PERTH AMBOY – School Board Attorney Derlys Gutierrez was the first one to make remarks at the 5/7/14 Board of Education Meeting.
This time she had guidelines for those from the public who wish to make remarks. She stated that the speakers must give their name and address. If the speaker is representing an organization, they must state that organization’s name.
“You’re limited to five minutes. You may be liable to any personal attacks that you make. And you could be asked to leave. I’m asking the audience and Board Members to please respect themselves.”
The first person to speak from the public was the current Human Resources Manager for Perth Amboy Public Schools, Bernice Marshall.
Bernice Marshall
At the last Board of Education Meeting, 4/10/14, Ms. Marshall read from a prepared statement (See Amboy Guardian, 4/16/14, p.6.) In that statement, Ms. Marshall made it clear of her disappointment at not being notified in person that her title was on the agenda to be abolished at that meeting.
At the 5/7/14 BOE Meeting Marshall said, “I’m pissed off! I am not going to read from a paper this time. I want to look you (the Board) in the eye. A few meetings ago, Mr. Varela told me to never let anyone bully you. And I feel that I’ve been bullied.”
Marshall spoke about AchieveNJ (From the State of NJ Dept. of Education website: AchieveNJ is New Jersey’s educator evaluation and support system, designed in collaboration with New Jersey educators through a two-year pilot. This system provides district and school leaders with a critical tool for recognizing effective educators and identifying meaningful opportunities for professional growth.)
“I was never asked any questions about this. Other administrators have not been asked to evaluate teachers as I have done. This is a personal attack on me (abolishing the HR Title). I was called to a meeting to discuss my job and Derek Jess was present. He is not my boss and should not have been at that meeting. No one told me about my job being eliminated.”
Addressing Acting Superintendent Rodriguez, Ms. Marshall wanted to know, “Why are you making drastic Human Resources changes when you’ve only been here 4 months? When my contract ends in June, you will be hard pressed to find someone with the same level of professionalism, dedication and work ethics that you found in me.”
Bernice Marshall’s fiancée, Charles Simmons came to the podium to speak and said, “Bernice did not know that I was going to be here.” He proudly said, “Bernice has achieved great results in all aspects of her job. She has excelled and her department is the only one that got a perfect score in QSAC.” (From the State of NJ Dept. of Education Website – The Quality Single Accountability Continuum (QSAC) is the Dept. of Education’s monitoring and evaluation system for public school districts. The system focuses on monitoring and evaluating school districts in 5 key components that, based on research, have been identified to be key factors in effective school districts.)
Fiancée of HR Manager Bernice Marshall, Charles Simmons. *Photos by Carolyn Maxwell
Towards the end of his speech, he said, “This is a personal vendetta against Bernice by the Acting Superintendent and certain Board Members.”
Another agenda item that has been a hot topic had to do with a permanent appointment for the position of Principal of the Richardson School. Vice Principal Karen Moffatt has been at he helm of the Richardson School for the last 22 months. There has been a strong push by those who support her (Teachers and Parents) to make her the permanent Principal. The Board had previously turned down Moffatt’s request to be Principal because of an unresolved incident that happened at the Richardson School.
At the 5/10/14 Board of Education Meeting, Moffatt spoke about her qualifications to be Principal. “I started in the school system 23 years ago. Nothing has ever distracted me from doing the best for my students. In the last 22 months I have acted as a Principal and Vice-Principal and have brought optimism to the school. My days start at 6 a.m. and end at 6 p.m. It’s important that I make a connection with my students. I want to thank the students who inspire me, the parents who entrusted me with their children, and the staff, family and friends for their unwavering support for me.”
When it came time for the Board Members to vote for abolishing the job description of Human Resources Manager the Board was polled: Voting “Yes,” were M. Tejeda, K. Puccio, S. Lebreault, A. Bermudez, I. Varela, O. Gonzalez; Voting “No,” were D. Roman, W. Ortiz, M. Garcia. Motion passed to abolish job description.
When it came to the appointment of Edwin Nieves as Principal of the Richardson School, the votes were as follows: “Yes,” M. Tejeda, D. Roman, S. Lebreault, A. Bermudez, O. Gonzalez; Voting “No,” K. Puccio, W. Ortiz, M. Garcia; “Abstain,” was I. Varela. Motion passed.
When Nieves was appointed, there was a loud cheer and applause from his supporters. When coming up to the mic to speak, he told his present and former students to come down with him.
He said, “Coming to the Richardson School is like coming home. I look forward to working, learning and growing with Ms. Moffatt.” He thanked his family, community and the students.
Newly-elected Richardson School Principal Edwin Nieves stands with students who approve of his appointment.
Student and frequent BOE attendee Stephanie Rodriguez said, “As a former student of Mr. Nieves, he was the best teacher when he was in the Middle School and the best administrator in the High School. He knows how to connect with the little kids. I want to thank and congratulate Mr. Nieves on his new position at the Richardson School. He will help to make those students become good citizens.”
When the decision was made to abolish the HR job description, there was a stream of speakers who were not happy with this decision.
Parent Mel Knight said, “A 12 month provisional appointment could have been made for Ms. Marshall. It had to be personal. We should have let the new Superintendent pick their own HR person. The compliance for the new title was not needed until 2016. You (the Board) wasted our taxpayers dollars by abolishing the HR Manager Title. The State needs to take over our entire School Board if you can’t get your act together.”
Resident Sharon Hubberman said, “There can be a litigation of the abolishment of HR Manager job description.”
Bernice Marshall’s fiancée, Charles Simmons came up again to speak on the decision, “I am sick and disgusted by this decision tonight. At the last Meeting Bermudez and Puccio abstained (when voting on the abolishment of the HR Management title). But maybe somebody got into their pockets and the voted this time.”
He stated before speaking both times that he takes full responsibility for his comments. Addressing Board President Obi Gonzalez, he said, “You called Bernice and asked her to come to a meeting where you were going to discuss her job title. I want to thank the 3 Board Members who spoke out against abolishing the HR Manager title.”
Board Member Dianne Roman had also inquired about whether or not the HR job description could have waited to be abolished. “Could we have petitioned the State to wait on extensions of evaluations?”
Vice-Principal of the Richardson School Karen Moffatt *Photos by Carolyn Maxwell
Acting Superintendent Vivian Rodriguez answered, “There is a waiver process where we could ask for an extension.”
Board Member Milady Tejeda was adamant and said, “Let’s just vote.”
Superintendent Rodriguez said, “The new hiree of K-12 Director of Personnel and Evaluation (new title) will have the certification in place.”
Board Member William Ortiz said, “There will only be 2 Black Administrators. This vote is a fraud.” Ortiz also had commented, “Superintendant Rodriguez is making decisions above her ability.”
Board Attorney Gutierrez said, “The ethics charges brought by Caffrey against a Board Member (who is now on paid leave). has no bearing on the HR Manager Title being abolished. According to the Judge hearing this case, there is no probable cause for these charges. Ms. Marshall is neither a defendant or plaintiff in the ethics charge case.”
