary School is 41 percent minority and had the district's lowest test scores. Strathmore and Ravine Drive schools are each between 25 percent and 30 percent minority and tested near the district's average score.

State officials noted the differences between Lloyd Road and Cliffwood Avenue are striking in a district that is 30 percent minority.

So Quinn and the Board of Education decided earlier this year to revamp enrollment. Lloyd Road will be home to fourth- and fifth-graders and the other schools will be kindergarten through third grade.

Quinn emphasized the racial disparities were the byproduct of tight financial times in the late 1980s when the district last drew its school boundary lines.

"The lines were not drawn with racial diversity in mind," Quinn said. "The most important thing for the Board of Education was economics. . . . They were trying to save as much money as possible."

And although economics still guide school policy in many districts, Quinn said mass regionalization is not the answer. He said the personal touches of smaller districts would be lost in a county-sized district.

"If you have a Monmouth County district, you're going to have 23 high schools?" Quinn asked. "How do you deal with that?"

Aberdeen refuses meeting with Matawan
Governing bodies to decide cuts for 2004-05 school budget
BY MARC CAVELLA
Staff Writer

MATAWAN - Members of the Matawan Borough Council School Committee met with representatives of the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional Schools Board of Education last week to review the school district's failed budget.

Committee and board members met May 5 to discuss possible cuts that could be made to the school budget, which was defeated on April 20 by voters. They also went over the second budget question, a $900,000 package earmarked for use in extracurricular activities such as sports and band programs, which was also defeated.

"We discussed the budget and showed them the reasons for the tax increases," said Superintendent of Schools Bruce Quinn, adding that the board will meet with the council again May 12.

The budget and the second question were defeated in both Matawan and Aberdeen in the April 20 school board elections.

Quinn also said he met with Aberdeen Township Manager Mark Coren on April 28 to discuss the issues facing the board and municipality.

"Mr. Coren is representing the Township Council at this point in time," Quinn said.

"There hasn't been any formal meeting with the other council members yet," he added, noting that last year he met with the Township Council directly.

Coren said the council will hold an executive session tonight to discuss whether or not they should meet with Quinn as a group.

Quinn and Coren's meeting, prior to the one Matawan held with the board, caused a disturbance among members of the Borough Council.

"[The Borough Council] is concerned with Aberdeen Township's refusal to meet with the Matawan council regarding the school budget," said Councilman Paul Buccellato. "We have an obligation to meet and review this budget jointly."

According to Buccellato, Aberdeen has refused two requests - one made last week and one the week before - to meet with the Matawan council to review and take action on the budget.

Mayor David Sobel of Aberdeen would not comment on Buccellato's claim, but said the township has decided the best way to work on the budget question is to have each governing body meet with the school board separately.

"[Meeting separately] is the preferred manner," Sobel said. "I think that the school board should be given the opportunity to present their budget and their plans regarding the defeat to each council separately."

Sobel also said that having the two councils meet with the school board simultaneously could result in a potentially adversarial relationship with the school board and that the current method "produces the best results." The two governing bodies have not jointly discussed a defeated school budget since 2002.

Buccellato said that having the township and borough go over the budget in separate meetings is a "disservice" to residents of both municipalities.

If the two towns can not reach an agreement by May 19, the budget will be submitted to the state Department of Education. But Quinn said he is optimistic that this scenario can be avoided.

"We’re hopeful that we can reach a resolution relatively soon," Quinn said.

Zavorskas reappointed
as school board president
BY MARC CAVELLA
Staff Writer

ABERDEEN - It was a reorganization in name only at the Matawan–Aberdeen Board of Education.

Cathy Zavorskas, Ingram Circle in Aberdeen, was re-elected board president by a 6-1 vote with one abstention at the April 26 meeting, and Arthur Fumarola retained his seat as vice president by a vote of 6-1 with one abstention.

Zavorskas, the top vote-getter April 20 in the school board elections, was happy about the outcome of the meeting.

"I'm happy to be re-elected," Zavorskas said. "Now that I have experience, I can be more effective [in the role]."

It will be Zavorskas’ second term as president, who is responsible for running meetings and making sure the board adheres to its calendar of events, such as evaluations of the superintendent and of the board itself.

Zavorskas will also help set up the board committees, such as finance, personnel, and negotiations, during her time as president.

The president must also work to answer any questions that board members may have, as well as serving as an intermediary between the superintendent and the board.

Zavorskas admitted that challenges lie ahead of the board, and laid out her goals for her upcoming term.

"Obviously, we need to settle the budget," Zavorskas said, referring to this year's failed school budget proposal. "We're going to meet with [Aberdeen and Matawan] town councils soon" to work on coming to an agreement on budget cuts, she said.

Ensuring a smooth transition during the new redistricting process is another priority for the board, Zavorskas said.

"We want to make it so that [redistricting] becomes a comfort for parents and an exciting opportunity for students, and not an intimidating prospect" to either, she said.

The board will continue to work on improving curriculum in the district, Zavorskas said, adding that the board must make certain that teachers in the district use the tools available to them to help students learn to their best ability.

Zavorskas would also like to further educate district parents about what the board's function is as the district governing body.

"I realize there's a lot of misunderstanding about the role of the board," Zavorskas said. "I want to make sure that parents understand how the board works and what its responsibilities are to the public and to the administration. I want to make sure that everyone understands what those responsibilities are, and hopefully I can do that."

Results of Special Action meeting 5/03/2003:

BOE went to executive session and announced the following:

Principal Ken Smith was moved from the High School to the Strathmore School.

Principal Pat Gossett was moved from Strathmore to Cambridge Park elementary.

An employee was dismissed and the Custodian Supervisor position was not renewed.

*** No mention was made of who would be the new principal at the High School

Public Notice:

MATAWAN-ABERDEEN
REGIONAL
SCHOOL DISTRICT
PUBLIC NOTICE
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District Board of Education has scheduled a SPECIAL ACTION MEEETING and EXECUTIVE SESSION on:
Monday, May 3, 2004
7:30 PM
at
Board of Education
One Crest Way
Aberdeen, New Jersey
Agenda
Committee Reports
/s/ Laura Venter, CPA
Business Administrator/
Board Secretary
Dated: April 29, 2004
($20.88) 49237