New faces on P'burg school board SCHOOL FUNDING concerns discussed. Former town mayor Paul Rummerfield becomes president. Tuesday, May 02, 206 • By ANDREA EILENBERGER • The Express-Times PHILLIPSBURG | Outgoing school board President Rod Pianelli welcomed the new members during Monday night's reorganization meeting but also reminded them of the difficult role they are taking on. He named the quest for money for a new high school and the questionable future of Abbott funding as two of the most imminent matters. "The new board has a whole lot of difficult issues (to tackle)," Pianelli said. Phillipsburg is one of the state's 31 poorest school systems, known as Abbott Districts, after the series of court cases that created them. The district is also fighting to receive state cash to complete a new $88 million high school. Board member and former Phillipsburg Mayor Paul Rummerfield took his seat as president. Thomas McGuire replaced Stanley Hughes as vice president. Kevin DeGerolamo was sworn into another term, and newcomers Salvatore Patti and James Hanisak were welcomed to the board. Karen Murray, who represents Bloomsbury, was also sworn in. Rummerfield said he wants to step up communication among school officials. It can be difficult for all the board members to keep up with the actions of the board's various committees and he wants to strive for a thorough flow of information from Superintendent Gordon Pethick to board members, he said. That includes sending districts, he said. "Something else I'd like to do is involve more parents and the public," he said. Before the new board members took their seats, Pethick recognized outgoing members Pianelli, John Harper, Dominic Pettinelli, who represented Alpha, and William Kanyuck. Kanyuck represented Greenwich, but stepped down to take a seat on the Greenwich committee. Reporter Andrea Eilenberger can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at aeilenberger@express-times.com. © 2006 The Express-Times. Used with permission.