School board adopts new rules on travel
Administrators will also adhere to new vacation day stipulations
BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer

SAYREVILLE - New rules regarding travel expenses are expected to affect faculty and staff significantly this school year.

Under a new state law, school staff and Board of Education members have to receive approval in advance for travel expenses, and they will be required to write a report after each trip they take, justifying the trip and the expenses incurred during travel.

The new law is designed to make school boards more accountable for tax dollars spent on travel. State legislators became involved in the issue after several abuses were reported in the state, including an incident where an Abbott school district used taxpayer money for a retreat to the Bahamas.

"It is an effort by the Legislature to control employee travel reimbursements in lieu of what has happened in the state-funded Abbott districts," Board President Michael Macagnone said. "There was room for abuse."

The policy will have less of an impact on board members than it will on employees, who will no longer be reimbursed retroactively, Macagnone said. He noted that the board could place a cap on how much employees can be reimbursed.

"We have been doing it all along," Macagnone said. "We don't have a problem."

"If they do go without board approval, the fine is three times the cost of travel," Macagnone added.

The board initially planned to adopt the state-mandated policy regarding reimbursement of travel-related expenses on second reading at its August meeting. At the suggestion of board member Curtis L. Clark III, the board unanimously voted to waive policy and adopt the rules that night, in order to expedite its implementation.

"We already had a cap," Macagnone said. "That's why we were so willing to accept the rules; because they are so in line with what we are doing."

The Sayreville school district has been abiding by guidelines set by the state Office of Management and Budget, according to Assistant Superintendent Carla Sutherland.

At the board's Aug. 21 meeting, board member Leonard Zaleski said the district has been ahead of the curve on the issue, since it already imposed a cap on travel reimbursement before the adoption of the state-mandated regulations.

Board member Phyllis Batko noted that the rules are also meal specific.

Sutherland said the new rules are stricter than current policy and will increase the amount of paperwork associated with employee travel.

Board Attorney Jonathan M. Busch, of the firm Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, said much was left for interpretation in drafting this policy. He noted that he feels the statute is flawed in its handling of teachers' conferences.

"There will be years of interpretation on this thing," Busch said.

"This is a huge deal and, unfortunately, it's really stifling," Busch added.

Unused vacation days

The board also announced changes to the contracts of Assistant Superintendent Carla Sutherland and Business Administrator Emidio D'Andrea at the August 21 meeting. Both administrators agreed to changes that will prevent them from selling unused vacation days.

The board approved over $30,000 for unused vacation days accrued by 17 administrators at the June 5 meeting of the board. This cost, which included $3,095 to Sutherland and $3,458 to School Superintendent Frank Alfano for five unused vacation days each, led the board to reconsider its policy with future contracts and eliminate the stipulation allowing Sutherland and D'Andrea to be paid for unused vacation days in their contracts.

Sutherland agreed to the change in her contract, which calls for a salary of $156,759. D'Andrea also approved of the change during negotiations with the board, which will vote to approve his $131,182 contract and Sutherland's contract at the next board meeting on Sept. 18.

Alfano will negotiate a new contract next year, when his current three-year contract expires.

Macagnone has said that the practice of paying administrators for unused vacation days is common throughout New Jersey school districts, but he added that the policy should be changed to encourage administrators to take off from work on their vacation days.

The board's personnel committee negotiated the option for Sutherland and D'Andrea to sell their unused vacation days out of their contracts, pending full approval at the next board meeting.

"They can still bank the number of days," Macagnone said, "they just can't sell any back. We eliminated that option for them to do."

"They were very professional about it," Macagnone added, "and they understand [in light of the current] fiscal environment."