Decisions made by your elected school board affect the education of our children and, therefore, the well-being of this community. Your school board can best represent its constituents when members of the community take the time to observe the Board of Education in action, express their opinions, ask questions and communicate their needs in the public setting. Your continued interest and support guarantees the excellence of our schools.

The Teaneck Public School District has a nine-member Board of Education that serves its community without remuneration. The Board of Education is elected by the community to provide leadership and citizen oversight of the district’s schools, which service 4,500 students. Among its many responsibilities, the Board establishes a long-term vision for the district and sets district policies and goals, while the Superintendent carries out the policies and manages the day-to-day operations of the district. Your Board also is committed to:

• Conscientiously deciding how to use the district’s financial resources;
• Ensuring accountability to the local community, including personnel, programmatic and fiscal accountability;
• Providing community leadership and advocacy at the state and national levels on behalf of public education and all Teaneck students.

Three of the nine seats are up for election each year concurrently with the district’s school budget vote – held on the third Tuesday in April. Board of Education members must be district residents 18 years of age or older. Anyone qualified to run for one of the three available seats must obtain a petition from the Office of the School Business Administrator/Board Secretary and submit the completed application with the signatures of 25 residents approximately eight weeks prior to the date of the vote. The three candidates with the greatest number of votes are sworn-in to assume three-year terms at the Reorganization Meeting held in early May.

Regular Public Meetings
All are invited to the Board of Education Regular Public Meetings, which begin at 8 p.m. at the Teaneck High School Third Floor Student Center, 100 Elizabeth Avenue, a handicapped accessible building. The Board holds its one Regular Public Meeting on the second Wednesday of each month, September through June. Official business is conducted at this monthly meeting. The public may speak to agenda items prior to Board deliberations on the agenda and may address other issues at the conclusion of the business portion of the meeting. Conversations with the Board are scheduled at 7:30pm before each Regular Public Meeting of the board, not workshop meetings

Public Comment Sessions
The Board holds two public comment sessions to hear community input. The first public hearing segment is reserved solely for public comment on items appearing on the Board’s business agenda. The second public hearing is conducted after the Board has acted on its monthly business meeting agenda. During this public segment, community members may speak on any issue of interest or concern. Each speaker will be allotted three minutes to address the Board.

Letters to the Board that appear on the agenda under correspondence may be discussed during the first public session. Agendas are available in the Board Office the afternoon of a scheduled meeting. At Special Public Meetings, which are called as necessary, the public may speak only to agenda items.

Announcements of meetings and meeting changes appear on the district web site and Cablevision Channel 77. The Regular Public Meetings are broadcast live.

Procedure to Address the Board

• Wait to be recognized by the Board President
• Come to the microphone at the speaker’s podium
• State your name and address and, if applicable, position with the school district
• Be brief and to the point (a three-minute limit is customary)

Workshop Sessions
On the first Wednesday of each month, September through June, the Board holds a workshop session in the Central Administrative Offices, Eugene Field School, Staff Development Room, One Merrison Street, a handicapped accessible building. At these monthly workshop meetings the Board reviews and discusses the business agenda that will be formally acted upon the following week. In addition to providing an opportunity to present information to the Board that requires action at the Regular Public Meeting, workshop meetings also include presentations on educationally relevant items of interest selected by the Superintendent with Board input. There is no formal action taken at these meetings and the public does not speak, except in special circumstances.

Conducting Business and Learning About Our Schools
A quorum of five Board members is needed to conduct any official school business. In addition to the Board, the Superintendent and members of his administrative team will be on hand to provide reports and explanations on matters of concern to the Board. At most meetings, a Curriculum & Instruction department representative will share information about program and service effectiveness, and future plans to enhance teaching and learning in and outside the classroom.

Focus on Student Achievement Workshop Sessions
Throughout the school year, the Board conducts workshop sessions that focus on the Superintendent’s ACT (Achievement Challenge in Teaneck) initiative. These workshop meetings are usually conducted on the third or fourth Wednesday of each month during the school year. Administrative presentations emphasize district efforts to raise student achievement through academic intensification.

Meeting Schedule
For a schedule of Board of Education meetings call the Board Secretary’s Office in the District Administration Office at (201) 862-2304, click on the Board Meeting link on our district web site or check Channel 77 for meeting notices.

Board Agendas
Board business agendas are available in the District Administration Building in the Board Secretary’s Office on the day of the meeting and copies are available at each meeting. The agenda contains the business to be considered at each meeting. Board members receive the agenda and supporting documents several days before the meeting to ensure that they are prepared to review, discuss and make decisions regarding the monthly business at hand. The Board agendas and the minutes from previous public meetings are posted on the district web site.

Community Engagement
Citizen participation is an essential component to successful school programs. Members of the community may serve on their child’s PTO or PTA and/or on district and school advisory councils. If you are interested, contact your child’s school or call the Office of School/Community Relations at (201) 833-5512.

Our community serves as an important resource. We invite you to become involved in your child’s school or a neighborhood school, call or stop by and find out how you can help. Volunteers are invaluable in our schools: tutoring students, serving on PTO/A boards or community councils, assisting teachers, supervising activities, etc. Call the school at which you would like to use your particular talents or interests to serve our children or the Office of School/Community Relations at (201) 833-5512.

Addressing Concerns
Community members with questions concerning the operation of district schools are encouraged to first contact the teacher or staff member closest to the situation. The next step is to contact the school principal. Then, if necessary, concerns may be brought to the attention of a District administrator. Unresolved matters will be brought to the Superintendent.

Press Coverage
News media representatives are invited to each Board meeting. Meetings are frequently covered by the Teaneck Suburbanite and The Record, and in some cases television and radio news organizations.