Author: James

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Readers suggest that Valley may have been misled into believing that its expansion plans were in the bag

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April 16th 2015

the staff and readers of the Ridgewood blog
Readers says ; Valley Hospital A community hospital that sues the community it is serving
https://theridgewoodblog.net/readers-says-valley-hospital-a-community-hospital-that-sues-the-community-it-is-serving/Ridgewood NJ, One can only  wonder ,how could such a well financed hospital so poorly execute on its expansion plans and fall pry to one PR disaster after another? Did someone whisper in the ear of the trustees to make them think that at the end of the day Valleys political friends would come through . After all since Valley began pursuing its expansion , HUMC has purchased Pascack Valley , expanded dramatically its foot print and made deals with many of Valleys competitors ?

It all started with the so called Pfund’s Folly, i.e. Ordinance 3066 !!! In the very least repeal the Chapter § 190-143 ( here https://ecode360.com/6694062 ) that allow for applications to amend the Master Plan. Application to Village Council or Planning Board.Any interested party may request that an amendment or amendments be made to the Village Master Plan or development regulations. The request(s) shall be made to the Village Council and/or the Village Planning Board.

This ordinance that was adopted by our Village elected officials, Pfund at the helm, was designed exclusively for Valley Hospital to pursue its expansion goals.https://theridgewoodblog.net/the-ordinance-that-was-adopted-by-our-village-elected-officials-pfund-at-the-helm-was-designed-exclusively-for-valley-hospital-to-pursue-its-expansion-goals/

As we now know Mayor Pfund was a personal donor to Valley Hospital until 2006, his law firm (Reiseman, Rosenberg & Pfund, LLP) listed Valley hospital as one of its clients on their website until the listing mysteriously disappeared, Pfund’s father has willed part of his estate to Valley after he dies! Yet Pfund has not rescued himself from the considering the H-Zone issue? Others on the Planning Board have for less association.” https://theridgewoodblog.net/because-this-comes-up-over-and-over/

Whats seems odd to most readers is that after a thorough review and denial the previous council Mayor Aronsohn pledged over and over that he would once again .

Aronsohn played both sides of every issue in the election. He promised CRR he’d stop the Valley expansion so they supported him. Then he “aligned himself” with pro-development, pro Valley hospital expansion candidates. He got votes from both sides of the issue! https://theridgewoodblog.net/aronsohns-election-win-is-looking-more-and-more-disingenuous/

Even the Ridgewood News commented , “Last Tuesday’s non-partisan election that ousted one of two Village Council incumbents has left residents questioning what the new mix of leaders will bring to the table regarding The Valley Hospital’s proposed expansion plan — an issue considered dormant since last year. Mayor Keith Killion, who voted against the $750 million plan to double the size of the hospital, lost his bid on Tuesday for one of three four-year seats up for grabs on the council. The new council could revisit the vote, because a change in the master plan that could permit the expansion still exists.https://www.northjersey.com/topstories/ridgewood/151331565_Election_opens_questions_on_hospital_plan.html

Which led to Valley resubmitting the expansion plan with no changes from the previous submission.

So what is the case have our political leaders willingly mislead Valley in the hopes of reaping benefits from Valley’s support  or has Valley controlled the narrative or as some would say undermined the political process to continue to push its highly unpopular agenda ?

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Uncivil behavior in Ridgewood

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file photo by Boyd Loving

Regarding “Ridgewood eases residency requirement” (Page L-3, April 10):

The Ridgewood Village Council meeting of April 8 was the third consecutive meeting at which uncivil behavior on the part of some elected and appointed officials completely overshadowed the business at hand.

While The Record article indicates that the village’s labor attorney, Beth Hinsdale-Piller, “clarified a number of items,” it fails to mention the derogatory tone of voice and accusatory language (directed squarely at a current council member) utilized by Hinsdale-Piller throughout her remarks.

While Hinsdale-Piller had requested that no interruptions be made during her statement, the council member who was the subject of her remarks was not extended the same courtesy and was repeatedly interrupted by others.

Rude comments from the council’s dais seem to have become the norm in Ridgewood. Recent meetings have included attacks on current and former members of the council, the police chief and members of the public.

Mayor Paul Aronsohn summarized the meeting by saying that the discussions had been “good” and “healthy,” even if “not always friendly,” thereby completely minimizing the vituperative nature of these meetings.

In February 2013, Aronsohn publicly apologized for such behavior, saying the public deserves a working council, not a fighting council. More than two years later, we continue to witness argumentative, sarcastic and downright nasty comments from certain elected and appointed officials.

Ridgewood residents deserve better, and we deserve it now.

Anne LaGrange Loving

Ridgewood, April 13

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Eastern Armored Services to handle Ridgewood parking meter coins

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APRIL 15, 2015    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015, 7:17 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Village officials have authorized the signing of a contract with an armored car service to provide transportation and counting services for coins collected by the village from parking meters.

With a resolution adopted earlier this month, Ridgewood entered into an agreement with Trenton-based Eastern Armored Services for the secure transport, counting and subsequent depositing of coinage from the Parking Utility.

The measure is another step to prevent theft in the wake of the $460,000 in coins that were stolen by former Public Works employee Thomas Rica between 2010 and 2013 and the subsequent 2015 audit, which posits that an additional $377,000 in coins had been swindled during that time.

Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld said this agreement would relieve the village of its duty to count coins, handing off the job to an outside company, which would then deposit the collected coins in the bank.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/armored-car-to-pick-up-ridgewood-coins-1.1309305

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Google faces European charge it abused search dominance

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by Stephen Shankland
@stshank
April 15, 2015 4:03 AM PDT

The European Commission opens a legal case that could change how Google search works — and impose a massive fine. It also begins an inquiry about Android.

Europe’s antitrust regulator dramatically escalated its case against Google on Wednesday, accusing the US tech titan of abusing its search-engine dominanceby favoring its own shopping services and also opening in-depth scrutiny of the company’s Android operating system.

Google’s actions show its own comparison-shopping results even when they’re less relevant than results from competitors, curtailing innovation at those rivals and hurting consumers, said European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager in a press conference.

“Dominance as such is not a problem,” Vestager said. “However, dominant companies have a responsibility not to abuse their powerful market position by restricting competition either in markets where they’re dominant or in neighboring markets.”

The EC’s action, called a statement of objections, opens the door for potentially massive fines such as those the European Commission levied against Microsoft and Intel after findings of antitrust abuses by those companies. Enforcement actions could include changes to Google’s way of doing business and a penalty as high as 10 percent of its global revenue. Given Google’s $66 billion ($62 billion euros) in revenue in 2014, that could mean a fine of up to $6.6 billion.

What’s at stake is not just a very big fine for a very wealthy tech company, though. Closer to home for consumers is the question of whether Google search will lead us to products and services from other companies or instead keep us hemmed in within Google’s ever-expanding universe of commercial activities.

https://www.cnet.com/news/google-faces-european-charge-it-abused-search-dominance/

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$1,477,901,000,000+:Tax-Day Tax Record

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April 15, 2015 – 4:35 PM

CNSNews.com) – The federal government has set an all-time record for the amount of inflation-adjusted tax revenue brought into the federal Treasury from the beginning of the fiscal year through the April 15 tax-filing deadline.

As of the close of business on April 14, the Treasury had brought in a record $1,477,901,000,000 since fiscal 2015 started on Oct. 1, 2014, according the Daily Treasury Statement released this afternoon.

We won’t know how much additional tax revenue the Treasury hauled in today until it releases its next daily statement tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. But every dollar of it will add to the new record.

https://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/1477901000000tax-day-tax-record

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Kill the death tax

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By Thomas Fletcher – – Tuesday, April 14, 2015

With the federal budget debate underway in Washington, both political parties are certainly sparring over different fiscal visions for the country. There is, however, a chance for rare bi-partisan agreement: repealing the federal death tax.

This unpopular tax has long had an adverse impact on small, family business owners who want the next generation to continue the family legacy. Currently, the federal government seizes over 40 percent of an individual’s estate when they die. While the President wants to destroy so many of those legacies and raise taxes, Congress has the chance to go in a different direction.

Federal lawmakers should look to the states for guidance. While twenty-one of them carry an additional death tax on their books, many states have reformed and in some cases eliminated the death tax in recent years. States such as Oklahoma, Ohio, and North Carolina simply abolished their death taxes. Other states like New York have raised their exemption to match current federal law, although the New York exemption is a phase-in and will match the federal level by 2019.

Supporters often claim that the death tax is vital for revenue, but in reality it is a poor way for a state to raise revenue and has led people to leave a given state. According to a study by the Ocean State Research Institute, the death tax was the primary factor in residents leaving Rhode Island. The study found 107,086 or (one in ten) residents left the state between 1991 and 2009. While the state collected $341.3 million in estate tax receipts, it lost over $500 million in other taxes due to people migrating to other states.

Read more: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/14/thomas-fletcher-kill-death-tax/?utm_campaign=sniply&utm_medium=sniply&utm_source=sniply#ixzz3XPFSfL4i

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10 Things Not To Do On Tax Day

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Kelly Phillips Erb Contributor

Happy Tax Day! You’ve probably read a ton of lists by now advising you about last minute filing tips and how to reduce your tax bill. That’s all good stuff. But as you finish up the last minute scramble to get yourtaxes filed, here’s a quick list of what not to do:

1. Fib on your taxes and think you’ll pay later.Don’t cheat to get your money faster – or to avoid paying what you owe now. Lying on your return is wrong. It’s also criminal. Even assuming that you don’t get charged criminally for fraud, the IRS does track patterns of tax behaviors: if they notice a pattern of bad filing behavior (filing now to avoid paying, for example), you’ll eventually be flagged. In addition to slowing future refunds, causing delays in processing and potentially increasing your audit risk, you’ll also get socked with a pretty nasty tax bill. You’ll eventually have to pay what you owe plus penalty and interest.

2. Call your tax professional for anything other than an extension.Lean in closely for this one and listen very carefully. Your tax professional may be awesome. Your tax professional may love you as a client. Your tax professional may be thrilled to have your business. But – and this is important – your tax professional doesn’t want to hear from you today. Really. Unless you’re filing for an extension, put the phone down. It isn’t likely that you can bring in your tax information for the first time on Tax Day and expect to file a reasonably correct tax return on time: all you can do at this point in most circumstances is file for extension. And if you’ve found a mistake on your return? You’ll want to amend using good ol’ form 1040X… next week. Not today. It’s been a long, busy season. Cut your tax professional a break.

3. Spend your refund when it’s not in pocket. If your tax return says that Uncle Sam owes you money – and not the other way around – the temptation is to want to spend it. Right now. And why not? It’s good news, right? But don’t rush to the web to plan that dream vacation or plop a deposit down on a brand new car until you actually have cash in pocket. There could be a delay in processing your return or you could be subject to offset. You might have made a calculation error, overstated a deduction or understated your income. Your refund might be held due to concerns about a duplicate Social Security number or an injured spouse claim. Most of the time, IRS gets it right and statistically, refunds were processed fairly quickly this year. ButVisa V +0.37% doesn’t accept “I’m eventually getting a tax refund” for payment. So be smart, plan ahead and don’t spend your refund in advance.

4. Head out for the post office at 4:55pm. If you’re going to have a Murphy’s Law moment, it’s bound to be on Tax Day. According to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, deaths from traffic accidents rise 6% on Tax Day. Combine the rush with the extra stress – and in many parts of the country today (including mine), some pretty terrible weather and you’re bound to increase your odds of something bad happening. And even assuming that something terrible doesn’t happen (and I hope that it doesn’t), you don’t want to take a chance on missing that postmark. Check the post office website for post offices with extended hours today – or better yet, leave a few minutes early.

5. Call the IRS. On a routine day, the chances of the IRS actually picking up the phone are about 7 in 10. And if you are one of the lucky taxpayers to get through to IRS, you’re going to have to wait. On Tax Day, those statistics are even more dire. Don’t assume that you can camp out at your phone today and still meet your filing deadline. If you’re worried about timing, you need to file for an extension and figure it out later (but see #7).

6. Forget to sign your return. I know the feeling. You are so glad to be done that you swoop out of the office, tax return in hand on your way to have Tax Day done for good. Don’t be so glad to be done that you forget to sign your return. A tax return is not considered timely filed if you don’t sign it properly – and if you’re married, that means both spouses have to sign. So take a moment to look your return over and make sure that your signature is at the bottom.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2015/04/15/9-things-not-to-do-on-tax-day/

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New Jersey Makes the Top of the State Income Tax List

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April 15, 2015
By
Jared Walczak,
Richard Borean

This week’s tax map presents the highest individual income tax rates in each state for 2015 (full report on state income tax rates: here). Income taxes are a major, and often complicated, component of state revenues. Furthermore, unlike sales or excise taxes which individuals pay indirectly, income taxes are levied directly on individuals, meaning that income taxes are usually featured prominently in any discussion of tax burdens and public policies.

Income taxes are structured in many different ways throughout the states. Some are flat systems with one rate for all income, while other states offer progressive systems taxing different levels of income at different rates, and some states have no income tax at all.

These taxes are also subject to change: over the past two years, eight states (Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, and Wisconsin) and the District of Columbia reduced income taxes, and one state (Minnesota) increased income taxes.

For the most up-to-date data available on current state tax rates and brackets, standard deductions, and per-filer personal exemptions for individuals filing singly, see our report here.

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Salomon Melgen, Sen. Menendez’s friend, indicted in Medicare fraud scheme

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This Jan. 31, 2010, image released by Miami Dade College shows Dr. Salomon Melgen, posing for a photo at the book signing of “Growing American Roots”, a book by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., at the college in Miami.
APRIL 14, 2015, 8:02 PM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015, 6:40 AMBY HERB JACKSON
WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT |
THE RECORD

New federal charges of Medicare fraud involving tens of millions of dollars were filed late Tuesday against Salomon Melgen, the Florida eye specialist who was indicted earlier this month with U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez for allegedly bribing the senator in exchange for help with financial and personal matters, including a Medicare billing dispute.

The new charges, contained in a 76-count indictment handed up in Florida, accuse Melgen of falsely diagnosing patients with a potentially blinding eye disease and then fraudulently billing Medicare for doses of an expensive drug he did not buy, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Southern Florida.

Between January 2008 and December 2013, the release said, Melgen billed Medicare for more than $190 million and his company, Vitreo-Retinal Consultants of the Palm Beaches, was reimbursed more than $105 million. Prosecutors said that “a substantial portion of these reimbursed payments were allegedly obtained through fraudulent billing.”

“Patients fearing blindness sought treatment from Dr. Melgen’s office,” said Shimon Richmond, special agent in charge of the Miami office of the inspector general for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Instead, they allegedly received medically unreasonable and unnecessary tests and procedures for which they and taxpayers paid millions of dollars.”

A call to the phone number listed for the attorney who represented Melgen at his April 2 arraignment in U.S. District Court in Newark was not answered Tuesday night. At the time, Melgen and Menendez pleaded not guilty to corruption charges, brought by a federal grand jury, that included bribery and conspiracy.

Reached late Tuesday, Tricia Enright, a spokeswoman for Menendez, said of Melgen’s new indictment: “The senator knows nothing about this. It has nothing to do with the senator’s case.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/salomon-melgen-sen-menendez-s-friend-indicted-in-medicare-fraud-scheme-1.1308802

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State approves tax credits to keep companies in N.J.

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APRIL 15, 2015    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY KATHLEEN LYNN
STAFF WRITER  |
THE RECORD

* State authority approves sizable grants

New Jersey’s Economic Development Authority on Tuesday approved more than $130 million in tax credits aimed at convincing several companies to expand in New Jersey, rather than in nearby states. The action included two sizable grants in Jersey City.

“The assistance approved at today’s meeting illustrates the breadth of programs EDA offers to support the revitalization of our cities,” the authority’s chief executive officer, Melissa Orsen, said in a statement.

The EDA voted Tuesday to offer Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., a private bank, $19.4 million of tax credits over seven years to keep 435 jobs in Jersey City. The New York-based company also said it hopes to add 110 jobs, some through growth and some through relocations from New York City. The project would bring the state a net benefit of $193 million over 20 years, according to the authority.

The authority also approved a $33.9 million worth of tax credits over 10 years to New York Life Insurance Co. to move 325 jobs from Parsippany to 30 Hudson St. in Jersey City, where it would hire 300 more workers. Without the grant, New York Life would consider moving the Parsippany workers to Manhattan or Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. The New York Life project would bring the state a net benefit of $430.4 million over 20 years, the authority said.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/130m-in-tax-credits-to-keep-add-n-j-jobs-1.1309114

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April 15th : Before 1913, federal income taxes were rare and short-lived

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Before 1913, federal income taxes were rare and short-lived. America became the most prosperous nation on earth. The U.S. Government did not try to police the world or play “nanny” to everyone from cradle to grave. People took responsibility for themselves, their families, and their communities. That is how the founders of America thought it should be. And it worked. It can again!

To read more on taxes:
https://www.lp.org/issues/taxes

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Month of April – Visit the Story Walk at The Stable

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CRPL presents: Story Walk®- “The Spotty Dotty Daffodil”

The Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands (CRPL) and the Parks and Recreation Department is pleased to present a Story Walk® of The Spotty Dotty Daffodil for all families to discover and enjoy together.

Story Walk® is an exciting literary initiative that combines the reading of a children’s story with a walking route, while connecting families in the out of doors. A unique way to inspire parents, teachers, grandparents and care givers to take young children on a short stroll that is free for all. The Story walk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition and the Kellogg Hubbard Library, visit [email protected].

The Spotty Dotty daffodil is a picture book by Rose Mannering and illustrated with beautiful water colors by Bethany Straker which features a heartfelt story of acceptance ; one that celebrates the differences in all of us- spots , stripes or otherwise.

Volunteers from the Conservancy have made arrangements for this Story walk®- of the Spotty Dotty Daffodil to be displayed April1 through May 2, in unison with the bloom of some 14,000 daffodil bulbs planted throughout the Village community. The actual story walk will take place in the meadow area adjacent to the Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue in Ridgewood. Families are invited to visit the Story Walk®, enjoy the Spotty Dotty Daffodil story together and discover the beauty of nature that abounds in one local park. For your convenience, parking, restroom facilities and a playground are available.

This is an outdoor experience, so dress accordingly. The event is free to the public.

For more information please contact the Ridgewood Parks and Recreation Department at 201-670-5560, www.ridgewoodnj.net or visit the office at 259 N. Maple Avenue.

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Former Midland Park school custodians claim unjust firings after reporting altered logs

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APRIL 14, 2015, 6:43 PM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2015, 6:43 PM

BY MARINA VILLENEUVE
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

MIDLAND PARK — Two former school custodians are claiming the Board of Education fired them in retaliation after they told the district it was violating occupational health and safety law.

Plantiffs William Edland, Jr., and Frank Gabriele claim the board fired them in January after the two found that a log book had been altered to create the appearance that Gabriele, a licensed boiler operator, was in Godwin Elementary School when he was actually on leave. Under New Jersey law, a person licensed to operate boilers must be in the building whenever it’s occupied.

According to an April 7 lawsuit filed in state Superior Court, both Edland and Gabriele have a boiler operator’s license known as a “black seal license.”

State law also requires custodians with black seal licenses to sign the log book upon arrival to work.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/former-midland-park-school-custodians-claim-unjust-firings-after-reporting-altered-logs-1.1308796

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Reader says time to Repeal Pfund’s Folly

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Repeal Pfund’s Folly, i.e. Ordinance 3066 !!! In the very least repeal the Chapter § 190-143 ( here https://ecode360.com/6694062 ) that allow for applications to amend the Master Plan. Application to Village Council or Planning Board.Any interested party may request that an amendment or amendments be made to the Village Master Plan or development regulations. The request(s) shall be made to the Village Council and/or the Village Planning Board.

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Reader asks not a single employee of the Ridgewood Public School System who could have been promoted to fill the principal’s position at Orchard?

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There was not a single employee of the Ridgewood Public School System who could have been promoted to fill the principal’s position at Orchard?

What does that say about top District management and the BOE itself if we have no viable succession program?

From last night’s meeting agenda:

iv. Appointments

Administrator

FERRERI, Mary, K. – Principal of Orchard School, effective
July 15, 2015 through June 30, 2016.

Mrs. Ferreri credentials are as follows:
 Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, New Jersey
Master of Arts in Educational Administration – 2005
 The College of New Jersey, Ewing, New Jersey
Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education/History – 2002

Experience:
 Westwood Regional School District; Principal, George
Elementary School – July 2010 to present
 Westwood Regional School District; Acting Assistant
Principal, George & Ketler Schools/Supervisor of
Elementary Programs/District Head Teacher K-6 – January
2009 to June 2010
 Westwood Regional School District; Third Grade Teacher –
2002 to 2009
 Westwood Regional School District; First Grade Teacher –
2002 to 2009

$150,000
pro-rated