At the monthly board of education meeting, the public expressed concerns over the potential installation of a new roof over Union Valley Elementary School
At Ann A. Mullen Middle School for the Gloucester Township Board of Education meeting for February, members of the public questioned the board on numerous topics, including a new roof for Union Valley Elementary School, schools’ capacities and more.
Starting the Feb 25 meeting, the board announced the resignation of board member Brian Reagan. According to board president MaryJo Dintino, it received a letter from Reagan announcing his resignation on Monday, Feb. 18.
Reagan was one of three members elected this past November to a three-year term, alongside Carolyn Grace and Anthony Marks. Reagan received 13.03 percent of the vote of the more than 45,000 votes cast.
Reagan attended the reorganization meeting on Monday, Jan. 7 where he was publicly sworn in, however did not attend the Monday, Jan. 28 meeting.
Board solicitor Dan Long stated during the meeting that after the vacancy, the Gloucester Township Board of Education has 65 days since the date of resignation to fill the seat. If it does not fill the vacancy by the end of the 65 days, which is Sunday, April 21, the executive county superintendent of Camden County will then fill the position.
Advertisements for the position will be posted, followed by interviews by the board. Approval of a candidate, after a background check, requires a majority vote of the remaining eight members, according to Long. The Gloucester Township resident that takes this position will only serve until the end of 2019.
An “unexpired election” will take place in November for the seat with the board of education for the remaining two years, as well as the upcoming election for the three seats having reached the final year of their terms; in total, four members of the board of education will be elected this November.
Much discussion from the public during the board meeting revolved around the potential of installing a new roof on Union Valley Elementary School this summer. There has not yet been a resolution seeking the approval of such a project on an agenda, however discussions about doing so have begun.
The Sicklerville Sun reported on Tuesday, Jan. 22, that Superintendent John Bilodeau looked to have the board approve the installation of a new roof for this upcoming summer, that may cost somewhere in the range of $2.5 million.
Gloucester Township resident Ray Polidoro questioned the potential installation with regard to taxpayer money and how it is spent. Polidoro sent in an Open Public Records Act request for information regarding the warranty of the Union Valley Elementary School roof, however has not received it yet because the board is allowing the solicitor time to gather all the facts about the warranty before releasing it to the public.
“It’s still my belief that, as a 17-year-old, almost 18-year-old school, that product is still under a manufacturer’s warranty and I feel very strongly about that,” Polidoro said. “We went down this road with [Ann A. Mullen Middle School] and you guys forged forward because of the need for it.”
“But the problem is, a great deal of taxpayer money was unnecessarily spent. Not that the school didn’t need it, but it was unnecessarily spent,” Polidoro added.
Polidoro said he would like to see the manufacturer, GAF Roofing Shingles and Materials, evaluate the state of the roof currently over Union Valley.
Polidoro also asked if Pennoni engineering received any percent of commission in approving the Ann A. Mullen Middle School roof this past summer, which cost $4.8 million.
Bilodeau denied Pennoni engineering received commission from the roof’s cost.
“Not half a percent, not 5 percent, not 7.5 percent; zero,” Bilodeau said.
Later in the meeting, board member Jennifer O’Donnell expressed concern over the first reading of district Policies and Regulation.
“I began going through the policies and taking notes on information that is missing and gave up 100 pages into 186 pages,” O’Donnell said.
O’Donnell cited a policy option on the agenda where one of a potential two policies is to be marked as the policy for the district, however both are blank. O’Donnell said she noted several such mistakes throughout the attachment, eventually leading it to be tabled.
Lastly, Bilodeau announced principal Andrea Stubbs of Blackwood Elementary School retired Thursday, Feb. 28. According to Bilodeau, Stubbs was the first female African American principal in Gloucester Township. Also leaving on the same day was principal Suzanna Schultes from Glen Landing Middle School.
Passed at the board meeting was the approval of Christopher Mason as acting principal of Glen Landing Middle School and Alexander Ferrante as acting principal of Blackwood Elementary School; both were effective March 1 and are until further notice.
