JACKSON – While three members of the Board of Education were sworn in during the board’s recently held reorganization meeting, the panel did not select a new president or vice president for the year.
Tara Rivera and Scott Sargent, who were re-elected to the board for three-year terms in November, and Tzvi Herman, who was elected to a one-year term, began their new terms after being sworn in by Business Administrator Michelle Richardson prior to the meeting to allow for social distancing practices.
In a poll vote taken to choose a board president, Herman and Board member Sargent nominated Rivera. Board members John Burnetsky and Thomas Colucci nominated current Board President Michael Walsh to serve in that role for another year.
When it came to a vote, Walsh and Rivera voted for their nominations and despite a second vote taken by Board Attorney Marc Zitomer, the deadlock remained in a three-to-three vote. Board member Gus Acevedo was absent for the reorganization meeting and could not cast a deciding vote.
The same went for the selection of a Board vice president. Sargent was nominated by Rivera and Herman to serve in that capacity while Burnetsky and Walsh nominated Colucci who served in that role last year. The votes remained at a stalemate again.
While a board president and vice president were not chosen among the board members present a decision is expected to be made during the Board’s January meeting which had not been held as of press time.
The school district remains on a hybrid model of live and remote instruction. Some school districts, noting high numbers of COVID cases within their communities have had to move back to full remote learning as the only option. Jackson has a remote learning program for those parents who have elected to have such for their children, in addition to the hybrid model.
Just prior to the school district’s holiday break last month, Superintendent Nicole Pormilli announced that the school district would move to a synchronous form of instruction where students within the hybrid model would receive additional teacher instruction time through lessons held live by their teachers. Students who were experiencing their remote day, would be getting the same instruction as their peers who were in the classroom in their school.
Pormilli noted that while this model did not replace the ultimate goal of having more live class time with students it did allow for more engagement between students and their teacher as well as more time between students and their peers.
She prepared a video and PowerPoint presentation expected to be played during the Board’s January 20 meeting which outlines the goals and hopes for the school district in resuming five day a week live instruction in school buildings.
Board members approved a tentative calendar schedule that will maintain the current hybrid model for instruction and continued remote model until March subject to the changing conditions, good or bad of the COVID-19 pandemic.
