Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Bloomfield Schools official thanks insurance giant for deferring scheduled payments.
Bloomfield Schools Superintendent Jason Bing thanked CIGNA for their "public humanitarian commitment to NJ public education" after the insurance company agreed to let the school district defer payments on a $2.1 million settlement. In a press release, Bing extended his sincere thanks to Mr. Charlie Catalano, President of CIGNA healthcare for the organization’s extremely generous accommodation in assisting this district with the 2013–2014 budget. Bing described CIGNA’s decision to let the Board to defer scheduled payments to the health insurance account as a sign of "humanitarian generosity." "The Board and Administration stand in commitment to public education and extend many thanks for CIGNA’s accommodations which have allowed teachers to…
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Let us know your feelings on the BOE's approach to the budget.
School board officials said that a late breaking deal brokered with health insurance carrier Cigna would allow the district to avoid the extreme budget measures it had been considering throughout March. The announcement didn’t bring relief for many parents and residents. The drawn-out process, several said, had been exhausting and heartbreaking. And knowing its resolution, it was something that the school board could and should have avoided altogether. “The last few weeks have been hell,” one parent said. “It should not have happened. You should have caught it earlier.” John Shanagher, president of the local teachers union the Bloomfield Education Association, said the month was a series of crises for him. “I feel like for the last few …
Monday, March 25, 2013
With school budget due to county, this week's meeting is last chance to discuss school district's controversial budget.
On Tuesday, the Bloomfield School Board will discuss the 2013-2014 schools budget for the last time before submitting it to Essex County. The budget has been passionately discussed and debated since late February, when the School Board voted down an “Armageddon” budget that would have entailed the loss of 100 school staff members in an 8-1 vote. The budget passed by a divided school board at their special meeting on Tuesday, March 5, didn't cut as many staff as the rejected initial budget. Still, it entailed the loss of 86 teaching jobs for the district, as well as between four and five secretaries and two to four members of the administrative staff. Members of the teachers union the Bloomfield Education Associates and their supporters …
Parent bemoans School Board actions.
The Board of Education tells us they are going to lay off anywhere from 80 to 100 teachers because of budget shortfalls from past budgets. The BOE has $10-million more now than they had two years ago! After public outrage, they have an emergency meeting. They found some money and now they don’t have to lay off as many teachers. Only a week later and the BOE has saved the teachers. The BOE, our heros??? How did they even introduce a $96 million budget and forget they needed teachers? The BOE has solutions to their budget problems. First, they move the BOE election from April to November. This amounts to a money grab. By moving the election to November, the public no longer has the right to vote on the BOE budget, and the BOE will increase…
Sunday, March 24, 2013
On Tuesday, the BOE holds their final budget meeting.
On Tuesday, the Bloomfield School Board holds its fourth and final meeting for March. Once again, school officials will present information and discuss the 2013-2014 schools budget. The budget has been passionately discussed and debated since late February, when the School Board voted down an “Armageddon” budget that would have entailed the loss of 100 school staff members. In emergency meetings held in March, school officials have reduced the number of lay-offs. The most recent budget called for 54 jobs to be eliminated across school staff. The cuts come at the expense of extracurricular activities and sports programs. In addition, nursing and the child study team jobs would be outsourced. The board needs to present a finalized version of…
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Current proposal trades staff cuts for nurses, extracurricular activities and, depending on voters, sports.
Bloomfield Schools Superintendent Jason Bing said at a special School Board meeting Tuesday that the teacher jobs the school was able to save come at a certain cost. Namely: school nurses, administrators and other non-classroom personnel and, depending on Bloomfield voters in November, winter sports and extracurricular activities. In a short slide presentation, Bing compared the board and school administrators to watch makers attempting to fix an antique pocket watch with care and precision. He emphasized that he and the district’s interim business administrator James Verbist had gone through the budget line by line to find $1.7 million in savings. The plan calls for the elimination of 52 positions, down from the nearly 100 jobs that the …
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Former School board member accuses Superintendent Bing of spreading incorrect information.
- OPINION
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Tuesday, March 19
The following letter was submitted to Patch by former Bloomfield School Board member Susan Wolf. ------------------------- The following letter was submitted to Patch by former Bloomfield School Board member Susan Wolf. ------------------------- The Budget letter that Superintendent Bing posted on the Website is false and inaccurate. The School Budget Meeting on March 12 was an attempt to mislead and confuse the public regarding the current budget. There has been a complete lack of transparency and accountability. Mr. Bing has accused the prior board of reducing necessary facility projects. This is simply not true. The leaky roof that plagued the high school for many years prior to 2008 was replaced. The fence around the high school was …
Monday, March 18, 2013
According to a letter from the school official, Bloomfield school is facing a smaller staff reduction.
The number of Bloomfield School employees facing possible layoffs has been reduced, according to a letter posted on the Bloomfield Schools website on Monday. As of the school board special meeting on Tuesday, March 12, the district was bracing to let go 98 staff members, including 86 teachers. Per the letter released this week, that number has been reduced by slightly less than half, with 55 total staff members facing layoffs. The letter does not offer precise information on how the jobs were saved other than to say that school board members were able to find some solutions during an executive session in their special budget meeting on Sunday. Nor does the letter offer a breakdown on how the new layoffs will impact teaching, …
Sunday, March 17, 2013
As Bloomfield school's budget woes continue, should advertising in schools be a viable option?
Imagine that as you walk your daughter to the school bus in the morning, you are greeted with an advertisement on the side of the yellow bus for the latest Apple iPhone. Or when you go to watch your son's wrestling tournament at Bloomfield High School, you are welcomed at the entrance with banners suggesting that you shop at Whole Foods and billboards in the gymnasium sponsored by Nike. As districts struggle to balance declining state aid and affordable tax increases, selling advertisement space on school property is seen as an quick fix to bring in extra dollars, according to an NJ.com article. The Bloomfield is struggling to deal with a drastic budget shortfall for the 2013-2014 budget. School officials in districts such as Linden …
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Head school officials lays out reasons behind current budget crunch.
In a letter on the budget released on Monday, Bloomfield Schools Superintendent Jason Bing lays out how past fiscal decisions laid the groundwork for the current budget crunch. Bing said that in the past, the district has operated on a bare bones budget, saying that past school budgets have reduced or eliminated textbooks, facility projects and jobs. After those reductions, Bing said, school operations have overly relied on state and federal aid for basic necessities like books and technology. Bing said that the school has not budgeted to cap in almost 10 years, making it harder for the district to amass any savings and creating a situation analogous to living paycheck to paycheck. He said the situation was further stressed by the board…
Tim Dolan
3:47 pm on Sunday, April 7, 2013
The 883 was considered a pre payment according to the Board Attorney. It's the reason our health care costs ONLY went up 15% versus a much higher number. The only downside I see is if this ties us to Cigna for multiple years. Good citizens one year and profit making corporation the next! more ›