Bryan Granelli
KEARNY –
The Kearny Board of Education has appointed Bryan Granelli, a private security firm owner whose daughter is a student in the local school system, to fill a vacancy on the board.
The board voted 8-0 June 15 to install Granelli in the seat formerly occupied by Daniel Esteves, who was removed June 1 for missing three consecutive meetings without good cause.
Granelli will serve out the remainder of Esteves’ term which runs through Dec. 31, 2014. He has the option of seeking a new 3-year term in the board’s November election.
Although Esteves had said, after his displacement, that he would not contest the board’s action, he did end up challenging it, on the grounds that the board failed to give him “adequate notice” of the June 1 meeting, although he did show up for it.
In a letter to Lindenfelser and copied to state officials, Esteves said he had “good cause” for missing three consecutive meetings due to his work schedule as a Kearny police officer. He said he could “fulfill all of the duties” of both board member and cop and, “as the only bilingual board member in a district in which the majority of the children are from households in which English is a second language, that duty often includes additional responsibilities for me that other board members generally cannot do.”
Lindenfelser told the board that Esteves was given 72- hour notice through an email, regular mail and certified mail sent to him on May 26. Esteves said he did not get the certified mail notice until June 2. In any case, the board declined to rescind its decision.
Granelli, president and cofounder of Patriot Security Group of Clifton, grew up in Kearny where he attended Franklin Elementary School. A 1985 alumnus of St. Peter’s Preparatory School, Jersey City, he received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from St. Peter’s College, Jersey City, in 1989. After graduation, he worked for several security agencies including LMC Security of North Arlington. He has coached the Kearny Thistle Girls and Kearny Recreation soccer. His youngest daughter Abbey is currently in kindergarten at Roosevelt School.
In his letter of application submitted to the school board, Granelli wrote: “As an involved and concerned parent, in sitting on the Board I can do more that just help Abbey with her studies – I can make a larger impact.
“As a former executive and now owner of a security firm, I have had many schools and school districts as clients …. This has given me the opportunity to experience and participate in different levels of school operations including but not limited to physical security, facilities and financial planning. I have been able to witness and take part in what makes educational institutions operate, giving me a good sense of much that makes up a school community.”
Granelli told The Observer he was “flattered that the board thought of me as being a good fit.”
Board Secretary/Business Administrator Michael DeVita said Granelli was one of eight applicants who were screened by an ad-hoc board committee who narrowed down the list to two for consideration by the full board.
In other business, the board received a “tentative timetable” for resumption of the Kearny High School Aircraft Noise Abatement and Renovation Project, begun in 2011, stalled in 2013 when the general contract was “terminated for convenience,” and continued sporadically since then. Much of the renovation work on the high school’s North Building – new classrooms, a culinary center and atrium – has yet to begin.
The projected schedule, as presented by Operations Director Mark Bruscino, calls for the board to solicit bids for the remaining work by Sept. 14, receive bids by Nov. 4, award the contract by Nov. 12, start construction by Jan. 1, 2016, and complete the job by June 1, 2017.
To that end, the board contracted with Epic Management of Piscataway for field representative services/ construction management for the job ahead. Epic will get $382,824 for work during construction, plus $15,794 for preconstruction work and $20,294 for close-out work. STV of Newark, the only other firm to submit a proposal, bid $653,435 for construction, $29,064 for pre-construction and $77,796 for close-out.
The board also agreed to purchase new solar modules to replace modules on the roof of Franklin Elementary School damaged by Super Storm Sandy from Panasonic Corp. for $105,130. It will receive reimbursement through the School Alliance Insurance Fund.
