School Board Approves New Contract with Education Association

The Bloomfield School Board approved a new contract with the Bloomfield Education Association and they listened to another energy-efficiency presentation at Tuesday's meeting. 

During the public comment period, several parents and staffers at Carteret Elementary School expressed their concerns about the transfer of Principal Gina Rosamilia to Watsessing Elementary School in an administrative reorganization.  

Union contract

The school board approved a four-year contract with the Bloomfield Education Association. The union - which has about 530 members representing teachers, guidance counselors, school nurses and child study team members - has been working without a contract for about a year, union president John Shanagher said. The new contract will cover the time frame of July 2010 to June 2014, pending approval by the union, which will take a vote later today. 

Superintendent Jason Bing and Shanagher declined to talk about the details of the new agreement because it has not been finalized yet. However, Bing said the union was very professional. School Board member Maribel Perez thanked her peers for approving the agreement and she noted that negotiations are still going on with the unions representing secretaries, principals and supervisors.

Energy efficiency 

School officials also got more details about a proposal to make the district buildings more energy-efficient and save money on utility costs. 

Energy Education, a Dallas company, has offered to conduct a detailed evaluation of the school district and implement an energy-saving program. The company proposed setting up a four-year contract with the school district and their services would cost about $186,000 a year. In addition, the proposal calls for the school district to an energy education specialist to implement and monitor the program, with an annual salary of about $70,000 a year, and to purchase energy-accounting software with a $6,650 annual payment for the first three years and $2,593 a year thereafter. 

Ross Kelly, Energy Education's vice president for the Atlantic Division, said his company works with school districts to find out where they are wasting energy and the company promises to help schools save about 20 to 30 percent in energy costs without investing in capital projects, purchasing new equipment or disrupting classrooms. 

"This is a program that requires a change in people's day-to-day behavior," Kelly said. 

Kelly said his company has done work for 23 school districts in New Jersey and he distributed a graph showing the results. The Holmdel school district was highlighted for reducing their energy consumption by 45 percent since 2008 with a net savings of $1.46 million. 

He passed around a chart showing that the Bloomfield school district could generate a net saving of $109,350 in one year if the program is implemented and that amount would increase over the years. 

School Board President Mary Shaughnessy thanked Energy Education for appearing again and the proposal was tabled for a second time for further discussion because of some "residual concerns." 

School Board Attorney Nick Dotoli said "the numbers are extremely optimistic" for the program, but school officials were still hesitant about hiring a full-time energy education specialist and paying such a high salary. 

Principal transfer

The school district's new reorganization plan also drew comments from several parents and staffers at Carteret Elementary School. 

Part of the plan calls for the transfer of two elementary school principals next month with Gina Rosamilia moving Carteret to Watsessing elementary school and Mary DiTrani will move from Watsessing to Oak View elementary school. The current Oak View Elementary school Principal, Julie R. Andriolo, will retire at the end of the month and the district is looking for a new principal to work at Carteret elementary school. 

The Carteret parents and staffers who spoke called Rosamilia a kind and supportive leader and they were upset that she was being sent to another elementary school. One mother, Karol Sheri Daniels, even presented the school board with a petition signed by 60 parents asking to keep the principal. 

John Louis-Capois, president of the Carteret Home and School Association, said many parents were concerned about the sudden administrative change and they were worried about who the new principal will be. 

While Louis-Capois said he understood the superintendent's overall goal of improving education in the district, he said that parents "want to be a part of the movement - not just an afterthought."

Bing said he was unable to comment about the changes due to personnel privacy laws. During the superintendent's report, Bing said in general that he was working to make the school district more successful academically and "kids are at the forefront of every decision we make here."

Rosamilia was not present at the meeting. 

Other administrative changes made at the meeting: 

- Heather Carr, the district's director of personnel, will be transferred and become the new principal at Berkley Elementary School. Current Berkley principal Patricia Pelikan will work out of the administrative building next year and will serve as the Acting Director of Professional Development and No Child Left Behind.

- The school board also created a new position, acting director of professional development, and merged three administrative jobs into a combined supervisor of foreign languages, science and social studies. Bing said the position will be filled by the supervisor of social studies, Jacqueline Storts. Diana Fortkiewicz, the supervisor of science, and Jean Zimmerman, the supervisor of world languages and ESL, will retire at the end of the month.