Progress In Nutley: School, Town Partnership Is Working, Officials Say

NUTLEY, NJ — When a town’s municipal government and school district clash, the outcome can be difficult for everyone. But an ongoing partnership between the Nutley Board of Commissioners and the Nutley Board of Education is an example of what can be accomplished when local officials and school administrators team up and combine resources, their members say.

The “One Nutley” partnership took a big step forward last year, when local officials gave the go-ahead to a shared services/use agreement for the funding and development of board facilities and fields, and to establish a mechanism for the joint use of board facilities. See Related: Nutley Township, School Board Explore 'Shared Services' Partnership

Several projects have already been completed under the One Nutley banner: the pre-K playground at the John H. Walker Middle School, the Nutley High School entrance way, the multi-purpose room at Radcliffe School.

And there are more projects lined up in the future, officials say.

Commissioner board members got a glimpse at some of the progress being made in the local school district during a recent tour of Nutley High School, including the newly updated gymnasium, weight training center and media center.

“The improvements we have seen tonight in this building are just an example of how the district is moving forward,” Mayor Joseph Scarpelli said.

Scarpelli said that when School Superintendent Kent Bania came on board, he and board of education president Salvatore Ferraro presented a vision of how they’d like to see the district move forward.

“That presented the perfect opportunity for these two boards to align our objectives and work cooperatively to upgrade our facilities,” the mayor said.

“This is what ‘One Nutley’ is all about,” Scarpelli continued. “By combining our resources and expertise, we can proactively address the evolving needs of our residents and ensure a better future for our children.”

Commissioner Mauro Tucci said that in the 24 years he’s been in office, he has never seen this level of cooperation between two independent boards.

“Everything that we are doing now is not about us,” agreed his fellow commissioner, Thomas Evans. “It’s not about some special group. It’s about the future of our town and the generations that will go through our school system.”

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