Concerns about Beach Haven School Superintendent EvaMarie Raleigh’s employment was the topic of discussion among board of education members during a special meeting held Thursday, June 4. Upon receiving a Rice notice from the board under the Open Public Meetings Act, Raleigh chose to waive her right to have the discussion held in executive session and instead requested it be held in public. She did not attend the meeting. (Prior to discussion of personnel, affected employees must be given notice, known as a Rice notice, which gives the employee the right to request a public hearing.)
 |
| Photo via Google During a special meeting, Beach Haven School Board members address concerns about the superintendent. |
“I’d like to have it in public because I’m interested in hearing what they said about me,” Raleigh said in a phone interview.
She noted that she had been out sick for the past three weeks and that the board required her to have a psychological evaluation. She said she took the five-hour evaluation Wednesday, June 3, and passed.
“I was cleared and fit to return to work,” Raleigh noted. “I’m fine. I’m competent.”
According to policy, the board is authorized to order screening if it sees a change in behavior, Raleigh explained.
“Challenging it would have delayed my return to school, so rather than do that I cooperated so I could be with the kids. I wanted to be there for the end of the school year,” she stated.
Board President Irene Hughes declined to comment on the reason for the evaluation.
“It’s really sticky,” stated board Secretary Lillian Brendel.
Prior to the board discussion, Hughes said she felt “conflicted” about the subject matter and recused herself from the meeting. She then appointed board member Jen Tomlinson to chair the discussion.
The vice president typically leads the discussion when the president removes oneself from such a position, Hughes noted. However, the board’s vice president, Kathy Kelly, was dealing with dental issues and was therefore unable to speak at the time, Hughes said. Kelly was not present at the meeting.
Tomlinson stated that Raleigh had not completed the New Jersey School Board Association’s chief school administrator evaluation, which was purportedly due by April 30. Because of this, Tomlinson said, the board is obligated by statute to evaluate Raleigh by June 30.
However, Brendel said she believed Raleigh did complete the evaluation on time. Raleigh told The SandPaper it was completed by the due date, but there was a glitch in the system for which NJSBA has taken responsibility.
Tomlinson also noted that she had concerns about Raleigh’s insubordination regarding a board grievance. Tomlinson stated that she was also concerned about the misrepresentation of school trip funds and reimbursements. She noted there have also been program reconfigurations that have not been approved by the board. According to a blog, she said, a student-teacher was also present without board knowledge or approval.
Board member Meredith O’Donnell said the board also did not approve the use or installation of cameras in the school. She said she was not sure if they are currently being used, but said Raleigh continues to push for them.
O’Donnell also noted that Raleigh failed to provide professional development on a scheduled in-service day.
The members asked that some of the issues be investigated by the board attorney.
During public comment, local resident Richard Jeffries said the issues do not seem like vital problems.
“Some of these things I’m hearing, I haven’t heard the whole story, but they don’t sound like really major things. They really don’t,” he stated.
He chalked it up to everyone still suffering from post-traumatic stress from Superstorm Sandy.
“I think we’re overloaded, and I really think that we should step back, take a deep breath and rethink things,” he said. “I’m sure these attorney fees are costing a lot. To have an attorney in here and to review this thing, I think the money could be spent on something more beneficial,” he added.
Jeffries suggested the board bring in a counselor from St. Francis Community Center, “so everyone can start talking again.”
“We helped each other through the hurricane. Let’s get back into that mode,” he said.
— Kelley Anne Essinger
This article was published in The SandPaper.
This article was published in The SandPaper.
No comments:
Post a Comment