Wednesday, July 11, 2012
The one-time interim Berkeley superintendent departing district after 31 years
Bayville Elementary School Principal Arleen J. Lippincott - who served as interim superintendent of the Berkeley Township schools from 2009 to 2011 - has submitted her retirement papers. Lippincott's retirement request was approved by the Berkeley Board of Education recently and is effective Sept. 1. Lippincott, who has been with the district since 1981, took over as interim superintendent in mid-2009. Lippincott was chosen to step in after the school board at that time refused to extend the contract of then-Superintendent Joseph H. Vicari, and hired Harry Colangelo. Colangelo's appointment was challenged and he was stripped of the job before he even started. Colangelo was assistant principal of the Berkeley Township Elementary School at…
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Board to start advertising for new superintendent
Fed up with what he calls "political bashing" over the past eight months, schools Superintendent Joseph H. Vicari will step down before the April 17 school board election. "I'm not going to jeopardize the election because of partisan politics," said Vicari, after tonight's Board of Education meeting. Vicari made the surprise announcement at the start of the meeting. He told board members to begin advertising for a new superintendent. He has been working for the district since last April - when he returned after a two-year hiatus - at a reduced salary of $18,500, the lowest pay state law allows for a certified school administrator. Vicari offered to return to work for free early last year to save the district money on a traditional …
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Process of finding a permanent superintendent for Berkeley school district will start all over again next year
Interim Berkeley Township Schools Superintendent Arlene J. Lippincott has been at the helm of the four-school district since former Superintendent Joseph H. Vicari cleaned out his desk in June 2009. That's a heck of a long interim. But Lippincott will be cleaning out her own desk at the end of March, to prepare for Vicari's return on April 1. And it's difficult to figure out exactly what has been going on with this superintendents' version of musical chairs over the past year and a half. Most people with an interest in the topic cry politics is behind all of this. They are right. It was politics in May 2008 that led to Vicari's ouster in the first place, when a previous school board declined to renew his contract. And it seems to be …
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Former superintendent will be paid $18,500 for a year
The Berkeley Board of Education voted 5 to 1 Wednesday night to bring back former schools superintendent Joseph H. Vicari to serve for a term of one year, beginning on April 1. Vicari, who also is a longtime Republican Ocean County freeholder, had offered to work for free. But state law requires that certified school professionals have to be paid a salary, board President James J. Byrnes said after the meeting. "The state mandates that when you're certified, you have to get paid x amount of dollars," Byrnes said. "I didn't know that until we consulted with the conflict attorney. Mr. Vicari offered zero, but he can't do zero." So the board settled on paying Vicari $18,500, or $71 a day, the lowest the district could possibly pay, he said…
Friday, February 18, 2011
Former Superintendent Joseph H. Vicari and Interim Superintendent Arleen J. Lippincott are the two choices
The Berkeley Township Board of Education may finally be ready to decide on a superintendent — at least for the near future — next week, nearly two years after district head Joseph H. Vicari stepped down when his contract was not renewed. The decision could come at the Feb. 23 workshop meeting, when action may be taken, board Vice President John A. Bacchione said. "It's possible," Bacchione said Board members went into closed session on Feb. 10 after a stormy two-hour public hearing to discuss "personnel and negotiations," but took no action that night. Chances are, interim Superintendent Arlene J. Lippincott thought she had a good shot at a permanent position when the board voted 7-0 at the Oct. 7 meeting to authorize board Attorney John…
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Central Regional Superintendent says he needs to devote his energy to one district
It's been almost two years since some Central Regional Board of Education members suggested to Superintendent Triantafillos "Tom" Parlapanides that he offer to work for a dollar a year as superintendent of the Berkeley Township school district. But things have changed since then. Parlapanides officially agreed to withdraw the offer at the last board meeting. "The board asked me to withdraw," Parlapanides said Tuesday afternoon. "It was so long ago, I forgot about it." Parlapanides and Central Regional school district Business Administrator Kevin O'Shea are in the midst of a variety of projects, including the construction of a cell tower on Central Regional High School property, going out to bid for roof repairs, new windows, installation …
Friday, February 11, 2011
Insults fly between audience members at rowdy school board meeting
Berkeley Board of Education members retreated behind closed doors Thursday night after a stormy special meeting over who should be the district's next permanent superintendent. "We have a commitment to the taxpayers, the children and to our staff," board President James J. Byrnes said, after listening to nearly two hours of public comment. "There's a lot of weight on this board's shoulders. Like I said when I took office, leave the politics out. There will be no action taken after the executive session." Although the agenda listed an executive session to discuss personnel and negotiations as the reason for the meeting, Byrnes opened the meeting up for public comment first. At issue is whether the board should accept former superintendent …
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Board of Education slated to discuss matter at special meeting tonight
It's been a tumultuous year and a half since Arlene J. Lippincott was appointed to serve as interim superintendent of the Berkeley Township school district. And she may find out whether she can or cannot add the word "permanent" to her job description soon. The answer could come at the Board of Education's special meeting slated for 6:30 p.m tonight at the Berkeley Township Elementary School. There are two names on the list for discussion — Lippincott's and former Superintendent Joseph H. Vicari. "I'm not saying we are hiring either one of them," board Vice President John Bacchione said Wednesday. It's been a complicated path to the selection of a permanent superintendent, marred by what is described by some to be political infighting …
voice of reason
8:03 am on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
If she had gotten the superintandant position she would have stayed on a couple of years to get a bigger pension more ›