3 BOE Members Unsure About Seeking Re-election

But longtime member Michael Byrne said that he is leaning toward running again because he offers 'different opinion' on board.

The three Bernards Township Board of Education members whose terms expire at the end of this year each said following Monday's meeting they had not yet decided whether they would file with the county by June to seek re-election to additional three-year terms. But board member Michael Byrne, most likely to vote out of line with the other eight members on the board, responded to a question of whether he would run again with, "Do you think I offer a different opinion once in a while?" Because of that reason, Byrne said he is "leaning" toward seeking re-election. Byrne is a longtime member of the Bernards Township Board of Education, reportedly serving from 1985 to 1997 and then from 2001 to the present time. Board member Elaine Kusel, who is …

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Parents Reminded of Pitfalls of Social Media, Technology

Bernards superintendent urges checks on whether students are properly using technology in and out school.

Whether it's putting up inappropriate posts on Facebook or Twitter, "sexting" on phones or kids messaging strangers, Bernards Schools Superintendent Nick Markarian has issued a reminder to district parents to be aware of the pitfalls of personal technology in the hands of students. The email, sent out as a special Friday Folder, asked parents to talk to their children and to help eliminate opportunities for the potential harm that could come of a potent mixture of young people faced with making instant decisions about snapping photos, recording a video, placing a call or text and more. "A wide variety of modern equipment, software, websites, digital content and apps can create unfortunate circumstances when mixed with young people," the …

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Bernards Teacher Contract Discussions Underway

Next session set for April 17, last contract's negotiations lasted 18 months.

It's been less than two years since the Bernards Township Education Association and the Bernards school board settled the last contract covering more than 600 educators and school staff — and negotiations again are underway. Board of Education President Susan McGowan said at Monday's meeting that the next session between representatives for the school district and school educators' union is set for April 17. After the meeting, she said negotiators for both parties already have met three or four times to discuss the next three-year contract to cover the BTEA. The current contract expires at the end of this June, McGowan said. She declined to say whether the school calendar was one of the subjects during negotiations. However, when the board…

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South Finley Residents Don't Want Preferred Ridge Traffic Option

Neighbors in midst of Ridge traffic jams request that school officials again seek use of municipal complex.

Stressing that no final decision has been made, or engineering plans worked out, members of the Bernards Board of Education at Thursday's meeting expressed tentative support for a plan of installing a new driveway off South Finley Avenue to improve and make safer the traffic flow at Ridge High School. The proposals were unveiled at a Monday night meeting to seek input from the public. All of the options and consultant reports also can be found online. On Thursday night, following a budget hearing and adoption, Bernards Schools Superintendent Nick Markarian again outlined the different options in the report drawn up by the task force, and explained why some were considered by task force members to be more acceptable than others. During …

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School Budget Vote, Ridge Traffic Update Likely at Thursday meeting

Bernards Township Board of Education due to meet at 7 p.m. on Thursday night.

Along with a public hearing and a vote for final adoption on a proposed $94.2-million school budget for next year, Thursday night's Bernards Board of Education meeting is likely to include an update on the Ridge Traffic task force and Monday's public meeting to accept input on task force's report, the school board president said. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center at Ridge High School. The task force on Monday outlined about a dozen options for alleviating morning traffic snarls at the high school. School Board President Susan McGowan, a member of the task force, said she expects a report on the meeting and a progress report on the task force to be presented to the full school board on Thursday night…

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Bernards to Introduce School Budget Monday With Aid Figure in Place

School officials were waiting to plug in state aid figure, which arrived on Thursday at the same as previous year.

Bernards Township school officials already were finishing up a proposed 2013-14 school budget to introduce next Monday when state aid figures for next year were announced on Thursday, providing township schools with about $3 million, same as the previous year. The Board of Education now is scheduled to discuss the introduced budget at a meeting at 7 p.m. next Monday at the Ridge High School Performing Arts Center, 268 S. Finley Ave. A public presentation of next year's budget figures is scheduled for that meeting, according to the board office. A final adoption of previously proposed changes to the 2013-14 school calendar also is scheduled for Monday's meeting. Schools Superintendent Nick Markarian confirmed late Thursday afternoon that …

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Ridge Traffic Task Force Could Report in Late March

School Board President Susan McGowan said at Monday's meeting that group is compiling several options.

A specially appointed task force made of school and township officials to examine potential solutions for relieving morning traffic at Ridge High School could come out with a report by late March, said school officials. School Board President Susan McGowan, a member of the task force said at Monday's Board of Education meeting that the task force is at the point of compiling a report outlining "several" options. "We we are going to report will be a variety of things," McGowan said. She said the options for solutions then will be presented to the public. Schools Superintendent Nick Markarian said the report could be ready for a presentation by the second meeting in March, which is on the schedule for 7 p.m. on March 28 at the Performing …

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5:55 pm on Thursday, February 21, 2013

@hg, If that was the reason, not to let vehicles travel one way through on the gravel path, then they would've said so one year ago! But that isn't the reason and in fact if the path was improved, all the better for the police, fire & first aid squad to use if for that one rare instance they couldn't use the main entrance or the one from Cedar Hill School. If the emergency was that great, hell, …   more ›

School Calendar Survey Likely to Be Emailed Tuesday

Parents, staff members and Ridge High school juniors and seniors will receive surveys on school calendar.

Parents, staff members and Ridge High School juniors and seniors will be asked to fill out an email survey in the next week or so asking questions about potential changes to the school year and beyond, including whether they feel the school year should begin and end earlier. The Bernards Board of Education approved the survey at Monday night's meeting, after it had been devised by the board's policy committee and reviewed by all board members. Schools Superintendent Nick Markarian said after the meeting that the survey is likely to be sent out by email on Tuesday, with a deadline of about Feb. 5 for filing the answers. Besides start and end date, school officials said the survey will ask whether the respondents would like to maintain both …

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Moms Talk Q&A

Moms Talk: Should School Start Earlier Next Fall?

Bernards Twp. school board to discuss changes to school calendars — including possible deletions and additions — for next two years.

The Bernards Board of Education has always planned well in advance — the school calendars for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years already have been approved — but questions that have arisen this year about when students should begin, end and have holidays off from school mean that those calendars will be re-examined — and possibly changed. "Please be advised that changes to the 2013-14 calendar may be coming," Bernards schools superintendent Nick Markarian said in a special "Friday Folder" announcement to parents last Friday. Among one of the potential changes for both upcoming school years: starting school earlier to end school sooner in June. Markarian said he wanted to share with parents why changes to the school calendar are being …

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