New faces and upgrades to greet the new school year

Photo by Debbie Walsh

The concession stand at Kinnelon High School is being outfitted with several upgrades including new tile in the restrooms.

Though the schools may have been out for the summer that does not mean that the district took a break from work. The school district was quite busy hiring new personnel and making facility upgrades.

At the Aug. 28 school board meeting, Diane DiGiuseppe, superintendent of schools, said the district had hired its final group of staff members on Aug. 28. There were roughly 35 part-time staff members and full-time replacement staff members that had been hired over the summer. The district received 670 applications for those open positions, she said.

Denise Hatch, school board president, said she had the opportunity to meet some of the new faculty members and was impressed by their enthusiasm.

Some of the key positions the school board filled this summer include the hiring of a new school district business administrator, a Stonybrook School principal, and a language arts supervisor. The board made these important hires at a July 24 meeting. For the business administrator/school board secretary post, the school board hired Kerry Keane at a prorated salary of $142,000. Keane, who has served as school district business administrator/school board secretary in the 2,800-student Caldwell-West Caldwell school district for the past two years, has 27 years experience in school business offices. She is expected to start in October.

The board appointed Mark Fasciana at a salary of $127,000 (pro-rated) as the new Stonybrook principal. He replaces former Stonybrook Principal Mark Mongon, who became principal at the Pearl R. Miller School (PRM) after the June 30 retirement of PRM Principal John Hynes. Fasciana has been the principal of the (K-5) Mt. Tabor School in Parsippany since 2010. He has spent a total of 18 years employed in the Parsippany school district. The board also hired Denise Velez at a salary of $90,000 to fill the language arts curriculum supervisory role. Velez has been an English teacher in the Summit school district for nine years and recently earned her supervisor's certification at Montclair University where she is also currently working to complete her principal's certification.

Last week James Minkewicz, outgoing school district business administrator, said the district undertook many facility improvements in the summer months. The district received state Regular Operating District (ROD) grants to complete two roofing projects. Minkewicz said the ROD grant will help fund the replacement of the roof at the newer Kinnelon High School (KHS) gym, which was built in 1998, and is leaking. The ROD money will also fund the replacement of the cafetorium (multi-purpose room) roof at Kiel School, which opened in 1994, he said. According to Minkewicz, the ROD Grants are paying for approximately 40 percent the cost of the projects, which are estimated at $553,300, including professional fees. The KHS roofing project is estimated at about $300,000, while the Kiel replacement is projected at roughly $200,000.

Minkewicz said the concession stand at KHS is receiving some upgrades. According to Minkewicz, the facility sustained some water damage. Molded sheetrock was replaced. The restrooms are being outfitted with new tile. The districts new maintenance employee, Scott Morse, is handy and replaced and spackled the sheetrock, while other members of the custodial/maintenance staff did the painting, With the staff completing these upgrades, the district saved the expense of going to outside contractors, he said.

Though the snack stand is operational, Minkewicz said the restroom improvements might not be done in time for the football home opener. The restrooms inside the school will be available for public use, he said.

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New faces and upgrades to greet the new school year