STAFFORD – Governor Phil Murphy proclaimed January 2022 as New Jersey School Board recognition month. While many local districts offered no special accolades, the Stafford Township school district represented the exception.
Stafford Superintendent of Schools George Chidiac provided the opening remarks to a video thanking the school board for their work.
“Thank you, Board of Education, for all that you do, in supporting our administrators, our teachers, and our staff,” said Chidiac. “For providing everyone with all the right tools so that we can succeed, and all work together as a district.”
A montage dedicated to each of the Board of Education members followed Chidiac’s remarks as students shouted out their thanks.
Children even held signs calling Board of Ed members honest and selfless. Notably, board members receive no compensation for their work.
The well-done video is set to the music of Alicia’s Keys’ “Good Job,” with many of the students jumping up as they hold signs that mimic the lyrics.
At the end of the presentation, the video lists some of the accomplishments made by last year’s board members. These include Chromebook assignments that students can take home, as well as an expression of gratitude for faculty members. Students also showed appreciation for the district’s preschool program.
Barnegat and Ocean Township (Waretown) School Districts both receive state funding for their preschool programs and do not charge families tuition fees.
Makerspaces, which Stafford Schools calls hands-on, creative ways to encourage students to design, experiment, build and invent as they deeply engage in science, engineering and tinkering, received an excited shout-out from program participants.
According to the district’s website, teachers at McKinley plan to focus on using recycled materials for this year’s projects.
“The presentation came as a complete surprise to all of us that work together on the Board of Education,” said Stafford BOE president Tammy Wagner. “It was great to feel appreciated for volunteering our time to help work to make the district run smoothly.”
It took less than five minutes for school administrators to express their gratitude to local board of education members. The district surely got its share of negative attention this year, most of it related to COVID-19 restrictions.
Politicians hoping to replace Murphy even made an appearance before the district’s May 2021 board meetings. Jack Ciattarelli, Phil Rizzo and Hirsh Singh all showed up to support Erin Pein, RN, a school nurse.
Pein said she spoke with school administrators to express her disagreements with facial mask requirements in school. When she showed up without one, her contract was not renewed. Pein continues to advocate for the removal of face masks, claiming there’s no scientific evidence that they serve to protect students from COVID-19 infections.
Aside from controversy associated with pandemic-related issues, Stafford parents brought little in the way of complaints to the board of education.
