Waste of money. He needs a PR firm when the sh-t hit the fan to do damage control. Taxpayers should be up in arms over this. We will soon be reading about this gang in the newspapers on what really goes on in Wayne BOE. Only a matter of time. November will be here soon.

Why do we need to spend $30,000 on "no comment,unavailable,declined to comment,didn't return phone call,away on vacation,away from their desk,cannot comment at this time,in a meeting,and let's not forget the best-we have to study what is best for the children" !!!!!

I moved to Wayne 5 years ago for the school system. The school administration in my old town had a full time communication officer and we were always informed. I see this position as necessary. Any successful business has a strong communication group.

We finally have a website that is a good resource and I really like the parent portal. As a parent with kids in the system for the last 8 years I see a DRASTIC improvement. Good job.

@JJHanley - I agree. I hope this continues as I finally feel like I know what is going on in the school system. The Superintendent has been here for less than a year and I think he is doing a good job (he actually visited my daughter's class). I would like to see and hear more of what is going on in our schools.

Jacob, When was the last time you heard ANYTHING from our PR firm ? JJ, What DRASTIC inprovements have you seen ? Think i'm missing something here. Hey Pad, any comment?

The nay sayers are just people with an agenda or grudge. All good has been happening since stability was brought back to Wayne schools (after 4 previous years with no permanent superintendent). I agree, November will be here soon and the majority will speak. The silent majority will be heard louder that a few blog quacks.

If we want to be a great school district and increase our property value, I would think we should look to emulate the best schools in the state. I work next to Millburn (ranked #1 school in state) and it has a full-time Communications Coordinator on staff.

What a waste of money...Furthermore, was this contract ever put up for bid? November can't come soon enough.

This is just a necessary evil of doing business. And yes, running a district should be more aligned to running a successful business. I agree, I have seem more improvement in the last few months than I have seen in the last 5 years. I watched the meeting last night and the presentation from Ramapo College to run our Outdoor environmental education program was fantastic. WHERE IS THE ARTICLE ON THIS? This is what is important; this is enhancing our children's learning experience.

I would hope we can see more videos like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyacHAzxfXA&feature=plcp
Really like the new website. Nice to move out from under the old 1990s site.

I have to agree that communication is important and that the new website is certainly a step forward. However, $30,000 for a PR Firm when we are cutting educational programs for our students is a luxury we can't afford. We have administrators that cover every area of our school system. Why can't each one of them handle an occasional press release for their area? How hard is it to come up with a couple paragraphs on a new program or initiative? I've done them for my volunteer organizations and it doesn't take a lot of time. As for the website, we have a person on staff for that. That person can update the Facebook Page and Twitter. While I applaud the enhanced communication, I don't see the need to outsource it. We should be directing every extra dollar toward the education of our students, especially when we just cut a new science program that was implemented in sixth grade last year and is not being continued due to budget cuts.

The budget pie shows approx. 85% going to salaries and benefits. Within the 15% remaining are both educational and non educational expenses. For example, there is insurance on our bldgs. and facilities, insurance on our buses and vehicles, gasoline, maintenance, utilities cost, etc, all of which are necessary.. Deduct these expenses and that portion going to direct educational resources gets smaller and smaller. I don't see that as being a good thing. When you take an additional $30,000 for a PR firm which I consider a non educational expense, it reduces the pie even further. Faced with a 2% cap, faced with rising costs in all areas of the budget, especially special education and services, I think we have to be prudent in reserving costs for direct educational items, such as books, programs, equipment, etc. The Board has apparently weighed this and feels that the $30,000 expense is worth it! Communications is important. Is outsourcing the answer? It's easy to criticize and I have certainly done my share of that. The educational portion of the pie is a precious resource as it affects are children directly. We need to preserve this as best we can.

@Facts
Glad Kazan announced that she is pro-education. Can we get her a round of applause?

ALL, Since they hired this PR Firm, has anyone heard of or NOSE exactly what we are getting for $30,000 ? Would love to hear someone from the Board answer my question.

Nose....they are very busy setting up shills such as Sinclair, JJZ1990, Pat Kruiser, Jacob, JJHanley, Pennings, Jeffers, Peteren, etal.

Good one Al, Why can't we take some kids that want to major in" Communcations" and instead of paying someone, have the students get credit for doing this ? Sound like a win/win situation. REMEMBER, it's all about the children!!!! (and saving 30 grand)