Page 10 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • October 5, 2011 Waldwick Three incidents reviewed in light of anti-bullying policy School districts throughout the State of New Jersey were recently required to adopt a harassment, intimidation, and bullying policy, and Waldwick is already at work investigating three incidents that have taken place since school opened in September. As required, Student Assistance Counselor Andrea Hused and legal counselor Jennifer Paganucci provided a report at last week’s board of education meeting. Under the new policy, each district school has established a safety team and designated an anti-bullying specialist. Paganucci said the safety teams, which must address all complaints, will be looking for patterns and triggers. Strict timelines are required, and include 10 days to investigate incidents, two days to report to the superintendent, five days to report to parents, and a discussion at the next school board session. Once an investigation has been launched, it cannot be stopped, regardless of the consequences. Resident Frank McKenna pointed out that a good deal of bullying often takes place outside of school. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patricia Raupers added that a Community Forum would be held this month to discuss how to get the community working with the schools to prevent bullying. She said the district is looking for ideas to engage other groups. “This is a serious new law with major implications for kids. We have to do more work together,” Dr. Raupers added. Hused noted that the Girls Scouts are working on an anti-bullying project with the police department. A parent who attended the session asked how incidents of bullying would affect a student’s academic record, since discipline is part of that record. Hused acknowledged that this is a gray area. She also reported that the district is looking into how to provide anonymous drop boxes where students or residents at large could register their complaints regarding bullying. “We are working on the best method to handle complaints,” Hused added. “We must respond if there is even a hint (that bullying, intimidation, or harassment have occurred),” Dr. Raupers noted after the meeting. She said that student conflicts constitute the majority of incidents, but pointed out that one student telling another that he or she does not want to socialize with another person is not necessarily an instance of harassment, intimidation, or bullying. The new policy refers to acts motivated by physical characteristics, including race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and mental, physical, or sensory disabilities. Cases where students do not wish to socialize with each other due to incompatible personalities do not fall under the umbrella of harassment, bullying, or intimidation, Dr. Raupers noted. However, while the district once had greater discretion, the new policy obligates district officials to work to confirm that incidents do not constitute bullying, harassment, or intimidation. “It takes a lot of time,” Dr. Raupers said of the incident investigations. “We hope it turns into an emphasis on respect.” The goal, she added, is to foster a respectful, civil environment “where students can learn and take risks so they can learn at higher levels. You can’t be afraid to raise your hand,” she said. This week (Oct 3 through 7), the district is joining other New Jersey school districts in celebrating the Week of Respect. Specialists in Waldwick have set up activities for students in each building. Now that Waldwick Day 2011 is over, work is expected to begin this week on drainage improvements at Borough Park. The start of the project was coordinated so as not to interfere with the townwide annual event. At a public meeting last month the Waldwick Council awarded the contract for the work to D&S Land Development at a total cost of $36,050. The Ramsey contractor submitted the lowest of 10 bids, which ranged to a high of $102,400. “We got a very good price on the project, almost half what we had budgeted,” said Borough Administrator Gary Kratz. Half of the total cost will be funded with a grant from the Bergen County Open Space, Recreation, Farmland & Historic Preservation Trust Fund. The borough will match from its own Open Space Fund. The project will encompass the area from the comfort station parking lot to a point just past the pavilion and will provide drainage, topsoil, and seeding to improve flooding conditions which make much of the picnic area at the park unusable after even moderate rains. The grade adjacent to Borough park drainage project begins this week White’s Pond was kept unchanged to minimize the need for expensive NJ Department of Environmental Protection permits. The borough has already received the permits, Kratz said, which were required because the park is within 150 ft. of the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook. Plans call for installing a drainage system that outflows to the brook and then scraping off six to eight inches of the existing hard-packed soil and replacing it with a similar amount of topsoil. The area would then be hydro-seeded. An underground sprinkler system will also be installed and trees will be planted. Many of the oaks which prevented grass growth have been removed as they were decayed, and a previous tree-replacement program was unsuccessful. “The soil conditions were terrible. We hope this work will make the soil conducive to support trees and vegetative life,” Kratz said. “This has been a problem area for a number of years. We’re hoping the project will solve the problem and make the park more useable for our residents,” he added.