MANCHESTER – During John Berenato’s first Board of Education meeting as superintendent of schools, he highlighted communication in the district and he had a lot to report to the public.
“I’m excited for us to work as a team to meet ‘excellence by example’ and to really move this district forward in every way that we can for our students,” he said.
Meet and greet sessions were held during the month and concluded on February 24. “I want to be visible and available to parents, teachers and everyone in the district.
“We are trying to improve communication with the community and we hope you will fill out the survey located on our website. We want to get an idea of what is the best mode of communication for you, and we want to make sure that the information that’s coming out to you is timely and also that you know where to find it,” he told parents.
He announced those retiring from the school district and thanked them for their service. Those retiring included Timothy Hinger-ROTC at Manchester High School after 13 years of service; Michelle (Shelby) York who served as a bus driver for 22 years.
“Substitutes, we need them,” he noted in his report adding that teachers make $120 a day while school nurses make $200 a day which is at an increased rate which the Board of Education approved that evening. Bus drivers make $18 an hour. The school district is also looking to hire full time bus drivers, a position that includes benefits.
The current school year calendar includes two snow days. One was on Feb. 17 and the other will be on May 26 if snow days are not used. Early dismissals were added for professional development due to difficulty getting substitute teachers to cover classes for teachers participation.
Berenato announced that the mask mandate will be lifted as of March 7 per Governor Phil Murphy’s lifting of his executive order. He reminded parents that masks are still required on busses per federal regulations.
He added that weekly testing is still required for non-vaccinated but daily screenings will no longer be required after March 7.
“One thing that we are dedicated to is taking students’ needs and matching programs and services to their needs instead of putting students into programs that are already existing here,” the superintendent said.
Berenato stated in his report that an online application and recruitment platform “will help us identify talented teachers and staff beyond Ocean County and try to attract them to work here.”
In providing a High School Dual Enrollment and Academies update he said that French IV was being held at Ocean County College and that there were plans to expand partnerships with higher education. He also noted that the school district was building academies for next year.
Berenato said he wanted parents to know he was accessible and that they could reach out to him via e-mail at jberenato@mtschools.org “or call or text my cell phone at 732- 648-1842 with any issues or concerns.”
