The Allendale Board of Education welcomes residents, staff members, students, and other interested persons to its meetings. This brochure has been prepared as another means of forging a partnership among the schools, the staff, and the community. Decisions of your elected School Board affect the education of our children and the well being of our community. The Board can better represent its constituents when members of the community take the time to observe the Board in action, to express opinions, and to ask questions. We are pleased to have you here and hope you can join us often.

At all regular meetings, two opportunities are provided for citizens to make comments. The Board President will inform the public of Bylaw 0167 procedures.  The public comment periods will be scheduled at approximately the beginning of the meeting before the Superintendent’s Report for agenda items only, and then prior to the end of the meeting, after voting on the scheduled agenda is complete, for school-related but non-agenda items only. 

At every opportunity for public comment, citizens are invited to comment on subjects on the agenda or general topics.  At the discretion of the presiding officer, public comments may be permitted at other times.

Person wishing to speak must, upon being recognized, rise and state their name and address, and identify the organization, if any, that you represent.  Each speaker shall be limited to three minutes.  The Board Secretary shall note the time.  A speaker who has not finished in the allotted time will be directed by the presiding officer to summarize quickly and relinquish the floor within 30 seconds. 

Comments shall be limited to issues.  If personal remarks or discourteous statements are made, the presiding officer shall require the speaker to stop.  No person will be recognized for a second time until all others asking to speak have been heard.

The five Board members are unpaid officials elected by voters of the Borough of Allendale. They are empowered by the state to govern the public schools at the local level. Examples of the Board’s legal responsibilities include approving the appointment and dismissal of personnel, and adopting an annual budget.

The Superintendent of Schools, selected by the Board of Education, is the chief educational leader responsible for the district. As such, the Superintendent is responsible for the administration of all policies adopted by the Board and the execution of all decisions made by the Board concerning the operations of the school system. The Superintendent advises the Board on the needs, staff and programs of the district.

In addition to the Superintendent of Schools who is an ex-officio member of the board, the Business Administrator/Board Secretary is seated with members of the Board of Education at public meetings. These school officials advise the Board of Education members concerning school and educational issues. They do not vote on matters before the Board of Education.

All meetings of the Board of Education are open to the public unless the matter under consideration falls under one of the categories specifically exempted by statute, i.e. personnel, contract negotiations, or legal matters. Exempt matters may be discussed in closed session, but final action must be taken at a public meeting.

The Board takes action (votes) at regular public meetings. During the public meeting, it may appear as if some items are being voted upon with little or no discussion. Most, if not all, items have appeared on a previous agenda, or may have been discussed at length at an executive/closed session. Copies of the agenda are available at each meeting.

There are issues such as personnel matters or day-to-day school operations that are not appropriate subjects for Board Meetings. These types of concerns can be addressed at the building level, beginning with the classroom teacher. If a problem cannot be resolved with the help of the teacher and school principal, the matter can then be brought to the Superintendent and, finally, the Board of Education. Board members may listen to concerns, but they cannot intervene. Individual Board members are not in a position to resolve conflicts. Only the Board, acting as a whole, at an advertised public meeting, is empowered to make decisions. The School Board welcomes your communication. Correspondence may be addressed to: Allendale Board of Education, 100 Brookside Avenue, Allendale, NJ 07401.