Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Cedar Grove Board of Education members will be unchallenged in their bid for re-election.
There are two open seats on both the Verona and Cedar Grove school boards in the November election. In Verona, current Board of Education Members Michael Unis and Glenn Elliott will seek re-election. The incumbents will be challenged by James Day of Windemere Road and Judith Dinapoli of Hillside Avenue. Cedar Grove Board of Education Members Pamela Burke and Joseph Cicala will be unchallenged in their bids for re-election. In both towns, elected school board members serve three-year terms. Tuesday was the deadline to file petitions to be included on the ballot. Voters will go to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Cedar Grove Superintendent Dr. Gene Polles is on medical leave and may not return before his June retirement.
Cedar Grove Superintendent of Schools Dr. Gene Polles, who is set to retire in June, may not be finishing up the school year, the Board of Education announced Tuesday. Polles informed the Board on Thursday, April 25, that he will be on medical leave effective immediately. “It's nothing life-threatening,” said Board of Education President Frank Mandala, who added that he could not give any further information. “He is following the advice of his doctors,” he added. It is unclear whether Polles will be able to return to work before the end of the school year but the Board is planning ahead as if he will not, said Mandala. During the public Board meeting on Tuesday, Cedar Grove High School Michael Fetherman was made Acting Superintendent. He …
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Representative of Triangle Training Group, LLC releases report on its security findings for the Cedar Grove School District to the board of education.
After the tragic shooting deaths of 20 children in Newtown, Conn. on Dec. 14, 2012, Cedar Grove parents approached the board of education to ask what was being done to ensure the safety of their children. In response, the board hired Triangle Training Group, LLC, for around $12,000 to review school safety measures and report back. On Tuesday, April 16, Cedar Grove resident Bill Fearon, an active duty law-enforcement officer and President of Triangle Training Group did just that —presenting his findings to the board. “The biggest think we looked at is cooperation from the local police department, to the administration and school board” said Fearon. “The collaboration together has been phenomenal.” Fearon has been doing school safety and …
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Lara Bottner, a third-grade teacher at South End Elementary School went into cardiac arrest before revival by Cedar Grove Police at February school play.
While South End teacher Lara Bottner attended Cedar Grove High School's performance of Beauty and the Beast in February, she became ill and went into cardiac arrest in front of friends, students and other staff members. Guests had mostly already filed into the Cedar Grove High School auditorium on Feb. 21 to see high school students perform when the third-grade teacher, collapsed, fell down a flight of stairs and went into cardiac arrest. “Officers were there in a matter of minutes and found her unconscious and bleeding from a head wound,” said Cedar Grove Police Chief Richard Vanderstreet. “When the officers attended to her she stopped breathing and lost her pulse.” Patrolmen Joseph Russomanno and Jason Rivers started CPR and attached an …
The Cedar Grove Board of Education passed its $26 million budget which means a property tax increase of $103.06 for the average homeowner.
The Cedar Grove Board of Education presented and approved the final $26 million budget for the 2013-2014 school year during Tuesday night's meeting. The budget is a total of $26,222,578 with $24,129,217 being raised from the local tax levy. The tax levy is within the 2 percent cap so the budget will not have to go to a public vote, said Board of Education President Frank Mandala. Homeowners will pay $1.08 per $100 of assessed valuation, said Superintendent Dr. Gene Polles. With an average assessed value of a home in Cedar Grove at $466,200, an average homeowner will see a property tax increase of $103.06, or $8.59 per month. In 2012-2013 the property tax increase was $55.34, down from an increase of $75 in 2011-2012. “It fluctuates for a …
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
$27 million budget means $103.06 as the average property tax on an average assessed home of $466,200, said Cedar Grove Superintendent Dr. Gene Polles.
The Cedar Grove Board of Education began presenting numbers for its proposed 2013-14 budget with a 2 percent cap during Tuesday night's meeting. Under the proposed $27,709,528 budget, Superintendent Dr. Gene Polles said, "We are looking at $103.06 as the average property tax on an average assessed home of $466,200.” Administrators presented the budget for technology, curriculum, special education, athletics and co-curricular activities Tuesday. Technology Informational Technology Director James Walsh presented current forms of technology used throughout the district and highlighted some needed improvements. The district is looking to purchase between 100 and 200 new Chrome books, notebooks and iPads which will be needed for new Partnership…
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Verona, Cedar Grove boards pass preliminary blueprints Tuesday prior to Thursday county deadline.
[Updated: March 6, 10:00 a.m.] Both the Verona and Cedar Grove Boards of Education met for special sessions Tuesday night to approve their respective preliminary budgets. Each district had to hold a special session to approve the preliminary budget before the March 7 county deadline. Verona The Verona Board of Education unanimously approved the preliminary 2013-14 budget which amounts to $33,686,705. “It includes an increase of 2.5 percent on the general tax levy,” said Verona Board member Joseph Bellino. “There have been numerous deletions from the requested funds and there have been some small additions to the budget.” The additions include a new special education class to keep those students in the district, salary increases, health …
Monday, March 4, 2013
Budget season continues in Verona and Cdear Grove.
The word "budget" is still on the tip of everyone's tongues as budget season continues in Verona and Cedar Grove. The Cedar Grove Township Council has completed their public budget hearings and will meet for a regular council meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 4 at town hall. An agenda is not yet available. The Verona Council has just begun its budget workshops and is also scheduled to meet for a regular council meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 4 at the Verona Civic Center. An agenda is attached as a pdf. Both the Verona and Cedar Grove Boards of Education will be meeting for special sessions after state aid figures revealed that neither district will see an increase in state aid. The Cedar Grove Board of Education meets at 8 p.m. on …
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
The board presented some adjustments to athletic field scheduling during a public meeting on Tuesday.
School field space will be easier to come by, now that the Cedar Grove Board of Education is adjusting the way sports organizations reserve the athletic fields. Previously, an organization would put in a request for field space at a certain school and would reserve every field on that property even though they weren't utilizing all of it. In addition, different offices were handling the scheduling of sports, with indoor courts going to the business office and the outside fields going to the athletic director. The board began re-examining some of its policies after Cedar Grove Soccer Club Vice President Greg Dilley approached the board and explained the difficulty the soccer club was having securing field space. “Other organizations often …
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
District will need to look into some of its policies regarding scheduling for seasonal sports.
The Cedar Grove Board of Education will attempt to at long last resolve an ongoing athletic field scheduling conflict after a local resident presented some ideas to the board. Cedar Grove Soccer Club Vice President Greg Dilley told the board he has not had an easy time acquiring athletic field space for his club. Field space is given in a hierarchical order starting with school athletic programs, educational clubs, recreation athletics and finally independent clubs, said Dilley. The soccer club is a non-profit group dedicated to promoting soccer throughout the township. The club consists of Cedar Grove alumni who coach soccer for children from pre-K to eighth grade. “We are the last in line,” he said. “Other groups take what they want and …
