News
RB Schools Superintendent Donates Portion Of Salary Increase To Education Foundation
By John Burton
RED BANK - An environmental education program at Red Bank Primary School received a financial boost recently thanks to the superintendent of schools.
Superintendent Laura Morana recently offered two percent of her four percent pay raised for the 2009-2010 school year to Red Bank Education Foundation.
That donation, which district Business Administrator Anne Darrow said amounts to $3,100, is being allocated to fund a foundation initiative called Swimming River Discoveries, at the primary school, 222 River Street.
The superintendent's current salary is $155,000.
Board of Education and foundation officials enthusiastically expressed their gratitude for the donation. "I thought it was extremely generous," said Board of Education President Peter Noble. "God knows, Laura has worked hard for her money, and then some."
"We're all very grateful and we're lucky to have Laura Morana in our school district in Red Bank," noted Edward Zipprich, a borough councilman who is also the foundation's membership chair. "I think it's very inspiring," said Foundation Chair Kathy Horgan, who is also a borough council member.
The Swimming River project is intended to incorporate the 17-acre primary school grounds to teach children about the environment and the ecology of the waterfront. The school grounds border the Swimming River.
Horgan said this week the foundation has been seeking to partner with educational entities to use the grounds, "as a resource to teach science and nature."
The goal, of that project and the foundation, is, Horgan said, to, "promote new approaches to learning that extend beyond the classroom setting."
Among the proposals under discussion are establishing outdoor classrooms, a weather station, a rock-and- rain garden and a geology area, Horgan said.
The education foundation, which is seeking volunteers, was reinitiated in 2007, after laying dormant for a number of years. The organization's mission is to raise funds to support and supplement educational initiatives in the K-8 district.
