NEWS

Calling for reforms in the approval and oversight of New Jersey  charter schools, nearly 300 people attended a rally outside Bartle Elementary School Tuesday evening.

Surrounded by Bartle’s playground – and sometimes fighting to be heard over the kids playing there – the rally featured speeches by Highland Park parents, students and local public officials.

In a unanimous vote, the Highland Park Board of Education has accepted the bid of Temco Facility Services to provide facilities management to the borough's public schools. The decision at Monday's board meeting was cheered by more than a dozen custodial and maintenance employees and their supporters.

The vote in favor of a new contract with the East Rutherford firm marks the formal end to the district’s contentious relationship with Sodexo, the nation’s largest provider of facility services.

According to a family therapist who has been counseling couples in Highland Park for nearly 30 years, having the right number of children can make or break a marriage.

The Highland Park school board approved individual 2011-12 salaries for the district's 192 returning professional staff -- teachers, counselors, classroom assistants and support staff -- at their June 6th meeting.

Full-time teaching salaries increased by the contracted rates of between 1.4 and 2.3%, according to the district's salary resolution published at http://www.highlandpark.k12.nj.us/board/agendas/agendate/6%206%2011.pdf.

Despite a hint of drizzles and lingering gray skies, students of Irving Primary School and their families were nonetheless cleared for take-off.

The Highland Park Planning Board met on May 19 to exchange ideas with the Washington Square Group of Chatham, a real etate developer which is seeking to build a two-story building at 138 Raritan Avenue.

The Washington Square Group represents the Seven-Eleven Corporation in proposing a convenience store, with upstairs offices, on the former Sunoco gas station site.

The rain, the wind, fog and lightning do not deter them. Snug in their raincoats, brandishing umbrellas, and weighed down with sacks and cartons of books, the Highland Park community pours into the library on a recent Tuesday morning.

Of course the first step was to explore through attics and dive into basements, packing cartons of books: the telltale evidence of mystery book clubs; the college chums that changed your life; troubled assets from Borders and Waldenbooks; gently-loved hand-me-downs from the children . . .  they all go into the mix and magic comes out.

The Highland Park borough council adopted a resolution amending its 2011 budget at a May 3 session.

According to Kathleen Kovach, borough administrator and chief financial officer, this budget's $1.70 per $100 of assessed value rate represents a 2.4 percent increase over last year's spending plan.

Next Tuesday evening, May 10th from 6 PM to 9 PM at Highland Park High School, spring brings the third annual joint event celebrating healthy living in Highland Park.

The combined personal / environmental health fair -- dubbed 'Healthy People, Healthy Planet 2011' -- will include home energy savings, healthy cooking, dancing, bicycle repair, massage, edible gardens, preventive health screenings, and more.