“There’s clearly a problem in the community”,….”the trend is teachers are leaving…” ‘” examine the leadership” “a definite decline…” goals are not relevant to my child…” “communication problems…”
These were some of the fears and concerns expressed by many Atlantic Highlands parents at last night’s meeting of the Henry Hudson Regional Board of Education, as parents called for an examination by outside resources of the leadership at the PreK-12 school district.
While no one spoke at the public hearing after which the board of education approved a $19.5 million school budget, parents rose one right after each other during the public comment at end of the meeting, to issue a variety of concerns ranging from lack of communication to serious concern over the sudden absence of one teacher.
Many of those speaking complained education in the regional district today is in sharp decline compared to four years ago. Using their own children to cite their concerns, parents noted the negative attitude their elementary school children express about going to school today is in sharp contract to how their high school age children eagerly looked forward to going to school five or six years ago.
Parents, most of them from Atlantic Highlands, asked for an examination of the school’s leadership, some challenging why an interim school board last year not only renewed the superintendent’s contract before it expired but extended it to five years.
Matt Sohl told the board there has been a decline in programs and families are losing trust in what had been a wonderful school. He questioned the leadership and called for accountability suggesting an independent study be conducted on the leadership in the district’s officer.
The board took no action on Sohl’s suggestion.
Other parents spoke on how amazing it is that so many teachers have left the district in the past four years and expressed concern about the impact on the education system.
While only one or two persons speaking mentioned the superintendent by name, the obvious center of their attention was Dr. Tara Beams superintendent of the former regional high school .
She had received a five year contract after the board regionalized to include the two elementary schools. That contract was voted on by the board of education that was appointed from among members of all three former boards of education to serve for six months until the current board of nine was elected to oversee the Pre K-12 district.
Many felt at the time there was no need for an interim, unelected board to offer a contract since Beams’ current contract had not even expired, and a new contract could have been offered by the first elected board of the new regional district
Of additional grave concern to many parents at the meeting, in addition to the lack of communication and the fact many of their children do not have the same eagerness for school their older children did, is the absence of fourth grade teacher in the Atlantic Highlands elementary school, James Filoso.
Parents said Filoso has not been in the classroom, there have been substitute teachers, there are rumors he is not coming back and he has been a teacher in the school for 25 years. “He’s the best teacher ever! He’s wonderful” The Kids love him!” parents said both at and after the meeting. Not having Filos in the classroom is detrimental, one parent said.
After the meeting one parent explained why Filoso has been so popular and why students loved his math, social studies and science classics. Parents spoke of how the teacher would e-mail them praising their child, how he encouraged them to help each other, how he practiced and taught the students to be smiling, welcoming, have compassion. “ He taught the kids, and he showed respect for every one of them every day,” one parent said.
Jess Noonan, of Highlands spoke of her quarter of a century living in Highlands and seeing the changes in the schools in recent years. She has gone through a horrific experience on her own with her own child, she said, and she offered to help anyone who wanted help. “Let’s work together,” she said.
While board chairman Richard Colangelo pointed out the board does not get into personnel issues, board member Gena Melnyk said the board, herself included, “clearly has a problem with communication, there is no uniformity.” She cited the difficulty she has had in finding information on social media and was told to be quiet by the board attorney when she spoke of personnel without using names .
Please don’t interrupt me,” she said to attorney Jonathan Busch. Melnyk is also the only board member who voted against the budget, which approves $9.85 Million to be raised through Atlantic Highlands taxes and $8.08 million to be raised through Highlands taxes.
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