Board of Education

Securing a copy of the letter a former Board of Education member sent to the Henry Hudson Regional Board of Education last January makes me wonder whether elected officials do listen to residents who do speak or write their opinions of the current Henry Hudson Tri-District Superintendent.

Tracy Abby-White is a long time resident of Atlantic Highlands, served on the Henry Hudson board of education for seven years when the late Robert Dziadosz was superintendent of the 7-12 school.

She was concerned about what she perceived as unprofessionalism on the part of the present Superintendent when she attended a board of education meeting in January, and wrote a letter to Michael Gannon, Board President of the 7-12 school district offering a suggestion to eliminate the problem she encountered. At the same time, she sent copies of the letter to each of the members of the Henry Hudson Regional Board of Education.

To ensure board members would know something about her own experience and background, Abby-White included that in her letter before describing the problem in great detail. She noted her criticism was about a specific incident she observed, not about the superintendent’s competence . But it was enough to outrage and embarrass her as a resident, Abby-White said, prompting the letter and suggestion.

The letter was received in January.

Abby-White has yet to hear a solution, a study, or whether her own suggestion was used.

The following is the resident and former Council member and Board of Education member’s letter.

Dear President Gannon and members of the Tri-District Board of Education,

I am a long-time resident of Atlantic Highlands who served on the Board of Education for seven years with the late Superintendent, Robert Dziadosz. My daughters graduated from HHRS, and I have been a vocal supporter of our schools for over four decades. I was elected to Atlantic Highlands Council for one term and have continued to serve on the Brookdale Board of Trustees since my appointment in 2013. I share my background to give you a glimpse into my commitment to education and public service. I have the utmost respect for the servant work each of you does to provide the level of education required for our children to compete in a global economy.

I was part of the regionalization discussions in the late 1980s and became involved with the current regionalization proposal at the request of Mayor Loretta Gluckstein approximately two years ago. Since then, I have met and respectfully listened to all members of the BoE and Dr. Tara Beams. They extended the invitation to attend the Tri-District BoE meetings on numerous occasions. Like you, I juggle multiple responsibilities, making this a challenge, and on Wednesday night, I attended my first BoE meeting since my daughters graduated from HHRS in 2004.

My purpose was to understand the status of the proposed regionalization between Atlantic Highlands, Highlands & Sea Bright. This email will not comment on the meeting content. This email concerns the delivery of the responses to the public I have witnessed consistently since my introduction to the Superintendent on February 7, 2021.

When the public comment portion began, Dr. Tara Beams, the highest-paid professional representing the Tri-District, began rolling her eyes and sighing, visibly signaling boredom for the tax-paying public seeking information. When it was my turn, I asked a question. I wanted to understand why the BoE appeared out of alignment with the findings of the two feasibility studies.

After noticeable physical movement, Dr. Beams launched into a loud and lengthy monologue. The theatrics of grabbing the microphone and yelling a personal opinion was shocking and vulgar. Her acute talent in circumlocution and condescending tone is appalling and insulting. Someone with this degree of visibility representing all three Boards of Education should be at the pinnacle of professionalism.

I want to be clear that I am not criticizing her abilities as a hands-on contributor or competence to introduce a vital data-led strategy, as noted by Board Member Claire Kozic. I am outraged and embarrassed by her lack of executive gravitas.

I only approach a problem if I offer a solution, so I encourage the Tri-District Board to retain the services of an executive coach for our Superintendent. Introducing professional development could help align the face of our educational institutions with a positive image and reflect the caliber of the education you strive to deliver. Condoning this behavior diminishes the collective hard work and accomplishments. Our community and students deserve better.

Respectfully,

Tracey Abby-White

With all the discussion of the renewal of a contract for the superintendent of  Henry Hudson Tri-District coming at the same time as the possibility that in the school year 2024 the school district might be drastically changed, are the school board members taking all of that into consideration?

Current Salary

The current superintendent’s three year $180,00 a year plus annual  increases contract expires June 30, 2024. By law, if she is not going to be offered another contract, she must be notified by June 30, of the year previous. Next month.

New School District

If they do not plan to hire her, and inform her of that by June 30 of this year, that makes the last year of her current contract expire at possibly the same time as the new PreK -12 school district gets underway. The new nine member one board over all three schools could then have almost a full year from the time of the action at a November election to search for a replacement for the new and different school and board.

Length of Contract

If they do offer her a contract before July 1, 2023, are they looking at another three year contract? Or are they looking at a five year contract?  If the regionalization question is defeated at the polls, whatever was agreed on before July 1 would presumably be in place.

New Board

If regionalization is approved, the superintendent, like the entire faculty, would most likely than negotiate with the new board of education over their contracts. The boards who signed the contract would be dissolved, replaced by a single board made up of nine people possibly from three towns, so it appears  contract negotiations would be similar to that for faculty members.

Would the superintendent with a contract have priority to renegotiate her contract over other superintendents who might apply because it is a new PreK-12 school district that never existed before?

Complaints

On the other hand, one might question why the boards of education are even considering renewing any contract with the current superintendent.

There are records that show that more than 20 per cent of the total staff have retired or left for other jobs during the past two years. Have board members compared that percentage of employees who leave in similar school districts?  Covid cannot be considered a factor. All schools went through the same thing.

Have there been exit interviews with faculty members who chose to leave? Including not one, but two principals?

There are records that show education at the two elementary schools is at best average, and sometimes not even that. Have school board members compared that to previous years before the superintendent was hired?

Have board members listed the improvements that have been made in the tri-district under this superintendent?

There have been letters to boards of education concerning complaints of bullying, unfair treatment, parental discontent. There has even been a petition in an attempt to stop the contract renewal. Have those letters been investigated for veracity and responded to? If legitimate, have the corrections be made? Has action been taken?

There have been several stories about parents being afraid to write similar letters for fear of retaliation to their children. Has anybody asked the sources of these stories or why parents would want to make certain things public but not want to be identified with their complaints?

One Year Contract

Have any boards considered signing a one year agreement so that,  if the public wants a preK-12 school district and if it goes into effect in a year, the brand new board then have the advantage of conducting a broad search for a superintendent for a brand, new, Pre-K through 12 school district that could well be the model for similar regionalization programs across the state?

Perhaps some of these questions should also be raised, and answered, before the June 30 deadline passes.

Raise Your Voice

It is up to the people who elected the members to the boards of education to tell them what they think. If board members do not hear from the people who elected them, then board members will never know.

It’s time for people who have strong opinions, one way or the other, to tell their boards about them. Afraid of being in the minority or of retaliation and can’t put your name to your letter? Write it to VeniVidiScripto. You can trust me not to divulge my source of investigation. But I can make   board members aware of your feelings or concerns.