At the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education meeting of May 22, a large contingent of people were present at the Wade building in Martinsville to support the eight assistant librarians who had been cut from the payroll. As a result of this overwhelming turnout, the board decided to refer the question back to the Finance Committee for a second look.
As discussed in this blog on May 25, the board took this action in good faith and with no promises as to the outcome.
After the conclusion of the Board meeting on May 22, Jeffrey Brookner, chairperson of Finance, asked Cindy Cullen, who is board vice-president and the alternate member of the Finance Committee to attend his committee meeting. That meeting is now scheduled for next Monday, June 11.
Board committees have only three members, with an additional alternate member, in case one of the other three can’t make the meeting. (Lynne Hurley and Christine Schneider are the two regular Finance committee members.)
There is a very sound reason for three-member committees because, obviously, there can never be a tie vote. This is critical, because it assures that a committee recommendation presented to the full board is decisive, even though it may not be unanimous. Thus, the full board can never be presented with a recommendation shrouded in fog, that is, a 2-2 vote.
In a candid telephone conversation this evening, Cindy Cullen and I discussed these concepts; it now looks like next Monday’s Finance Committee meeting will be what it should be, a three-person working dialogue. I sure hope so!
Note: The BR-BOE President is an ex-officio member of all board committees, and has the right and privilege to attend at his discretion. He is not, however, expected to be a regular voting member. Administration representatives attend committee meetings to lend expertise and support, but do not vote.
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