Monday, April 22, 2013
Take advantage of your company's 401(k) plan, says Mitch Slater.
Veteran financial advisor Mitch Slater is offering young adults some helpful hints to avoid common personal finance mistakes. Appearing on FinLitTV, the Westfield resident has been using social media to share his insight throughout April, dubbed Financial Literacy Month. In the attached video, Slater, with a quarter-century of experience in the financial services industry, discusses the importance of establishing the difference between "wants" and "needs" which can be key in avoiding mounting credit card debt. "When it comes to retirement, you're going to need money in the future and there's no better opportunity than the 401(k) plan at your company, especially if they're paying you five or six percent to match it," Slater opines. "So, …
Thursday, November 15, 2012
BOE, Town Council used Facebook, Twitter to keep residents informed after storm.
When Hurricane Sandy caused trees to fall, power lines to go down and lights to go out, Westfield – like most towns in the region – fell quiet and dark. But with inquiries about school openings, road closures and other pressing issues on the minds of residents, the storm did nothing to quell the town’s need for information. As parents and students scrambled for answers to their questions, alternative means of communication were crucial and non-traditional methods of dispersing information in a timely fashion proved invaluable. With landline phones down and televisions and laptops without power, many tapped away at smart phones and iPads to get the information they needed from the real-time dialogue going on within the world of social media…
Monday, November 5, 2012
At this time Washington Elementary and Wilson Elementary are still without power.
As residents await word on when Westfield public schools will re-open, Board of Education member Mitch Slater said he is open to taking questions from residents and invited the public to follow him on social media sites. Slater can be contacted at his Twitter feed@mpslater and his Facebook page, where he regularly posts updates on the school district's status. As of 9 a.m. Monday, Washington Elementary and Wilson Elementary School were still without power, according to Slater. The Board of Education building on Elm Street also has no power and the district's server is down so its website and email are not working. Slater said, for the past three years, he and former member David Finn have been advocating for the school district to embrace …
Friday, September 28, 2012
Longtime resident and volunteer says he was honoring the wishes of the Board.
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Friday, September 28, 2012
For some reason there were a number of people waiting to hear my comments after the Bond vote Monday evening. As I stated to the reporters at the time I was letting our President and Superintendent do the talking. Nobody silenced me- I chose to honor their wishes and let them respond post mortem to the defeat which, I believe was the right thing to do . The fact of the matter is that the citizens of Westfield spoke loud and clear with nearly a 3-1 margin against the referendum. The Board will be meeting next Tuesday and publicly discuss the facts and begin the work on how next to proceed. There are two realities though- The town spoke loudly not wanting this referendum as it was offered and the more pressing reality is that we have serious…
Friday, September 21, 2012
Mitch Slater urges residents to vote on the facts.
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Friday, September 21, 2012
Obviously there is a great deal of interest in next Monday's vote on the Bond Referendum. Since joining the BOE in 2010 I have been listening to many discussions about our need to fix the roofs. Though I was not part of the Facility Committee I was impressed with the hard work and long hours they put in to get all the facts straight and come up with the most financially prudent decisions for taxpayers as well as stakeholders. The decision to float a bond was not done in a vacuum. We tried going solar but without new roofs that was not feasible. And obviously our maintenance reserve did not come close to having the funds needed to undertake this massive project. (You can call that poor planning by previous boards or massive state aid cuts- …
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
New deal includes 1.9% annual salary bump, requires WAAS members to increase insurance contributions
The Westfield Board of Education approved a two-year contract with the Westfield Association of Administrators and Supervisors (WAAS) at the board's meeting Tuesday night. The contract, which will become effective next month, includes salary raises in increments of 1.9 percent for each year. The contract was approved by a 6-1 vote. Board Vice President David Finn, who served as the chair of the team that negotiated the contract on behalf of the board, said in a statement that he was pleased with a timely process that he said was both fair to district employees and fiscally responsible for taxpayers. “The focus of the board is to control health care costs and keep the overall cost of association contracts under the two percent cap,” Finn …
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Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Dozens of iPads, laptops, printers to also be available for 2012-2013 school year.
A secured, district-wide wireless network and dozens of new laptops and iPads for students of all grade levels are among the highlights of the district’s Strategic Technology Initiative that are scheduled to be in place by the start of the new school year, according to presentation at last night’s Westfield Board of Education meeting on behalf of the Ad-Hoc Technology Committee. Assistant Superintendent Paul Pineiro and Chief Technology Officer Brian Auker addressed the Board on behalf of the committee to provide an update on the initiative and answer the question many have asked since the plan was announced to the public several months ago: what are we getting? According to Auker, both the district wireless project and the accompanying …
Friday, March 9, 2012
WHS-TV36 will air short videos of students using technology.
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Friday, March 9, 2012
The public will have the opportunity to view examples of how technology is woven into the curriculum in the Westfield Public Schools beginning March 18. The first week of spring is being dubbed “Spring into Technology Week in Westfield." Short videos of students using technology in the classrooms will be posted on the district’s website at www.westfieldnjk12.org/video and aired on WHS-TV36 beginning March 18 for several weeks. The TV schedule is: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.; and Sundays at 2 p.m. Also, during the “Spring into Technology Week,” PTOs will be conducting fundraising which will be targeted to help upgrade technology in Westfield High School. “We continue to focus on technology for the entire …
Thursday, March 1, 2012
The Westfield Board of Educated presented its plan for district-wide wireless network, implementation of twenty-first century technology in all classrooms.
The Ad Hoc Technology Committee of the Westfield Board of Education has met at least once a week for six months to lay the groundwork for an initiative that will change the district’s approach to education for years to come. At Tuesday night’s Board meeting, the committee introduced that initiative to the public for the first time. “Tonight, we begin to take one more leap toward Westfield’s tomorrow,” committee chair Mitch Slater told the audience, moments before introducing its Strategic Technology Initiative. The proposal – which begins with the installation of a district-wide wireless network in the next three months – largely focuses on expanding the use of and importance placed on modern technology within the curriculum. “While we …
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Ad Hoc Technology Committee to present Strategic Technology Initiation at tonight's BOE meeting.
The learning experience of students has traditionally been confined to the walls of the classroom. The Ad Hoc Technology Committee of the Board of Education would like to turn those walls into windows. The first official step in what promises to be a long process will take place at tonight’s Board meeting when the committee presents its Strategic Technology Initiation, a forward-looking plan that focuses on building the wireless infrastructure necessary to enable the school district to better accommodate twenty-first century technology and adapt to whatever lies ahead. “Small pockets of our classrooms are integrating table PC’s and projectors and iPads, but it is our view that we can do so much more," said Mitch Slater, chair of the …
Brad Schaeffer
3:15 pm on Monday, April 22, 2013
That should read "about which few are AWARE". The ol' double-negative strikes again! more ›