Berkeley Dispatch

Almost Half Of Berkeley Board Of Education Members Appointed, Not Elected

Several of those appointed lost in previous school board elections

  Swearing in a new board member is getting to be a familiar routine at Berkeley Board of Education meetings this year. Gerard C. Reuter was the latest. He was sworn in at the Aug. 16 board meeting to replace former board member Dawn M. Parks. Parks resigned on May 25. She said in her resignation letter she was leaving because of the "lack of professionalism of the members of the Berkeley Township School Board and the mismanagement of Berkeley Township taxpayers funds in reference to the hiring of an interim superintendent. The nine-member board now has four members on the dais who were not elected. They include: • Reuter, 34, Scott Drive. Reuter lost a bid for a board seat in 2011, when he ran with Louis J. Tuminaro. He said during the …

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Berkeley Board of Ed Hires Former Longtime Lacey Super To Mentor Roselli

Richard Starodub will work with new superintendent James Roselli during the school year

  Students in Berkeley Township won't be the only ones heading back to school in September. Superintendent James D. Roselli will be mentored by former longtime Lacey Township school superintendent Richard P. Starodub throughout the school year. The Board of Education voted unanimously at the Aug. 16 board meeting to pay Starodub $2,500 for the service. "He and I will work throughout the year together," Roselli said at the meeting. "I have to comply with a state mandate." Starodub retired from the Lacey school district last Oct. 31, after 21 years in the district. The state mandate also includes continuing education requirements, according to the board agenda. Roselli was approved by a unanimous vote of the Berkeley Township Board of …

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Township Officials Launch School Supply Drive For Needy Students

Project is a collaborative effort between mayor's office, Township Council and Berkeley Board of Education

  Not every child heading back to school in September can afford to buy the supplies they need for the coming year. Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. and town and school officials want to make sure no elementary school child in the township goes without. So they have launched the first annual "Mayor's School Supply Drive," for all students in the township's four elementary schools. "Having been involved in our community for many years, I know we have families struggling out there," Amato said. "I wanted to do something to help." Amato asked Berkeley Schools Superintendent James Roselli how many children come to the first day of school without a book bag, backpack or school supplies. "As I suspected, quite a few," the mayor said. The school supply …

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Berkeley Board Of Ed Picks Two New Principals

Guinan, Burr tapped for principal positions

Staff members of both the Bayville and Berkeley Township elementary schools turned out in force at a recent special meeting to show their support for the district's two new principals. Board of Education members voted unanimously to appoint Mary Guinan principal of the Bayville Elementary School and Kirk Burr principal of the Berkeley Township Elementary School. Guinan - a longtime educator - started in the district in 2006 and served as supervisor of instruction and Camp Paw director. In 2009 she was the administrator in charge of the Bayville Schol and assistant principal. She was named acting principal of the Berkeley Township Elementary School earlier this year. "Thank you for your confidence in me," she told the board at the July 26 …

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Bayville School Principal Arlene Lippincott Retiring

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…

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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 ›

UPDATE: Berkeley Board of Ed Appoints Roselli As Superintendent, Bypasses Parlapanides

Details of contract won't be released until county superintendent approves document

The Berkeley Township Board of Education is set to approve a contract to hire James Roselli as superintendent, even though Central Regional Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides had offered to do the job for free. The board voted unanimously at a special meeting Monday night to authorize Roselli's contract be sent to the Ocean County schools superintendent for approval, said board Vice President James Fulcomer. "After the approval is secured, the board has to vote on the contract, most likely at the June 28 meeting," he said. Details of Roselli's contract, including salary, benefits and length, cannot be released to the public until the board formally approves it, Fulcomer said. The position has a $155,000 salary cap. Roselli is the …

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Nine Things Happening in Berkeley This Week

Zombies, summer concert, fireworks, meetings and more

  Monday  - 10 Things Every Writer Should Know, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Berkeley branch of the Ocean County Library, 30 Station Road, Bayville. Author Jon Gibbs will discuss the best ways of getting published. Tuesday - Berkeley Township Council, 7 p.m., Town Hall, 627 Pinewald-Keswick Road. The caucus meeting starts at 7 p.m., followed immediately by the regular council meeting. Hint: most of the discussion takes place at the caucus meeting. Wednesday - Berkeley Township's 2012 Summer Concert series kicks off with performances by "Big Shot," a Billy Joel tribute band and Rock n' Rhythm at 6 p.m. in Veterans Park in Bayville. The night will be capped off with a fireworks display. Wednesday - Upper Cedar Creek paddling trip from Dover Forge …

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Berkeley Dispatch

The Trip That Almost Wasn't - Stokes Goes Off Without A Hitch Despite Months of Roadblocks

Trip would not have happened without the cooperation of the Central Regional school district, foundation president says

  Gerry Morey swore several months ago that the Stokes State Forest trip would happen this year even if it ended up being "five kids in a mini-van." He got more than that. This year 169 students made the trip, a 43-year-old tradition for the Berkeley Township school district. But the Stokes trip almost didn't happen this year for a number of reasons, including the recalcitrance of Berkeley school administrators, who seemed to stonewall efforts to raise money for the trip. And as the day of the June 14 trip loomed, some Berkeley teachers and staff members who had volunteered to go began dropping out. That meant a last minute scramble for chaperones. Morey - who took over as president of the non-profit Berkeley Township Environmental …

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Berkeley Board Of Ed To Review Resumes For Superintendent Job Tonight

List of candidates should be narrowed to three over next several weeks, board president says

  Berkeley Township Board of Education members will discuss the resumes of candidates for the permanent superintendent position at a special meeting at 6 p.m., board President Steven J. Pellecchia said. The board hired the consulting firm Leadership Advantage for $6,500 back in April to conduct a search to replace former Superintendent Joseph H. Vicari, who left at the end of May. Richard P. Marasco, president of the firm, will present the list of applicants to the board tonight. The board will then review the resumes and begin conducting interviews once the list has been narrowed to three candidates, Pellecchia said. "I want all the board to be there when the resumes are presented," he said. "This is not part of a regular meeting. It's …

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