Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Vicari cautions against sharing administrators
When James Fulcomer ran for a seat on the Berkeley Board of Education last year, he pledged to do what he could to share services with other school districts. "That was a campaign commitment," he said today. "I'm doing what I can to consolidate services." Fulcomer was trying to do just that at the May 24 school board meeting when he questioned why Superintendent Joseph H. Vicari and other school officials recommended hiring a pupil transportation supervisor. "I think we have missed a number of opportunities over the years...to save hundreds of thousands of dollars," Fulcomer said during the meeting. "We are missing an opportunity to consolidate essential administrative positions, and it is costly to taxpayers." Fulcomer said Central …
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Democrats still mulling over their choices
The Berkeley Township Republican Club has picked James J. Byrnes and Kevin Askew to run for the Ward 1 and Ward 2 seats up in the November election. Byrnes - who is currently Township Council president - and Askew have served on the council since they were appointed in January to fill the two vacant seats. The two men had some competition for the slots at a recent meeting of the club's screening committee, Club President James Fulcomer said. "It was not a unanimous vote, Fulcomer said. Byrnes - who is filling the unexpired term of former Councilwoman Karen Davis - was challenged for the Ward 1 seat by Charles Abbate and John Hudak. Hudak withdrew his candidacy before the vote was taken, he said. Askew - who is filling the unexpired term …
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Resumes must be received by March 17 at the latest
The Berkeley Township Regular Republican Organization is looking for residents interested in running for the two Township Council seats up this year. "Interested candidates should send in their resumes as soon as possible, and no later than March 17, so that they may interviewed by the screening committee, which meets on a day prior to the screening convention," club President James Fulcomer said recently. The two seats up this year are the Ward 1 and Ward 2 seats. Any registered Republicans interested in screening should send a letter of interest along with their resume to club Trustee Anthony DePaola, 16 Beaumont Court, Toms River, NJ 08757. Interested candidates who are not members of the club can obtain a membership application from …
Friday, February 24, 2012
School board president says choices were his to make, denies there was any political retaliation
Wednesday Berkeley Board of Education member Dawn Parks was a member of the board's education committee and sat on two other board committees. Today she is a member of one committee. "I have been thrown off every committee I have been on, except for policy," she said. "I am sitting on one committee. Every school board member should be treated equally and be given the right amount of committees." Board President Steven Pellecchia -who replaced former longtime board president James J. Byrnes when Byrnes was appointed to a seat on the Township Council on Jan. 1 - reshuffled the committee appointments. Board members were notified of their new committees by e-mail Thursday, Parks said. Pellecchia said today the committee assignments were his …
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Search for a new superintendent has not yet begun, board president says
It's been almost two weeks since Berkeley Township Schools Superintendent Joseph H. Vicari told school board members to start looking for his replacement. But some Berkeley Board of Education members are hoping to persuade Vicari to stay on, perhaps for even another year. "We are still trying to convince Mr. Vicari to stick around a little longer," Board President Steven Pellecchia said. "I'd like him to stay until November." Board Vice-President James Fulcomer wants Vicari to stay on even longer than that. "My view is to persuade him to continue his philanthropy," Fulcomer said. "He's donating $200,000 a year to the children and parents of Berkeley Township. It is in the interest of the board to persuade our superintendent to stay the …
Friday, February 10, 2012
Berkeley Board of Education members approve a resolution requiring parents to pay $150 for the outdoor education program
The 42-year-tradition of sending Berkeley students to Stokes State Forest as part of the district's environmental education curriculum will continue this year, but will come with a price tag for parents. The Board of Education passed a resolution at the Feb. 9 meeting that will require parents of sixth-graders to pay $150 per child to attend the outdoor education program in Sussex County. Board Vice President James Fulcomer offered the board several options to keep the program going. "Obviously, we will have to transfer funds to supplement the money from parents," Fulcomer said. "We don't know how many people are going to sign up for this at $150 a head." The Stokes trip is still part of the elementary school curriculum, he said. "For …
Friday, December 16, 2011
School board member should have identified himself, member of Berkeley Shores Homeowners Civic Association says
A Berkeley Board of Education member recently urged the Township Council to proceed with green energy plans, before federal subsidies dry up. But since school board member James Fulcomer didn't identify his position when he made his comments, that led to an exchange about whether office holders should identify themselves when speaking during council meetings. Fulcomer asked the governing body what the future holds for solar energy in the township. Council President Karen Davis said the council formed an alternative energy committee about a year ago to look into the feasibility of solar power for municipal energy needs. Township Council Vice-President and Mayor-Elect Carmen F. Amato Jr. serves on the committee, which focused on signing a …
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 …
Friday, May 6, 2011
Fulcomer, Kowalewski and Ferlise sworn into three-year terms
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…
Township Council Agrees to Lop $50,000 From Defeated School Budget
Schools Superintendent Joseph H. Vicari returned to the dais at tonight's Board of Education meeting for the first time in nearly two years. And Vicari, who started on April 1, said his reasons for coming back were simple —to save teachers' jobs, save taxpayers money and improve the quality of education. "I'm not going to get involved in political battles," he said. "I will do this job." Vicari said a previous board's decision not to renew his contract in 2008 was "illegal." He has said that the decision was politically engineered by the previous board and the local and county Democratic organizations. He left the district June 2009, when his contract expired, after serving six years as superintendent. He did not apply for unemployment …
Jason Fulcomer
10:28 am on Monday, June 4, 2012
The board closed debate on the motion to appoint the transportation supervisor, but never voted on the approval of the appointment. This was pointed out by Mrs. Katherine Fulcomer during the public portion of the meeting, but the board still did NOT vote on the appointment. This can be verified by any recording of the meeting. more ›