The Alternative Press

HAMPTON TOWNSHIP, NJ – A group of teachers from the Marian E. McKeown School attended the board of education meeting on Wednesday, July 25, in support of a teacher who was the subject of a board hearing, but none spoke out.

Because the matter was a personnel issue, the board held an executive session with the teacher and her New Jersey Education Association representative. As they adjourned into executive session, President Joseph Santora said the board may or may not deliver a finding at the end of the session, and assured the public they would have another opportunity for comment. The first public comment session was at the beginning of the meeting.

Santora asked for public comment after the executive session, but none was forthcoming and the board went back into another executive session. Santora said the board would not take action once it came back into public session. He said a written report on the hearing would be issued within 10 days, as is required by law. 

The NJEA representative characterized the situation as a matter of a teacher being too nice and “putting up with things for too long.” “It shouldn’t have come to this,” he said.

The rest of the meeting was devoted to routine matters, the most important of which was a decision by the board to advertise for a new board secretary/buisness administrator.

Business Administrator Kerry Keane left the district at the end of the school year for a similar job in West Caldwell.

Her replacement for now is Interim Business Administrator Peter Pearson. His contract is scheduled to end on Dec. 30, or at the point when a permanent administrator is hired.

The board authorized Chief School Administrator Everett Burns to advertise for a permanent Business Administrator. He pointed out, assuming the board finds a suitable candidate, an offer can be made in September or October. Assuming the candidate has to give another school district 60 days notice, he or she could start by Dec. 30, Burns said.

Burns will update the board on the status of applications for the position at the August board meeting, he said.

The remainder of the board’s agenda was covered in less than a half hour, so the hearing, scheduled for 8:30, was held more than 15 minutes early.