the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, while the Village of Ridgewood Council meeting have become a circus . Meetings have been characterized by bullying , lack of transparency, limited citizen input , total disfunction and a “my way of the highway” attitude .The Ridgewood Board of Education has avoided much of the same acrimony.
Trustee Saurabh Dani explained in a Facebook post how the Board of Education policy committee had enhanced the board meeting to better serve Ridgewood residents , Village Council take notes.
Dani said , “When I was elected, my first job was to work on the Policy Committee. It’s not the most exciting committee, but it’s important. I made some changes to Policy 164, which deals with how our board meetings are run. Here’s what I did:
a) I advocated for, and we started sending out the meeting agenda and notice to residents on Fridays before the meeting instead of Mondays afternoons (the meeting day). This gave people more time to see what was on the agenda and ask questions.
b) I advocated for, and we moved the time for public comments to the beginning of the meeting. Before, people had to wait for hours through presentations and didn’t know when they could speak. Now, it’s easier for parents to share their thoughts.
c) ) I advocated for, and we added a section for the superintendent to give updates at the meeting. This way, everyone can hear directly from the superintendent about what’s happening in the district.
d) ) I advocated for, and we moved the second round of public comments to the end of the meeting, so residents have the last say. Before, decisions were made after public comments, and people didn’t have a chance to be heard.
e) ) I advocated for, and we created a new agenda section for items that weren’t in the consent agenda. Not everything should be approved without discussion. Before, even big contracts (over half a million-dollar value) got approved under consent agenda as “motion to approve item X”. Now, we provide more information and opportunity for discussion.
f) ) I advocated for, and we started discussing and making decisions in public meetings, rather than in closed-door executive sessions. In the past, everything was approved under a ‘consent agenda’ without much discussion.
These changes might seem small, but they’ve made our board’s work more transparent. Now, residents know what’s going on and can get involved. Some special interest groups want to go back to the old way of doing things behind closed doors. I’m very concerned about that because it goes against the idea of open government and letting the public have a say in how things are done, which I think is crucial and must be preserved”
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Look familiar?
Dani is the best. He is one of the smartest guys you will ever meet. I think there are others, who might even be BOE favorite hand picked people, but look at the values they are preaching and you may be able to see that their values are not aligned. it is an important vote for sure and Dane’s got mine.
Lol nice try
The dysfunction at the BOE is happening behind the scenes and is apparent to anyone who watches the loooooong meetings. If the 5 of them were working as a team votes wouldn’t be delayed, members would come prepared and the snide remarks and patronizing tones wouldn’t be happening as much. If you think Dani is innocent I’m guessing you’ve only been watching for the last 3 months. He’s no fool he wants to get re-elected so he’s quiet now, letting Lembo dig his own grave
They should NOT be working ‘behind the scenes’ as a team – that’s illegal and unethical. They should be conducting business at PUBLIC meetings – with full transparency. Those who claim they ‘work in the background’ are breaking the law, and those who are making deals with the teachers’ unions are behaving unethically. The Board, the Superintendent, and the Union representatives all have different roles and responsibilities. Board members who have made deals with the teachers’ union are undermining the Superintendent and the Board!!
Behind the scenes—— not illegal at all
Have you heard of Executive session?
Have you ever been on Facebook?
Do you use email?
People have conversations and make remarks, snide and otherwise all the time .
Executive sessions are limited to legal or personnel.
Behind the scene deal making with the union is UNETHICAL and ILLEGAL.
We have to vote Lembo OUT. Lembo is poison.
Do not vote in the teacher union pawns. They are against parental rights and want murphy, local gov’t and the union to have control over ur kids.
Which candidates are the BOE pawns?
Micale and Julie are endorsed by the teachers union. Teachers union contract is coming up for negotiation and looks like they have made a deal with the union. If Micale or Julie are elected, be ready to pay higher taxes!
I’m liking the two guys running as a ticket. They are a new fresh breath of air. Not backed by the teachers. Dani and Lembo just don’t cut it and under their tenure things have been upside down.