May 7, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 5 FLOW Area Three regional school trustees resign abruptly by Frank J. McMahon Three more trustees of the Ramapo Indian Hills Board of Education have resigned from the board, and one new trustee has been appointed. The resignations of Wyckoff trustees Lynn Budd and Isabelle Lanini and Oakland trustee Elizabeth Pierce were all submitted on April 23 and accepted by the board at its April 28 public meeting, the same night the board appointed Lisa Sciancalepore as a new Franklin Lakes trustee. Scian- calepore replaces Debbie Strauss, who resigned Feb. 24 without explanation. Budd, Lanini, and Pierce did not respond to requests for an explanation for their resignations and no explanation was given by BOE President Thomas Bunting or Interim Superintendent Ernest Palestis. After the resolutions accepting the resignations were formally approved by the board, however, Bunting com- mented, “We do want to thank the board members who have left us for their service.” Palestis echoed his comment, saying he knows how dif- ficult it is to be a board member and he also wanted to thank them for their service. Sources familiar with the operation of the school district have indicated that the resignations appear to be a result of a dispute between the members of the school board about the search for a new superintendent. Following the board’s executive session and during the public meeting of the board on Feb. 24, the night Strauss resigned, the board approved a $15,900 superintendent search agreement with R-Pat Solutions, LLC, apparently at the urging of the board members who have now resigned. The school district had previously conducted its own superintendent search after the district’s previous super- intendent, Lauren Schoen, resigned and left the district in May 2013. During that public meeting, a motion was made by Lanini and seconded by Budd to extend the contract with Palestis for an additional year until Aug. 26, 2015. That motion surprised several of the other board members, and Palestis, and it led to a heated discussion between the board members, some of whom were upset that a person- nel matter was being discussed in public. The motion was subsequently tabled. The board will now advertise for, and interview, candi- dates from Wyckoff and Oakland to fill the open positions on the school board. Bunting said candidates for those trustee positions will be interviewed at the board’s May 20 public meeting. Meanwhile, Sciancalepore was sworn in and will serve as a trustee until the board’s reorganization meeting fol- lowing the 2014 annual board of education election in November. Sciancalepore has been a resident of the borough for 22 years. Her husband is a Ramapo High School alumnus, her son graduated from Indian Hills High School in 2012, and her daughter will be graduating from Ramapo High School in June. The new trustee has a 2012 master’s degree in public (continued on page 26)