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- Sam Lebreault
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- Israel Varela
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- Vice-President Israel Varela and President Obi Gonzalez *Photos by Carolyn Maxwell
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- Anthony Bermudez
PERTH AMBOY – The Board of Education had their reorganization meeting on January 7, 2014.
Board Secretary Derek Jess said the official number of voters for the November 5, 2013 was 10,168 votes cast. The official results for the top three vote getters for the Board of Education was 1741 for Israel Varela, 1666 for Anthony Bermudez and 1559 for Sam Lebreault.
The oath of office was administered to the new Board Members by Derek Jess. Anthony Bermudez was first. He called his whole family to stand as he was being sworn in. Next was Samuel Lebreault with his family by his side. Finally, Israel Varela’s two sons stood beside him along with some of the staff from the Richardson School who Varela called from the audience to come down.
Obi Gonzalez was elected unanimously as the new Board President. Kenneth Puccio, who had served as the Board of Education Vice-President was nominated for that position again, but he politely declined stating that it was time for someone else to get a chance.
Israel Varela was nominated for the position of Vice-President. He won the position despite two “no” votes by Maria Garcia and Dianne Roman.
Shortly thereafter, the Board went into an executive session at 6:38 p.m. and returned at 8:07 p.m.
Board Secretary Derek Jess made his report and said that the High School and Middle School supplies were ordered. There were no items that were over-expended for October and November 2013.
Board President Obi Gonzalez said, “I am grateful and honored to be elected to this position and I will work hard with the rest of the Board, the Community and Staff. I know there will be more challenges and problems ahead. We have to take a more creative approach to getting a new school. There should be more respect between the community and the staff to move the district forward.”
Vice-President Israel Varela made it a point to say, “With this new Board, no longer will outsiders be able to dictate what is good for the district.”
Dr. Vivian Rodriguez was appointed Superintendent until the Board appoints a permanent Superintendent.
Dr. Rodriguez remarked, “It feels wonderful to be back here. It feels like my home town, although I don’t live here.”
The controversy over Project Read continued. Chief Literacy Officer Dr. Daimon Medina was called forward for his opinion as to whether the program made any difference. Medina said, “Although some of the components of the program are already in place with past practices in the district, Project Read brings more of uniformity into the district. It has a consistent and professional development, especially for the newer students. We need to be open-minded but our scores are not where they should be.”
Vice-President Varela, who is not a fan of Project Read said, “There was a survey and the administrators and staff are far apart on this item. There are programs already in place that Project Read mimics and the Project Read Program comes with a high price. Basically, it’s just has a little bit more bells and whistles.”
Board Member Dianne Roman said that she, Varela, Obi Gonzalez and Dr. Medina attended a meeting in regards to Project Read. “It was originally funded through a grant. Our vendor was able to renegotiate a lower price for the program.”
Board Member Milady Tejeda wanted Project Read to finish its course, “And let’s not disrupt it in the middle of the year.”
Board Member Maria Garcia said, “We need to look at the results of what was in place. We can’t be stagnant; we need consistency to move forward and need to embrace the old with the new. Our children only have 12 years in the school system.”
Board Member William Ortiz questioned Medina as to what is new in Project Read.
Medina said, “There is use of more technical language. There is more of a connection to the everyday life. There’s nothing that new about the components. There is a foundation there that is needed to take us to the next level.”
Oritz said, “Perhaps we should keep Project Read, then we should revisit it later. Sometimes you have to teach an old dog new tricks.”
Board President Obi Gonzalez said, “There should be a collaboration to see what the staff really needs. I want to compliment you (Medina) for what you have done. It’s hard to shift gears at this point. Please continue to evaluate the Project Read Program.”
During the New Business Portion of the Meeting, Board Member Dianne Roman talked about the shortcomings of the Bilingual Program. “Teachers are frustrated. They are leaving the district. We need to support this program.”
Board President Obi Gonzalez said, “The students are hurting. Dr. Rodriguez has a very good handle on this. After Dr. Rodriguez left – that is when the Program failed.”
Board Member Sam Lebreault was concerned about the students in the Learning Center Program. “Our kids stay there awhile. They need a better meal than just juice and cheese. Please have Food Services and the Principal look into this. We should have by- laws and policies in regards to graduation and suspensions. As far as the website, we should cancel meetings that are not regular Board Meetings.”
During the Public Portion, Resident Stanley Sierakowski was concerned about the Charter Schools and the fact that there is no oversight on the operations, expenses or administrators of the schools. He said, “I have no trouble of you giving money to the Charter School, as long as you know how the money is spent.”
Board Secretary Derek Jess said, “From time to time we will talk the administrators from the Charter School.”
The Board Attorney made it known that the administration has no authority over the Charter School.
Resident and Parent Mel Knight said that people are not coming to the meetings because they keep hearing the same thing over and over again with no results.
Teacher Linda Nagy from the Richardson School said, “Testing is very big with her. We work on the weaknesses of students to bring those skills up. We are having problems in literacy. Perth Amboy is top heavy in administrators. We need more teachers (people in the trenches). If the teachers don’t have proper training, it doesn’t matter what curriculum we have. It’s our job to bring the students up.”
High School Student Stephanie Rodriguez said the elevator is not working again. “And I will not use it until it’s fixed. I want to thank Dr. Collazo and Mr. Cavanaugh for bringing some of my classes to the conference room on the first floor (of the high school).”
Dr. Mast, Principal of the Hmieleski School was happy to hear the comments from the Board about working together. “The Board and the AFT should all meet to review the best practices and listen to all sides. This should be a peaceful and efficient collaborative and then take action. We are a hopeful City striving to do better.”
Resident Alan Silber thanked Derek Jess for a great job as Acting Superintendent. Silber also made reference to the basketball court at the Wilentz School that the Board of Education was supposed to be responsible for building or maintaining. This item was also brought up at the 1/6/14 Caucus Meeting. He also wanted to know if there is a policy of Board Members looking at their cell phones while the meeting is going on. “You should also put a clock on your closed session meetings.”
YMCA CEO Steve Jobin presented a check for $5000 to Adult School Principal Robles. This check was for technical assistance from the New Jersey Shares Program. The YMCA filled out the application for the Adult School.
According to the 1/7/14 BOE Agenda. This donation will be instrumental in providing much needed educational tools to the students at the Perth Amboy Education Center.
“We were able to help the Adult School get a grant,” Jobin said. He gave kudos to the High School 35 member swim team. He also mentioned the Special Olympics School Programs.
