Sussex-Wantage school board struggles with mandate

SUSSEX BOROUGH — What started out as a statewide Board of Education ethics training, turned into a struggle between the Sussex-Wantage Regional School District school board control and Trenton mandates.

School Board member Bob Maikis discussed the “stupid system” during the mandated ethics training required annually by the New Jersey School District Accountability Act, signed into law by Gov. Jon Corzine on March 15, 2007.

Robynn Meehan of the New Jersey School Board Association trained the Board on Wednesday, Jan. 28.

Point by point, the board read aloud the standards they are required to follow related to their role of: policy, planning, oversight, and appraisal. Anecdotal questions were asked after each point presented.

For example, “should the chair of the Finance Committee review all long distance bills?"

After a lengthy discussion between Maikis and Meehan, Maikis pointed out the contradiction of being required by law to provide oversight, but then being restricted by the ethics training from receiving detailed information to carry out that oversight.

Meehan explained it is the Business Administrator's job.

“So with OPRA (Open Public Records Act) a private citizen can see, but we can't?”

"That's the system," Meehan said.

“That's a stupid system," Maikis said. "When you get elected, to then limit the amount of information (available) to support and protect the school personnel (who) are properly performing their duties. That isn't micromanaging. I'm not allowed to see what they do.”

Later during new business, Maikis attempted to pass out a list of budget recommendations to discuss before the Budget Committee’s meeting, scheduled for Monday, Feb. 2.

He was instructed that he must first give the information to the superintendent and the business administrator.

"The board can't see it, but the BA can?" he said.

Maikis said, “The board can't see it, but the BA can?”

School Attorney Yaacov Brisman said that the process was related to the ethics training they had just had, which points to supporting school personnel in their duties and the budget process. Also, Maikis's document might require an administrative response.

Maikis said, it was only a “printed piece of paper” to help the board “coalesce their thoughts.”