BOE Meeting: Anti-Bullying Workshops to Start Soon

At Tuesday night’s first Board of Education meeting, a key point of discussion was Gov. Chris Christie’s new anti-bullying law, the which Bloomfield schools will have to comply with this school year. 

The new law, widely considered the toughest anti-bullying legislation in America, stipulates board staff members undergo mandatory training on how to prevent bullying, including investigating every complaint and contacting parents about incidents. This includes incidents of bullying on school grounds, during school activities outside the school, as well as via Facebook, texting or any other social media. 

Motivated by outcry over the death of Rutgers freshman Tyler Clementi last year, many consider the legislation a barometer of increased public outrage on the issue of bullying – both the cyberbullying kind and the schoolyard variety. 

To this end, the school district will implement a two-hour training program to ensure that educators and administrators are up to speed on the requirements of the new law.  The two-part workshop, which the public is welcome to attend, will take place within a month. 

“At the end of the day it’s important to know that the policy is imperative, it’s not discretionary,” said Board member Nick Dotoli, noting that the state will grade individual school districts on how they respond to incidents, and face stiff consequences (such as lawsuits and denial of insurance coverage) if they respond incorrectly. 

A point of contention during the meeting was when Board members Robert De Marino and Joseph Lopez questioned BOE President Mary Shaughnessy about the wisdom of changing insurance carriers, saying the savings to the district would be felt next year rather than this year.  Shaughnessy responded the district was saving a significant amount of money by switching from Fairview insurance, which charged $355,000, to Brown & Brown, which charges $200,000. The Board noted that this issue had been resolved when the board voted to switch insurance brokers last summer.

"The reason we switched was because Fairview collects a 3.5 percent commission from Cigna (our carrier) on the district's entire premium cost," Shaughnessy told Patch after the meeting. "The board majority felt that was too much, so we put out a request for proposal for other brokers and went with Brown & Brown because they will only collect a 2% commission. We will not realize that saving until we renew next June, but it beats paying a 3.5 commission upon renewal."

Other points of discussion at the meeting: 

• The BOE will vote next meeting whether to hire a energy education specialist in the schools who will implement cost effective energy saving measures for the district. 

• Insurance money to defray the cost of flood damage will not be forthcoming for Watsessing School because it is in a designated flood zone. There is also a water table issue with Oakview School.

• The board also expressed satisfaction with the completion of the first phase of Foley Field, with Shaughnessy praising the work of the engineers and architects who designed the field so that it didn’t flood during the hurricane. She called on the mayor and the council to move forward with the second phase of the construction (installing permanent bleachers, concession stands and restrooms) saying, “Our needs may surpass $900,000, but not by much.”  The $900,000 allotted for the improvements will be funded by a Green Acres grant awarded to the township last May.

• The school district will be increasing its focus on the importance of wellness and nutrition by utilizing nutrition programs through Clara Maas Medical Center and Montclair State University, as well as introducing a nutrition enrichment class into the school curriculum. 

• Upcoming event: Relay for Life Cancer Awareness event, to be held Sept. 23 at Foley Field. 

The next board meeting will take place September 27 at Franklin School.

Click to hear an NJ Spotlight.com pocast on the new Anti-Bullying Law.