Teaneck BOE Honors Retired Member Margaret Angeli

Teaneck Board of Education trustees, school administrators and community members took turns praising retired BoE trustee Margaret Angeli for her three decades of service to the Teaneck Public Schools system.

At the start of the Sept. 21 BoE meeting, Trustee David Diuguid also made the announcemet of plans for the naming of the Margaret Angeli Staff Development Room at the Eugene Field School building, now the district's administrative office. Angeli retired from the board during the last election.

Diuguid gave the first reading of the resolution that highlighted the many accomplishments of Angeli’s long BoE career, which began in 1979:

Angeli "...has held the title of president and vice president, served on numerous board committees, actively participated in the hiring of five superintendents, assisted in the development and passage of two bond issues – which contributed to the significant community investment in our aging school facilities – guided the district through administrative reorganizations, facilities plans, literacy initiatives, a preschool program, an all-day kindergarten," the resolution said. "And with her persistence, unrelenting attention to detail, and unflagging support of students with special needs has left a legacy of competence, caring and commitment that will leave an enduring mark on the Teaneck Public School District, special education services, and the community at large.”

Diuguid said that Angeli was president of the board when he started eight years ago as a junior member. He recalled her professionalism and always being a stickler for proper protocol.

“In keeping with Margaret’s passion for process and her usual statement something to the effect of ‘You can do it right or you can do it over,’ this resolution actually represents the first reading of the dedication of the Margaret Angeli Staff Development Room,” Diuguid said. “As people on the board probably know, to name a building or to change the name of a building or to name a room by our policy requires two readings, so we fully intend to do this. Nobody is against that, but Margaret would be the first person to tell us that we can’t do this on a single reading, it has to be done twice.”

Various members of the BoE took turns praising Angeli, who was not in attendance but could watch the meeting via the video live streaming or from the archives on the Teaneck Schools website.

BoE Trustee Howard Rose praised Angeli’s many accomplishments, and Vice President Gervonn Rice talked about a recent retirement dinner held for Angeli and the many stories shared at that event.

Trustee Margot Embree Fisher called Angeli the historian and professor of the board because of her experience and insistence on “transparency and openness and proper procedure.”

“Not only was she an advocate for the children, especially the special-needs children, but she was also an incredibly unfailing advocate for the process, and for the work that we do as a board, for our responsibility not just to the taxpayers of the community but to the children for whom we are the advocates,” Fisher said.

Trustee Sebastian Rodriguez and Board President Ardie Walser remarked on how they both got to know another side to Angeli when traveling with her to various board-related events.

“She has been an inspiration to me, and I think every board member who has worked under her guidance here,” Walser said.

Members in the audience also came up to the podium to share their experience of working with Angeli.

Barbara Ostroth, a former school board member, said she served with Angeli for 12 years. She said it was appropriate to name the development room after Angeli because “this is where the work of the board is done, and if there’s any room that she occupied and did her work in for over 30 years it was in that room.”

Ostroth also said that the proceeds collected from Angeli’s retirement dinner that went beyond paying for the event itself will go to two charities. One of the charities is TOPS, which Ostroth explained is an educational foundation in which Angeli was one of the founding members. The rest of the proceeds will go to fund a scholarship in Angeli’s name that’ll be awarded through the Teaneck Community Scholarship Fund annually to a student with special needs.

“I’m hoping that other residents and administrators and teachers will continue to contribute and fund the seed money that will keep this scholarship going for many years,” Ostroth said.

Kathleen Livelli said she first met Angeli at a meeting of the Special Education Association when her son was just entering kindergarten. She said she watched and learned by Angeli's example.

Livelli discussed one challenging project that had her and Angeli jumping through hoops.

“The task was to get a pint-sized sink and toilet installed in the special-needs PreK at ,” Liveilli said. “Month after month, Margaret worked through regulations, permits, bids and financing, while I lobbied on behalf of the children from the audience. When the project was finally done, Margaret suggested we hold a grand opening celebration using the new sink as a punch bowl. This is just one of countless examples of staying the course until the need is met.”

After everyone from the public had their turn at the microphone, the motion for the first reading of the resolution was passed by the board. Before moving on to other agenda items, all the BoE members in attendance, Superintendent Barbara Pinsak and Business Administrator Robert Finger stood up and applauded Angeli.