Retired school staff honored

The West Milford Township School District gave plaques along with its thanks to a number of retiring teachers and staff members at the Board of Education meeting June 20.

Among the retirees were Cynthia D’Antonio, a speech language specialist with 36 years with the district; Colleen Weiss-Magasic, STEM supervisor, 32 years; Betty Standish, head cook and manager, Westbrook School, 26 years; Patty Roberts, school bus/van driver, 26 years; Keith Wauchek, assistant head custodian, Apshawa and Westbrook schools, 26 years; Karen Barriero, district transportation supervisor, 25 years; Fran Kulak, Macopin principal’s secretary, 25 years; and Karen Grill, Paradise Knoll prinicipal’s secretary, 25 years.

Retiring from the high school were social studies teacher Claudia Ney, after 35 years; special-education teacher Judy Thomas, 34 years; art teacher Kathleen Cosgrove, 33 years; music teacher Doug Heyburn, 28 years; English teacher Laura DeSena, 25 years; industrial arts teacher Bob Wiedmann, 25 years; and special-ed teacher Jennifer Kupcho, 25 years.

School board president Kate Romeo pointed out that staff members with a total of 188 years of service to the district were leaving.

After a parent expressed disappointment with the number of kindergarten students expected to be in each class at Maple Road School this fall, Superintendent Alex Anemone said a third section of kindergarten is expected to be added there.

At the meeting, the board, the board approved the appointment of Christine Porochniak as the district’s supervisor of special services at an annual salary of $118,012, effective Sept. 1.

She told the board that she spent some time at Macopin Middle School when she was working on her principal and supervisory certifications.

”I left just wowed. The community that you’ve built, it was just so positive. The emphasis on character really impressed me.”

She has spent her career in special-ed, serving on child study teams as a learning consultant and working as an instructional coach in math and science.

The board appointed Tammy Talmadge as the district’s transportation supervisor, effective Aug. 28, after rescinding its appointment of Pamela Agnes to that post. Talmadge’s salary will be $95,000 a year.

The board approved these resignations:

• Special-ed teacher Samantha McClurg.

• Ryan Sondermeyer, world language teacher at Macopin and the high school.

Board members approved resolutions:

• Authorizing the transfer of up to $500,000 to the Capital Reserve Account.

• Authorizing the transfer of up to $250,000 to the Maintenance Reserve Account.

• Approving an employment contract for Business Administrator/Board Secretary Barbara Francisco at an annual salary of $192,487 for the 2023-24 school year.

• Approving an agreement with Mathusek of Oakland to screen and refinish the high school gym floor for $4,770, the Macopin School gym floor for $2,534 and the Paradise Knoll School all-purpose room floor for $1,100.

• Renewing an agreement with Highland Productions as videographer for the school meetings in the 2023-24 school year for $100 a meeting.

Board member Tara Racano reported that eighth-graders taking Italian will continue with that language through high school while seventh-graders will choose an alternate language starting next year.

Board member Debbie O’Brien praised the district’s teachers and staff for offering to donate their unused sick days to an employee who is on medical leave and is expected to exhaust his/her accrued sick leave balance before returning to work.

In public comments, Courtney Stevenson reported that the Highlander Funding Committee had its first meeting. The group discussed grants and the idea of starting a Highlander Education Foundation.

Board member Ray Guarino was absent from the meeting.

CORRECTION: The last name of Keith Wauchek, assistant head custodian at Apshawa and Westbrook schools who retired after 26 years, was misspelled in an earlier version of this article. The last name of high school music teacher Doug Heyburn, who retired after 28 years, also was misspelled. And the wrong name was listed for Karen Barriero, who retired as district transportation supervisor after 25 years with the district. We regret the errors.