(South Orange, NJ) – On Monday, March 25th, at 6 pm, Orange High School students will walk the Red Carpet and then watch their films on the big screen at The Village at SOPAC Theatres in South Orange. The general public is invited to this free event, which is the culmination of “DocFilmBoot,” a filmmaking bootcamp that is a collaboration between the local non-profit Cinema Ed, Drew University and Orange School District. Luke Parker Bowles and his team at Cinema Lab have generously donated a theatre space to screen these films. For the past six weeks, Drew students' mentors, along with professional filmmaking mentors from Cinema Ed have been visiting Orange High School to work with filmmaking students to help create six documentaries. The films will then be sent to documentary industry professionals who will judge them and choose the top two documentaries. Awards will be given after the screening.
Cinema Ed provides high school students with a variety of intensive programs designed to teach them the skills they need to craft their own independent films and find work in the film and television industry. These programs also provide them with the opportunity to work on specific film projects with professional filmmakers while also focusing on their studies in all areas of their high school curriculum. Drew University’s Center for Civic Engagement has also partnered with Orange and Cinema Ed to provide Drew students the opportunity to work at Orange High School as part of their Civic Media Class. In its third year, DocFilmBoot operates as part of a grant from Essex County and Jersey Arts.
The general public is invited to attend this free screening, and the first 100 attendees will also receive a free small popcorn and soda to enjoy while they watch the films created by these local high school students. For more information on this event and how to obtain tickets, please visit www.CinemaEd.org.
]]>SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – Village Administrator Julie Doran presented the 2024 budget at the Board of Trustees meeting on Monday, March 11. She began by explaining the budget process. “We always review our objectives. Of course, we always want to work to achieve fiscal sustainability.” Doran continued, “We work to deliver our village services effectively, efficiently and equitably, and we seek to engage our stakeholders and the village president just gave us an overview of how we seek to engage all of our stakeholders.”
She mentioned that it was important to manage the inflationary impact on capital projects and operational expenses of this year. “We did ask our departments to deliver a $0 increase over last year, so not only are costs up, if possible, we're asking for very little increases from those expenses over which we have control,” she shared.
Doran said that last year the village appropriated some additional funds, and this year they need $100,000 to “support expanded offerings.”
She listed some additional costs. Regarding buildings and maintenance, Doran mentioned the $16 million library renovation project and needing to offset the cost wherever possible in the budget. She added, “We are asking for an increase in our salary and wage line item of $12,000 to promote our Field Maintenance Manager to the position of Facilities Manager. This will help us go a long way in operating the Baird Center as well as all of our public buildings.”
Doran spoke of environmental and sustainability initiatives. “We are appropriating the $4 million plus for Project Greenlight Phase 2, and we do feel confident that we'll be shovels in the ground this fall. It’s important to note that $2.7 million of that is via reimbursable grant.” The village is also spending $150,000 on tree replacement to be paid for with $100,000 in operational expenses and $50,000 out of the Tree Replacement Fund.
Doran mentioned infrastructure programs, including an emergency mandatory sewer reconstruction project on Lenox Avenue that will cost $570,000. She relayed, “We have a total of an additional $420,000 that we're looking for, to allocate to sewer and stormwater improvements and maintenance and then another $900,000 on roads that are in reconstruction, milling and paving.” $483,000 of that is reimbursable by the NJDOT grant that South Orange received.”
Engineering resources will also need an increase to add support staff to the Engineering Department. The salary is $75,000 for that position. The village will reduce consulting fees in engineering by $40,000.
Under “budget realities,” Doran reported 7 ½% health care premiums and an increase in statutory pension contributions. Also, debt service that came due and interest payments. Plus, an increase in street lighting costs because the utility rate increase was approved. ARPA (American Resource Plan Act) funds are depleted, and there's no more COVID-19 federal money. “We are counting for additional wage increases that we're projecting based on the employee union contracts that we're currently negotiating with the PBA and the Teamsters,” said Doran.
She remarked that 28% of each tax bill comes back to municipality programming. “The rest of your tax bill really is for the school district and then the county. What you see here [see visuals above] is projected. Those numbers are from the school and the county. Their budgets are not finalized until the summer, and at that point, we do our final calculation and revise our tax bills accordingly.”
The administration is proposing a total budget amount of just over $45 million, which is a 4.99% increase in property taxes over last year. The amount of the $45 million that's financed through taxes is just over $29 million. She explained, “We like to look at the impact on an average homeowner doing that this year. I want to point out that the average residential assessment has increased based on the new assessment values for the 2023 revaluation. The average residential assessment is now up to $879,422.” Doran multiplied the tax of 6.92% with the average residential assessment, and the average municipal taxes for the year are $6,081.74, a $263.35 increase. Her slideshow above illustrates where taxes are spent. 30% goes to the South Orange Police Department and South Essex Fire Department.
Doran noted that the village hired a lot of new police officers because many are retiring. Salaries for new police will be considerably lower. The Health Department budget is reduced because South Orange is sharing Maplewood’s Health Officer.
According to Doran, the River Greenway appropriation is increasing the Capital Improvement Fund. She addressed the roads and sidewalk expenses. “We received a grant for Church Street and Third, so it's Third from Church up to Ridgewood and along Church Street to South Orange Avenue.” The village proposed paving Prospect Street all the way from the Maplewood border to Irvington Avenue, North Ridgewood Road from Tillou to Forest.
Regarding anticipated funds that can’t be included in the budget yet, Doran also mentioned applying for grants. She spoke of increasing recreation fees due to increased programming costs. She said that the Baird Center is opening soon, and then the Pilot revenue will be available. “This year we're anticipating just over $3 million or 7% of our revenue through our Pilots, but so we saw a $330,000 increase over 2024, and that was just a partial opening of one of our projects, and that project is the Taylor Vose project which is now 55% occupied residential and 100% commercially.”
She talked about opening a storage platform and Meridia at Fourth and Valley, which will generate pilot revenue. Doran reported that Irvington Avenue had a setback because the developer was ill. His son has taken over his company and is going to sell that property with the approved plans. Doran also said the village is in talks with a developer at 164 Valley and the New Jersey Transit route in South Orange Avenue.
]]>SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – Board of Education (BOE) Business Administrator Eric Burnside presented the Proposed 2024-2025 BOE budget during Thursday night’s meeting, and BOE members approved it, despite some reservations.
He began his slideshow by saying, “The school budget is a proposed plan to enable the leadership to successfully achieve these goals. This budget includes approximately an additional $1 million in state aid. The increase in state aid is fortunate for our school district, but we also know that it can be decreased just as easily in the future.”
Burnside stated that some “hard decisions” were made to create the budget. He shared, “[Balancing the budget] involves identifying areas of opportunity to implement efficiencies and save money inside and outside the classroom. Building level administrators also communicated their needs and wants at each school.”
He reported that funds were moved from one need to another to “meet the obligation for a thorough and efficient education,” but the Intentional Integration Initiative and construction funds weren’t reduced. “The tax levy increase is $4,041,835 for the 2024-2025 school year. This is a combination of the allowable 2% cap increase as well as the allowable enrollment adjustment and healthcare adjustment,” stated Burnside. He added that the district traditionally has budgeted extraordinary aid (for classified students) at $1 million, but won't receive it until July. “We've increased it to $2 million this year, because over the last three years it's been consistently over $2 million,” he remarked.
Burnside noted that the budget includes withdrawing $1.5 million from the maintenance reserve, leaving a balance of approximately $33.2 million for future use. “We are conservative in our budget concerning the state and federal grants, as we don't apply for these grants until June. We budget 80% in case there are reductions,” he pointed out.
Burnside also mentioned that COVID relief funds have almost all been spent. He said that students paying tuition and preschool aid are two income producers. The revenue is outside the general fund and can only be spent on preschoolers attending Montrose school or an outside provider.
He continued, “The operating revenue for the 2024-2025 school year is composed of approximately $2.4 million in debt service aid, which increased $8 million this year according to the schedule of bond payments. Also included in revenue is the debt service fund balance of approximately $4 million that was used to reduce the debt service tax levied.”
Burnside’s chart (see above) shows that 78.9%of the district's budget is financed by the local tax levy and 6.7% of the district's budget comes from state aid. He commented that when the state looks at the local fair share, it calculates how much a district can afford to contribute towards the adequacy budget. “This number is calculated by entering a town's equalized value and aggregate income into a formula. If the state doesn't believe a community is collecting enough tax revenue, they may decrease state aid.”
He mentioned that enrollment had increased by 132 students from last year to this year. This is an encouraging trend that we hope will continue.
Regarding expenditures, Burnside’s slideshow illustrated salary, benefits, contracted services, tuition, transportation and contract services. The state requires the district to perform a public bid every three years, which can cause increases in expenditures.
He spoke of the permanent substitutes utilized during COVID and reported that they will no longer be working in the schools because much of the COVID funds have expired. The district recently increased rates for substitute pay this year to stay competitive. An increase for paraprofessionals is budgeted. The district is continuing summer programs and the students are going to have access to tutoring.
The Special Services Department is partially funded by out-of-district tuition, but preschool funds are for regular education services only. According to Burnside, “The preschool program is run as a full inclusion program. The district reserves seats for special needs children to participate in a full inclusion program, and the district has to fund the special services portion of preschool education.” He stated that there's a $1,525,000 transfer in the budget from this category in the budget for the 2024-2025 school year.
He pointed out a slight increase in funding for transportation. Burnside explained, “This was mainly driven by an increase in the aid-in-lieu of payments to families who send their children to non-public schools. We do this in place of providing transportation. We will also be reviewing and exploring shared services and a reevaluation of all in district routes to spring.”
He talked about the kindergarten to five math initiative that was implemented last year, special services, technology, curriculum maintenance and operation causing an increase in the budget. Burnside added that the need to increase the number of paraprofessionals also increased the budget.
They balanced the budget by reducing the fund balance by approximately $4.2 million from last year. He shared that before COVID, the maximum unreserved fund balance a district could carry or can maintain was 2%. While during COVID, districts were allowed to maintain the 4% unreserved fund balance, but the 4% allowance ended on June 30, 2022. The amount of the fund, balanced budget in the 2024 school year is a combination of excess surplus generated in 2022 per the audit, along with the unreserved fund balance.
The budget includes a reduction of salaries of approximately $2.7 million, reducing projected expenses and increasing revenues. They were able to save money with health care adjustments, enrollment adjustments and also by increasing extraordinary aid and state aid.
“The tax impact reflects the impact of our enrollment and health benefits adjustment on increasing the tax levy from 2% to 3.01%, but with the additional debt service aid, the overall impact is 1.88%,” said Burnside.
The debt service slide (see above) shows debt service payments and includes the breakdown of each payment. It’s the third consecutive year that technology was built into the budget. The district is participating in a lease-purchase finance agreement to ensure that the technology needs of the district will continue to move forward. Chromebooks, infrastructure for new construction, additions, laptops, some security equipment and cameras, network wiring and classroom audio visuals are in the budget.
BOE members were upset by the prospect of laying off district employees. They are going to try to find other ways to save funds or increase revenue. The final budget hearing will be April 25.
]]>MAPLEWOOD, N.J. – The Board of Education members reluctantly approved a $182,618,184 million preliminary budget tonight for the 2024-2025 school year after District officials reported that a $2.7 million deficit would need to be met with a reduction in the workforce of between 30 and 40 positions.
The District’s Business Office will be meeting with department heads and school officials to determine how the reduction in workforce will be implemented. The Board members also requested the total budget be reviewed to determine how to reduce the number of members of the workforce that will need to be removed.
“There are some very tough decisions that need to be made in the days and weeks ahead,” said Dr. Kevin F. Gilbert, Acting Superintendent of the South Orange and Maplewood School District. “Our goal will be to distribute the burden as equitably as possible, keeping a close eye on the impact on classrooms and instruction.”
The Board’s decision came after a detailed presentation by Business Administrator Eric Burnside and Assistant Business Administrator Andrea Del Guercio CLICK HERE to see the presentation.
Contributing to the deficit are increases in salaries and the cost of health benefits for employees. The District is also facing increases in the cost of contracted services such as custodial services, paraprofessionals, and lunch monitors. A projected rise in transportation costs stems from busing students to schools outside the district, and there is a comparatively modest increase in tuition costs for special education students who are placed outside the district.
Revenues are projected to be affected by the phasing out of federal funding that was made available during the pandemic. For example, the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding program ended last year. ESSER had significantly contributed to the $5.6 million in total funding the District received for the current year. Total federal, state, and local funds for next year are projected to be $1.9 million.
If adopted, the proposed spending plan would result in an overall tax levy increase of 1.88 percent, from $141,440,784 to $144,103,039.
The impact on properties at the average assessed values of South Orange and Maplewood is not yet available because of data that has not yet been provided by the Essex County Division of Taxation.
The proposed budget will be submitted to the Essex County Superintendent’s Office by March 20th. A public hearing on the budget is scheduled to be held on Thursday, April 25th, at which time the Board is scheduled to vote on the final budget’s adoption.
]]>MAPLEWOOD / SOUTH ORANGE, NJ - We received an email this evening announcing a rally to be held at 6:30pm on Thursday evening, March 14th. The details are in the copy of the flier posted here:
In addition to this rally planned for Thursday evening, many CHS students walked out of class about 1:30pm and held a rally in support of Frank Sanchez on Ritzer Field.
]]>MAPLEWOOD, NJ - As was reported earlier this week, Frank Sanchez, Principal of Columbia High School who has been on leave since the start of classes following winter break was charged with a felony and a simple assault based upon his treatment of a female student at CHS in March 2023. .
During the day, numerous Columbia High School students walked out of the building and held a rally in support of Frank Sanchez, on Ritzer field.
This evening, March 13, 2024, we received the following notification from the Essex County Prosecutors' office:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2024
PRESS RELEASE
Criminal Complaint State of NJ vs. Frank R. Sanchez (CLICK ON THE HIGHLIGHTED LINK IF YOU WISH TO READ THE CHARGES)
Attached is the criminal complaint filed against Frank R. Sanchez.
The charges against the defendant are merely allegations and he is presumed innocent at this time.
]]>MAPLEWOOD, N.J. – Call it a meeting of two Women’s History makers.
Just days after Columbia High School Girls Track Runner Mae Dowling broke the school record for running the 1600-meter race, she met the woman who set the previous record 26 years ago.
Dowling didn’t have to travel very far – just a quick trip back to Maplewood Middle School (MMS), where her former principal, Dara Crocker Gronau, warmly congratulated her on Thursday. Gronau was a Columbia High School senior when she posted a time of 5 minutes, 4.4 seconds in the same event.
“I was surprised the record was still around,” said Gronau. “I was very proud and emotional that a student I know broke it. I just kept hugging her and telling her how proud I was of her.”
The significance of Dowling’s achievement is bigger than her connection with the previous record holder, said Gronau. The Columbia Girls Track Program has launched many runners into greatness including four-time Olympian Joetta Clark Diggs and her sister three-time Olympian Hazel Clark, to name just a couple.
“When you think of how many people have come through the program, it’s a big deal to get a record,” Gronau said.
Dowling, a senior who started running track last year, said she wasn’t out to break any records on March 3rd when she competed in the NJSIAA’s Meet of Champions in Staten Island. Maybe she could beat her own personal best for the event, she thought. That was 5 minutes, 11.6 seconds set in 2023.
“It was the end of the season. I didn’t know if I was going to do well or if I was tired,” Dowling said.
Still, the 1600-meter, a race that is about nine meters short of a mile, is Dowling’s best event and has been the focus of her training.
The race was indoors at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex, a bright, high-ceilinged facility with a 200-meter oval track – half the size of the track at the Underhill Sports Complex. It would take twice as many laps to cover the distance. Dowling started in the back of the 12-runner heat in tenth place.
“We get on the line. The gun goes off,” Dowling said, remembering the race. “I’m running. And then, all of a sudden, I think I blacked out.”
Dowling went into a surreal state. She wasn’t unconscious – more like she was so hyper-focused on running she lost awareness of some of the race’s details.
“I’m halfway through. I’m at the 800-meter mark,” she said. “And I’m running way faster than I normally do. Way faster than I should be. I’m really confused. I think I skipped a lap.”
She had an internal conversation with herself.
“Maybe I should slow down. Conserve your energy. You have half of a mile left.”
“And then I was like, ‘...or you could not slow down. Just run faster and see what happens.’ So, I just decided to keep going,” she said.
As she entered the race’s last lap, Dowling – still thinking she may have skipped a lap or two – accelerated and moved up in the field. “I was passing as many girls as I could.” Dowling finished second in a race that she was expected to finish eighth.
She could barely walk coming off the line. Still in the surreal state of mind from the race, a jubilant Head Track Coach Alex Simon came up to Dowling and gave her a high five as he told her she had broken the school record.
“When Mae started her first season of track, the talent was always there, but the inexperience mixed with new pressure held her back from her optimal time goals,” Simon said. “But through proper training and maturity, she keeps getting faster and finding what works for her. All of that culminated in her greatest race to date, and she will only get better from here.”
The next morning, a sixth-grader mentioned Dowling’s record-breaking run to Gronau as students came to school on Monday. An email from Coach Simon confirmed the news later.
When Dowling was an MMS Cougar, she was a focused, mature student, Gronau recalled. She was pleasant, often smiling, had her friends, but also quietly handled her business.
“It makes sense to me that she’s a distance runner,” Gronau said.
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – The South Orange Board of Trustees voted unanimously on second reading to change the government from Township of South Orange Village to South Orange Village and a resident offered recommendations for pedestrian safety.
Trustee Summer Jones explained during a meeting last July that “South Orange Village” was the original name of the town when it was established in 1869. It was changed to “Township of South Orange Village” in 1970 to qualify for federal funding that was then restricted to Townships. Now that the rule no longer exists, the Trustees wanted to change it back to the original name.
By changing the name, South Orange officials’ job titles will change and be more like those of most other municipalities in the state.
·Village President Sheena Collum will now be called Mayor Collum.
·Trustees Bobby Brown, Jennifer Greenberg, Karen Hartshorn Hilton, Bill Haskins, Summer Jones and Olivia Lewis-Chang are now Council Members.
·Village Treasurer Chris Battaglia will be known as the Chief Financial Officer.
Another topic was resident Julia Flath suggesting that South Orange practices daylighting like Hoboken does. Daylighting is removing parked cars next to crosswalks. Without parked cars blocking people’s visual field, pedestrians, cyclists and motorists can see each other better.
Flath also mentioned that Seton Village Events and Communications Grant Manager ErinRose Baldry contacted her about “Walk, Bike, Ride” in which students walk and bike to school one day to focus on safer school routes and so students get a little exercise. Daylighting and Walk, Bike, Ride are both Vision Zero initiatives to prevent cars from hitting pedestrians. Flath also mentioned painting stripes or installing plastic balls or bollards and planters to remind drivers that there’s not parking in intersections. She noted the example of Dunkin blocking off the area in front of their store.
Collum thanked Flath for her suggestions and said, “As you know, the county is also doing some work on Irvington Avenue related to grants that they received. The administration and our engineer, along with the two trustees in Seton Village, have escalated and elevated as highly as possible, the traffic-calming measures that absolutely need to be addressed as soon as possible.”
]]>SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – ErinRose Baldry, Seton Village Events and Communications Grant Manager, presented its budget to the South Orange Board of Trustees at their Monday night meeting. She mentioned that Seton Village focused on facade improvements like painting and awnings in 2023 and will continue to work on that this year, but funding for that is limited now.
She spoke about the 2024 plans. “We're focusing more on permanent, sustainable changes in the form of safety, road safety and traffic-calming measures. Each year we have to pick a focus and that's the focus of this year.” Baldry also talked about Irvington Avenue cleanup and sidewalk maintenance.
She explained that residents had expressed concern about a lack of pedestrian safety and crosswalks that need to be enhanced, updated or repaired. “We're going to focus the bulk of our budget for the grant this year on those measures,” she shared. Baldry said that another 2024 priority is tree well rehabilitation. “Some trees that are either dying, not sustainable or causing pedestrian safety because the roots are causing damage to the sidewalk need to be addressed. So we're going to work with Essex County to hopefully fix the most problematic trees this year.”
Baldry reported that the Department of Recreation is fully staffed and has a bigger budget, and they'll be taking on more of the responsibility for planning and funding events. Seton Village and the Neighborhood Preservation Program (NPP) grant will be involved in these special events that foster the community. She mentioned the Hola Fest will be separate from the Food Truck and Craft Beer Festival this year. Baldry also talked about “various sorts of arts and cultural events” as well as Seton Hall partnering with Seton Village for the Food Truck and Craft Beer Festival.
She’s planning a Spring Egg Hunt again this year since it was such a success last year. The egg hunt will have toys and trinkets inside the eggs, and will be held in early April this year. Spring will also feature an event at the community center at 133 Fairview, during which people will beautify Carter Park and the lawn in front of 133 Fairview with garden enhancements. That will be at the end of May.
Baldry reported that Bloom Seton Village will promote the community planting organized by Trustee Olivia Lewis-Chang. Baldry remarked that she’ll also work on seasonal lighting and cafe lighting.
She elaborated on the proposed traffic-calming measures and commented that she’s received quotes on them and wants to have set up by the summer. “Our aim and goal is to include traffic speed, display signs, pedestrian crossing, signs, redo painting as and where it's possible for South Orange to work with. Painting the crosswalks and also designated parking areas, so people can delineate parking versus road.” According to Baldry, the main focus is Irvington Avenue. She proposed Fairview, Riggs and Ward Place as the roads most in need because they require more speed traffic display signs and pedestrian crossing on both sides of the road.
]]>SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – Public comments during the South Orange Board of Trustees meeting on Monday were mostly from residents calling in to request or oppose the board signing a ceasefire proclamation. Members of the group SOMA for Palestine said they had drawn up a resolution, but Village President Sheena Collum reported that she hadn’t seen it yet.
The Maplewood Township Council had a similar resident debate during their meeting last week, and West Orange has also received public input during their meetings about a ceasefire.
Some callers told trustees that they are complicit in Gaza deaths if they don’t publicly advocate for a ceasefire. Others pointed out that Israel has made a couple of recent ceasefire offers, and Hamas has rejected them.
Collum spoke about the division in the community, and that the war in Gaza is emotionally charged for both sides. “A couple things that I want to put on the public record. We know that the emotions have been incredibly high.” She added, “In fact, they've been incredibly high for me. I'm sure my colleagues feel the same way. We are acknowledging the immeasurable pain and suffering from people within this community and the calls for help from local leaders.”
She said she that residents want to be heard, and she’s very upset that people don’t feel safe in their community. “There are two components of that. I think one is what's happening on the streets in our community, and then also one that is happening online.”
Collum explained that everyone has a right to speak in public, and South Orange is enforcing a local ordinance to separate protestors and counter-protestors, so rallies don’t escalate into fighting/violence. She reminded gathering organizers to contact the Clerk Davis to schedule rallies.
Collum commented on a Montclair Pro-Palestinian rally which became frightening for attendees that residents had mentioned. “It was incredibly scary, and some of the advertisements of what I saw was coming our way scared me as your village president.” She mentioned a social media post calling community members “America-hating, terrorist-loving antisemites” and another referred to “racist counter protesters who support apartheid and genocide.”
“We, as a local government, on this topic, are going to do our best to keep people safe, to make sure that all participants understand our policies and that there has to be a basic code of conduct to avoid any type of escalation, especially any physical harm, but I will now note that we have not seen that but we are always preparing for that,” reported Collum.
She shared that she had heard that two resolutions have been written. One demands a ceasefire and the other condemns terrorist activities and supports peace. Collum pointed out that both resolutions “have more commonalities than differences.” She described each document as requests for “self-determination, peace and safe futures for Palestinians and Israelis.”
Collum also remarked that South Orange and Maplewood are dedicated to fostering a community that embraces its diversity, values all life and upholds the principles of equality and human rights. She described what the anti-terrorist peace proclamation reflects, “Their concern is that when you have a terrorist regime that is in power in Palestine, and I'm paraphrasing, if you have a ceasefire without acknowledging that a terrorist organization is in power, they could repeat the atrocities of October 7. You can't have a ceasefire without understanding what that ceasefire would entail.”
She talked about safety for all residents of South Orange and Maplewood as well as peace in Gaza and Israel. “We [have] to tone this down. You hear the pain in people's voices. You see what your actions do to people who are literally your neighbors. These aren't some distant people in internet land or miles away from you.” She continued, “These are people that you have children going to school together and that you come to community events together, maybe not the same rallies. But we have to do better here,” said Collum.
She thanked the residents for caring and speaking at the meeting. Collum promised, “We're going to work on something. I welcome anybody who will sit down with another group to have a conversation. I did try to do that. I've reached out to both parties.” She acknowledged that she understands residents want to know the local government supports them and said that she wants people to love living in South Orange.
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MAPLEWOOD, NJ – Sunday evening, March 10th, a lively and interesting event was held at the Gazebo next to the Hilton Branch Library – the first annual lighting of the crescent moon.
Muslim residents predominately from Maplewood and South Orange have a group named SOMA MEMO. The group was organized and named by Sabel Abulsoud, and she said she is also the organizer of this new event. The Memo Group meets for the various Holidays throughout the year.
Abul then welcomed all, explaining that the focus gathering was to celebrate the first night of Ramadan, which would fall at the first sighting of the crescent moon. This year is the first year they have had a Crescent Moon so they can all see the light of the moon signifying the start of the Holiday.
She noted that the moon will stay lit for the entire 30 days of Ramadan, and suggested they could come there at days end to break the daily fast, and celebrate all they want.
Absulsoud explained that the idea came from having heard about and seen the lit Moon in West Orange which set off a fundraising campaign so that they could purchase an identical one as they have done. She also expressed her thanks for the Maplewood Division of Arts’ coordination, the DPW for their muscle power and the township for granting permission to use the park for the event. Lastly, she thanked the Maplewood Township Committee members, Mayor Nancy Adams, and Committee Persons Vic De Luca and Deborah Engel for being present.
Another member of the group spoke after the refreshments were served, and she said that seeing the fading sun and rising moon signals the start of the 30-day long observance of the holy days and signals each day when it’s time for extra prayers and then to eat the only meal of the day.
With that the children gathered at the crescent moon and it was it.
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MAPLEWOOD / SOUTH ORANGE, NJ - According to a statement from Thomas Fennelly, Chief Assistant Prosecutor for Essex County, Principal Frank Sanchez, who was put on Administrative Leave in Early January 2024, has been charged with a Second Degree Felony of Child Endangerment and Simple Assault. As Fennelly said: 'These are only charges, and he is considered innocent until proven guilty of the charges in a court of law".
The charges against Sanchez were issued on Friday afternoon, March 8. 2024, and Sanchez turned himself in earlier today at the Prosecutor's Office in Newark,
Sanchez is accused of having fought with a student, who is a black girl, at Columbia High School in March 2023.
During the February 29th meeting of the Board of Education, several people spoke in favor of Sanchez asking for his anticipated return. Dr. Frank Gilbert, Acting Superintendent of School, stated that he would not be returning before March. He further said "Sanchez is still being investigated".
We reached out to Dr. Gilbert for his comments on this development and he responded with the following statement:
"I am deeply saddened by the news of charges against the Columbia High School principal, the latest in a series of unexpected events that have happened in our District during this school year. No matter what our feelings may be at this time, our focus must be on meeting the needs of Columbia High School students, their families, and staff. I am working with my administration colleagues to make sure we continue to fulfill our obligations to the people we serve".
As any further information becomes available we will issue updates.
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SOUTH ORANGE, NJ __ Keepsake Studios is officially open in South Orange, offering tattoos of all styles to clients in a private setting.
The studio opened with a ribbon cutting in late February at 111 South Orange Avenue, on the second floor. It’s owned and operated by South Orange residents and partners Zoë Bean and Sweety, both of whom have been tattoo artists since the mid-2000s.
The studio is private, so clients must make an appointment to be seen. The partners said it means more comfort and privacy for all.
They’ve lived in South Orange for 9 years and have been working on getting a location in town for years. They worked out of New Moon Studio in Brooklyn from 2018 to 2023.
But they wanted to work in their town. Friends had moved to Maplewood and encouraged them to do so after their son was born in Brooklyn. Emmett is now a fourth grader at South Mountain Elementary.
They said that when they first wanted to open a studio here there was an ordinance prohibiting tattoo studios. It took six years until it became legal to have any in town. They further stated that a proper location for their studio took an additional two years.
Following words of welcome from Melissa Hodge, Executive Director of Downtown South Orange and Trustee Karen Hilton on behalf of the Village, the ribbon was cut.
The couple said they’re proud that Keepsake Studios is owned by both a man and a woman, noting that there's a long history of women being excluded from tattooing. But that’s changing, Bean said.
"You definitely see more women and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) people getting into the business, which is exciting,” she said. “It's opened up in a big way. And I think with that the art has opened up a lot."
The shop also sells prints and t-shirts, and the space is available to rent for events. Sweety is also an ordained minister, their website notes.
]]>MAPLEWOOD, NJ __ The SOMA community must "speak out and speak up" about bullying and hateful rhetoric following the death of Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old nonbinary student in Oklahoma, speakers at a community vigil said recently.
Shannon Cuttle, who uses they/them pronouns, is director of the New Jersey Safe Schools Coalition and chairperson of the state of New Jersey, anti-bullying Task Force. They told the crowd gathered on Feb. 24 at the candlelight vigil at the Maplewood Town Hall Rainbow Crosswalk that bullying rhetoric across the country, “starting with our leaders at multiple levels” is now “bleeding into our classrooms, hallways, in our communities.”
The family of Nex Benedict, who used they/them pronouns, said they were bullied at Owasso High School, in a suburb of Tulsa, Oklahoma. They died Feb. 8, one day after a fight inside a girl’s bathroom at the school. Federal officials are investing.
Community leaders and students, spoke out at the vigil organized by the New Jersey Safe Schools Coalition with Columbia High School Spectrum Club.
“We are here tonight to honor and lift up the memory of Nex and also call for welcoming inclusive safe schools for all students across our country,” said Cuttle, who served on the SOMSD Board of Education and was New Jersey’s first openly known transgender non binary elected official when they won office 2018.
Cuttle noted that New Jersey has strong support for LGBTQ+ families and students, and robust state laws and policies, particularly against anti-bullying. But not every community has such strong support as found in SOMA, they said, noting that in Oklahoma, students do not have such protections.
Dean Dafis, a member of the Maplewood Township Committee, said he was angry that they were there for yet another vigil, wondering how many more will it take for change to happen? He said the LGBTQ+ community will not hide in fear.
“We will remain visible and outspoken. We will continue living our truth proudly and resolutely. We stand in solidarity against this hate and despair,” he said, urging the audience to use their anger for change.
A Columbia High School graduate named Jessie, who described themselves as a nonbinary lesbian, said the death of Nex will not stop these kids from moving forward. They said they found out they were nonbinary at 16 and are now 20 – and they’re not going to hide because of what happened.
“Being nonbinary, being queer, being trans is okay because at the end of the day, we are all kids. We are truly all kids,” they said. “We're going to tell everyone that it's okay to be who you are. Do not be scared of who you are. Do not back down because of this incident.”
Other speakers included other students, parents, and Cathy Renna, a representative from the National LGBTQ Task Force.
Renna said she was heartened to see the turnout and was there to offer hope because there is more visibility, especially for youth. She noted this year was an important election year.
"This country is divided and it is the queer community and other diverse, progressive groups that will be the people that bring this country back together. It's on us to heal this country," Renna said.
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MAPLEWOOD, NJ - The SOMA Chamber of Commerce held a very successful Health & Wellness Event last Tuesday for local business owners at The Woodland. The event featured four speakers who offered practical tips for business owners to achieve a better work-life balance and a healthier lifestyle. There were also local wellness providers that attendees mingled with throughout the event.
SOMA Chamber of Commerce President Gary Jones says that, for a business owner, taking care of yourself can be a challenge “ As a business owner, I know how easy it is to not take care of yourself, especially when things are at their worst and you need it the most. There are so many things we can all do that are easy and accessible and so many practitioners in our community that can help. This event brought it all together. We all can do better at taking care of ourselves”.
The free event featured the following four speakers:
Dr. Ernani Sadural from Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center discussed “Living Your Best Life: Embracing Lifestyle Medicine for a Healthier Tomorrow”, and explained how: Lifestyle Medicine focuses on using healthy habits and lifestyle choices to prevent, manage, and reverse chronic diseases. The presentation highlighted the importance of six lifestyle factors: diet, physical activity, stress management, sleep, avoidance of risky substances, and social connections.
Liz Frydman, Wellness Coach from Liz Coaches, discussed enhancing physical and emotional well-being by permitting ourselves to pause, and the importance of moving our bodies. Liz’s presentation included a quick relaxation and movement exercise that attendees enjoyed. They learned a handful of exercises that can use before, during, or after the workday to increase energy and reduce stress.
Local nutritionist Susan Schachtner addressed the “Lifespan vs. Healthspan” concept and explained how we are not married to our heredity. Susan discussed how New Year’s resolutions often don’t make it past January or February, and how small tweaks for health while letting yourself enjoy the pleasure of food can give your goals longevity.
Finally, Tsipi Kaplan from The Kitchen Table gave a lively presentation about easy ways to make healthy eating part of a business owner’s wellness routine. She discussed and demonstrated how to make a convenient snack, which the attendees all were able to sample.
“This was such a fun, informative event,” said Chris Dickson, SOMA Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, “And it’s something we look forward to making an annual event”.
In addition to the presentations, there was a number of table-top displays with their owners and representatives discussing additional means of leading a healthy lifestyle.
For more information about the SOMA Chamber of Commerce go to www.somachamber.org
]]>MAPLEWOOD, N.J. – In an effort to attract more substitute teachers into the South Orange & Maplewood School District, the Board of Education has approved an increase in the per diem rate of pay for substitutes to $175.
Pay for substitutes who have the same assignment longer than two months with a New Jersey instructional certificate has been increased to $200 per day.
The previous pay rates were $110 per day for substitute teachers and $160 per day for assignments longer than two months. The Board unanimously approved the increases on Feb. 29th. The increases went into effect on March 1st.
“This gives our district a much-needed advantage in attracting qualified professionals to our District,” said Dr. Kevin F. Gilbert, Acting Superintendent of the South Orange & Maplewood School District. “These increases will make the District more competitive against other public school districts. Attracting more substitutes means we will be relying less on our teachers for coverage of classes. I thank our Human Resources Director Tunde Adedoyin and his team for their work on this issue and the Board of Education members for their support of this measure.”
“This is a step in the right direction in maintaining better staffing levels,” said Dr. Qawi Telesford, President of the Board of Education. “These pay increases will make the District more competitive with other public school districts in attracting substitute teachers, allowing teachers to be able to focus more on the classes they have been assigned to teach.
Director of Human Resources Tunde Adedoyin said that his department completed a soft analysis of substitute teacher pay in neighboring school districts. They found that substitute teachers in Montclair and West Orange are earning $175 a day while in Irvington the daily rate is $200.
“This decision to raise substitute teachers’ pay helps us stay competitive with other districts,” said Adedoyin.
]]>MAPLEWOOD, NJ - The Maplewood Township Committee, at it's March Regular meeting, passed Resolution 89-244 expressing their opposition to the proposed New Jersey Transit 15% fare increase scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2024.
The resolution addresses the decline in quality and reliability of the current service and does not lay out any specific plans to remedy the situation.
A copy of the resolution is posted below.
TOWNSHIP OF MAPLEWOOD RESOLUTION 89-24
RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE MAPLEWOOD TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE’S OPPOSITION TO THE PROPOSED NEW JERSEY TRANSIT FARE INCREASE
WHEREAS, on January 24, 2024, New Jersey Transit announced a proposed systemwide fare adjustment of 15 percent taking effect on July 1, 2024; and,
WHEREAS, the fare adjustment proposal also includes annual systemwide increases of 3%, effective July 1, 2025 and going into effect on July 1st of each subsequent year; and,
WHEREAS, New Jersey Transit is not providing any additional services with the fare increases nor is it improving train service which has degraded over the past year; and
WHEREAS, Maplewood is served by the New Jersey Transit’s Morris & Essex Rail Line and by the following New Jersey Transit Bus Routes: #25, #37, #70, #107 and #375; and
WHEREAS, the Maplewood Train Station is one of New Jersey Transit’s busiest rail stations with pre- COVID average weekday boardings of nearly 3,500 passengers; and,
WHEREAS, Maplewood bus and train commuters will be negatively impacted by the proposed increase of New Jersey Transit fares.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Committee of the Township of Maplewood, County of Essex, State of New Jersey that:
I, Elizabeth J. Fritzen, Township Clerk of the Township of Maplewood, in the County of Essex and State of New Jersey, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of a Resolution adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Maplewood, County of Essex, State of New Jersey, at a regular meeting of said Committee held on February 6, 2024.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the Township of Maplewood in the County of Essex and State of New Jersey, on this 6th day of February, 2024.
Certified to be a true copy of a Resolution adopted by the Governing Body of the Township of Maplewood at the duly held |
MOTION: |
De Luca SECOND: Cripe |
Meeting February 6, 2024. |
YES: |
Adams, Cripe, De Luca, Engel, Dafis |
|
NO: |
None |
|
ABSTAIN: |
None |
|
ABSENT: |
None |
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