Arevised policy adding extra criteria for employees of the Freehold Regional High School District in order to receive tuition reimbursement was approved by the Board of Education at its Oct. 6 meeting at Howell High School.

Board members Patricia Horvath, Ronald Lawson, Bunny Hammer, Tom Caiazza and Kathie Lavin voted in favor of the revised policy as it was drafted.

Board members Joan Leimbach, Diana Cappiello and Katie Goon voted against the revised policy as it was drafted.

Board member Christopher Placitella abstained.

The new conditions in the district's policy stem from recent controversy concerning advanced degrees obtained by Superintendent of Schools James Wasser, Assistant Superintendent Donna Evangelista and Frank J. Tanzini, a retired assistant superintendent of the district, from Breyer State University, an online institution lacking accreditation from an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Following an investigation by the state Department of Education, recommendations on how to revise the district's policies were provided to the board. In order to receive additional compensation for advanced degrees, the institution must be accredited by agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the Council on Postsecondary Education.

Also included in the state's recommendations, the district is setting a grade limit that must be achieved in order to receive tuition reimbursement. Staff members who obtain a grade of B or higher will be eligible for tuition reimbursement. Dollar limits for reimbursement will be set forth in the collective bargaining agreements for staff members. An employee must be employed within the FRHSD for at least one year and must remain in the district for a set period of time following that reimbursement.

These newest additions to the district's policy align with legislation awaiting a vote in the state Legislature to become law.

One section of the policy prompted a discussion because some board members found it vague. Leimbach and Goon took issue with a statement contained in the policy addressing overseas institutions.

The policy states, "However, additional compensation or reimbursement for courses taken at institutions of higher education which are not accredited, i.e., overseas educational institutions, may be made on a case-by-case basis so long as the institution meets certain rigorous academic and curricular standards to be determined in advance of enrollment by the district administration and the Board of Education, pursuant to (state law)."

Leimbach wanted the line stricken from the policy until the Department of Education provided guidelines on what is acceptable for these types of institutions.

The board's attorney, Lawrence Schwartz, told Leimbach the state does not have a specific set of guidelines in this particular area.

According to the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education Internet Web site, "Regarding institutions located outside of the U.S. or its possessions, a duly authorized institution of higher education is one that is recognized by the appropriate body in the particular country provided that the institution's requirements for awarding degrees are generally equivalent to those accepted in the U.S. by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education."

The reason for the clause being included, Schwartz said, was for cases in which a teacher may receive an advanced degree from a school such as the London School of Economics and Political Science, a top tier school but one that is outside of the United States.

Leimbach agreed that some schools are recognizable as acceptable institutions, but asked what tools the board would have in determining other qualified institutions.

Schwartz described how the policy would allow board members to determine a school's credibility in advance before anyone attends a foreign institution. On a caseby case basis, board members will be able to view information about a particular school. The attorney said there are changes being discussed that the Department of Education must recognize schools within the United States, but said there are no known provisions for out-of-country schools.

"That is why the board must examine this prior to (an individual's) enrollment, on a case-by-case basis," Schwartz said, adding that for the board to discount any degrees from outside the country would be shortsighted.

He said in these instances it would be a two-step process, first needing approval from the administration and then the approval of the board. During that time the board would have the opportunity to investigate the particular school in any instances, Schwartz described.

Goon asked how likely it would be that district employees would enroll in an overseas institution while living and working in the FRHSD.

Schwartz gave an example of an employee who might apply to take summer classes at a school in Canada.

Other board members noted that the clause would more likely be beneficial and used in cases of hiring new staff members who already have a degree from an overseas school and determining where they fall on the district's pay scale.

"Yes, we all know they are good schools, but that's not good enough. I need criteria," Leimbach said to the attorney's hypothetical example of a teacher with a master's degree from the London School of Economics applying for a job in the FRHSD.

Goon said she agreed there should be specific criteria set forth for board members to determine a school's credibility.

Schwartz noted that the policy states the school must meet "certain rigorous academic and curricular standards."

Leimbach made a motion to have the entire passage removed from the policy. Goon seconded the motion.

Caiazza said the only thing that does not make sense in regard to the policy is that the state does not have set criteria for overseas institutions.

"We're responsible to do due diligence here. I think given the events of the last few months, yes we will. And sometimes it's not bad to lead," Caiazza said of keeping the policy intact with the case-by-case analysis.

When a vote was called, Leimbach's motion was defeated.

The policy was then voted upon with the case-by-case section intact and approved with support from Horvath, Lawson, Hammer, Caiazza and Lavin.

Comments made by a New Jersey Department of Education spokeswoman about the board's revised tuition reimbursement policy that appeared in a local daily newspaper last week were provided to that newspaper before the department viewed the policy, department spokesman Rich Vespucci told Greater Media Newspapers on Oct. 9.

After reviewing the policy there are still a few concerns and the department's legal team is examining it, he said.

Vespucci said the department will have more to say about the tuition reimbursement policy after the legal department concludes its review sometime this week.

Contact staff writer Rebecca Morton at

marlboro@gmnews.com