Berkeley Board of Ed Agrees to Send Consolidation Letter to Central Regional Towns

Newly elected Berkeley Board of Education member James Fulcomer wasted no time getting down to business shortly after he was sworn in.

Fulcomer called on the board to pass a resolution authorizing Business Administrator Laura Venter to contact all the towns in the Central Regional school district to see if they would be interested in joining a single K-12 district.

"I think it's very important if we ask them to see if they are at least interested," Fulcomer said. "It is important we extend our hands and our interest in this direction. It would be good to know what boards are interested."

Fulcomer was sworn in to his first term on the board, along with his running mates Noriko Kowalewski and Salvatore Ferlise.

The board unanimously selected James J. Byrnes to serve as president for next year and board member John Bacchione to serve as vice-president.

The vote to send the consolidation letter was 6 to 3. Byrnes and board members Thomas Grosse and Dawn Parks abstained.

Grosse and Byrnes suggested before the vote that the resolution be held until the next board meeting, after an update on litigation involving Seaside Park, one of Central Regional's sending towns.

But Fulcomer disagreed and pushed for the resolution last night. Consolidation of the Central Regional and Berkeley school districts into a single K-12 district was the cornerstone of Fulcomer, Kowalewski and Ferlise's campaign. Fulcomer said students in each sending town would still be able to attend their neighborhood schools.

Venter said the board was already looking at consolidation.

"I don't know if it's advantageous for our district," she said.

"I think Central Regional is facing a serious crisis," Fulcomer said. "If we could consolidate busing services before September, that would make it easier for us."

"There's no indication in our budget if it would save any money," Venter said.

"We should be able to work something out so that we both save," Fulcomer replied.

Byrnes disagreed with a remark made by board member Stephen Pellechia earlier in the meeting that the board had been in a "lull" over the past 18 months without a permanent superintendent on board. He said the board had moved ahead with solar projects and had an energy audit conducted.

"I'm very proud of what the board has done," he said. "I think next year is going to be a much better year."