With Non-Meeting Looming, Wayne Board Of Ed. To Reconvene Thursday

WAYNE, NJ — It's been some a month since the last true Wayne Township Board of Education meeting. But the public won't have to wait long for the next, with the next set to take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at 50 Nellis Dr.

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The public portion of Oct. 29's meeting ended before it started. Only four of the nine board members showed up to the public portion, so the governing body failed to produce a quorom. As with all Wayne school board meetings, an executive session took place before it.

Board President Catherine Kazan told Patch the day after that safety concerns prompted her decision not to attend the public portion.

"Since the last meeting, I have been receiving and deliberating over competing legal opinions from the Township attorney and the Board attorney as to roles and responsibilities for safety and security at meetings, which have become quite contentious, menacing and unpredictable," Kazan told Patch via email. "I believe it is my responsibility to ensure the safety of all participants at our public meetings. That includes our Trustees, Staff, and members of the community."

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Kazan said she spoke for herself and not on behalf of the board, but Vice President Suzanne Pudup said she supported the board president's statement.

Board Member Dawn Kumar told Patch she didn't feel well that evening and didn't attend the executive session. The other two members who weren't present — Sean Duffy and Donald Pavlak, Jr. — did not respond to Patch's requests for comment.

Kazan said Oct. 30 that she expected the safety matters to get resolved "well in advance for the next meeting." Asked for an updated on the matter Tuesday, Kazan said she had no comment. The board doesn't discuss safety and security matters outside of executive sessions, and the next is set for 6 p.m. Thursday.

The three incumbent candidates who ran for re-election this year — Eileen Albanese, Matt Giordano and Stacey Scher — were among the four who showed up for the public session Oct. 29 that never began. Board Member Michael Bubba was the fourth.

Challengers Michael Fattal, Haralampos Prassakos and Iveta Wentink topped Nov. 2's Board of Education election.

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