It only took a week to receive a reply from Montclair BOE regarding the temporary employment arrangement of interim high school principal Judith Weiss, and their search for a new principal. The headline is in the headline: free airfare is not one of Weiss’s perks. Following is the BOE statement:
Dr. Judith Weiss was hired as an Interim Principal at Montclair High School this past summer. Her original contract was to end on December 30. However, in response to her outstanding performance in the first part of the year along with the high marks she received from staff and parents, the Board invited her to stay on in her position until June 2009.
In agreeing to the new extended contract, Dr. Weiss has had to make a number of personal and professional arrangements regarding previous commitments. She will work a reduced schedule for the next several weeks, after which she will return to full-time duty as contracted. This will not in any way impact her ability to fulfill her obligations. As a side note, the district is not reimbursing her for airfare as alleged in several comments on the web.
Dr. Weiss’s service to the staff and students at Montclair High is highly valued, and the Board is appreciative that she is willing to finish the school year with our students and staff.
Over the next several months, the Board and Superintendent will continue to seek the best possible candidate for the permanent position of Principal, a process that has been ongoing throughout the fall. Qualified candidates are currently being vetted. A panel of community members and district staff will be assembled to assist the interview process.
We asked when Dr. Weiss would be returning to her position full-time, and if any salary adjustments were made for the period she is in Florida. We could not get a definite answer – maybe next week.
Not quite on topic – but who can I complain to about a school bus idling for 20 minutes every morning outside my house? Montclair….burning our tax dollars.
Get the bus company name and the bus number from the side of the bus and then call Len Romano at the transportation office. I believe the idling is illegal–it definitely is if it’s outside the school building. In any case, you can point your finger at the driver or company for this one, not Montclair.
But is it true that Alvarez and Dana Sullivan have already lined up nice raises? I can’t believe it could possibly be the case. Just wondering.
Good lord, what stilted verbiage from the alleged board of ed. I wish the world contained a higher proportion of people with some appreciation for language. Especially the ones charged with allegedly educating my children.
At the risk of stating yet one more thing that walleroo disagrees with, the BOE is not “cahrged with educating” your children. Or anyone else’s children, for that matter.
Educators — teachers, administrators, etc. have that task.
BOE members are drawn from the community. In most cases they are elected (that they are not in Montclair is a travesty).
But their role is one of oversight — especially in the area of finances. They are not educators.
A basic grasp of the facts would serve you better in your forays into these matters (he said carefully. and vaguely).
mad dog: call the transportation office, at the BOE, to report the bus. Look on the windshield or the window to the left of the folding doors for a sheet of paper that will have an animal with a color (blue frog) as an identifier.
Most interim positions are per diem, so her reduced work week (assuming the reduced hours involves fewer days, rather than fewer hours per day, which I believe is the case) does not affect how they pay her. She works a day, she gets paid, she doesn’t work a day, she doesn’t.
Dr. Weiss is a personal friend of mine, and I adore her. Also, my stepsister attended Columbia HS when Dr. Weiss was there, and she had only good things to say about her too. School administrators are easy to find, but good school administrators are rarities.
IS this position per diem?
Who meets with the parents when Weiss is in Florida? Are the interests of the kids being served?
ditto that hiding. This taxpayer wants to know exacyly that, airfare and qualifications notwithstanding. I thought that was the whole point.
Great, we’ve got the story back for a weekend thread.
To recap the weekday thread – outrage:
-mostly at the district administration perceived as bloated and ineffective.
-and spending on 6 principals in the HS. (sorry, redundant: too many principals –> bloated and ineffective.)
-somewhat at Weiss’s draconian attendance policies.
Myself, I’m wondering if she’s really interim or if Alverez is doing a temp-to-perm hire.
“She will work a reduced schedule for the next several weeks, after which she will return to full-time duty as contracted. This will not in any way impact her ability to fulfill her obligations.”
BS An absent principal?
Isn’t tonight the BOE meeting? Can’t find the time/date on the website.
On a Saturday?
“The next meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, February 2, 2009and will open at 6:30 p.m. in public but will go immediately into executive session. The meeting will reconvene in public at approximately 7:30 p.m. in the Atrium of the George Innes Annex, 141 Park Street.”
I think they are trying to make Dr. Weiss a perm position, and bypass the hiring process. The Super promised a group of parents and community members to help with the search, but that group has not been assembled yet. And what is with that new attendance policy. It seems crazy. I see kids running, at break neck speeds to get into the building before the late bell rings; don’t want to get detention. This is all too much for me to understand. If Dr. Weiss is not around each day of the week, then am I to believe that the ones in charge are the very ones that no body at central office believes is capable of running the show. They are not capable to run the school on an interim basis, but they are capable to run the school when the capable administrator is away. That is crazy.
Leadership is about setting examples. What example is Dr Weiss setting with her attendance? Apparently the process set in place to enforce the attendance policy also needs to be reviewed. If the policy is going to be enforced strictly a system should be setup where parents & students are advised of the accumulated absences before action is taken. The appeal my daughter attended last week was absurd. A mistake and she had to defend herself in front of several adults? And I was advised of the time and date with 4 hours notice? And I e-mailed several administrators at both the HS & BOE offices and no one had time to reply?
You would think there would have been a BOE press release announcing the decision to keep Dr. Weiss on for the remainder of the year-(“We are pleased to announce that Dr. Weiss will be the MHS principal for the rest of the year and will be well-rested the three days-a-week she works there…)”
It’s a significant decision for the district and yet most people found out about it from Dr. Weiss’ own email to the MHS staff. The situation is certainly not Dr. Weiss’ fault-I hear mostly very postive things about what she has done here. However, this is yet another example in a long line of examples (baseball field, asbestos-gate, etc.) of the lack of communication, transparency and leadership in the current school administration. No wonder people are asking whether the BOE is paying the airfare from Florida-given the track record you would expect them to be doing so.
I have heard of several very active school parents talking about stopping volunteering efforts and donations to MFEE, PTA’s etc. until there is a change. That’s a tough thing to do, but maybe that’s the only way to push for a change that is sorely needed and long overdue.
Kids should get to school early. Punctuality is important. That said, it seems strange that the principal has such a flexible attendance arrangement while the kids don’t. Kids nowadays don’t buy double standards as easily as we did.
On a slightly related tangent: I’ve gotten unconfirmed word that one of the district’s network administrators telecommutes…from Colorado.
On a slightly related tangent: I’ve gotten unconfirmed word that one of the district’s network administrators telecommutes…from Colorado.
hawkmtc….a network administrator who telecommutes is proabaly much cheaper than a resident alien in NJ.
“this is yet another example in a long line of examples (baseball field, asbestos-gate, etc.) of the lack of communication…”
I agree 100%, Chris. Just curious if anyone knows whether part of Felice Harrison’s job description as Director of the newly created Office of School and Community Relations includes communicating with the community?
The next meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, February 2, 2009and will open at 6:30 p.m. in public but will go immediately into executive session. The meeting will reconvene in public at approximately 7:30 p.m. in the Atrium of the George Innes Annex, 141 Park Street.
What the heck does this mean? Should the public show up at 7:30? or 6:30?
The next meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, February 2, 2009and will open at 6:30 p.m. in public but will go immediately into executive session. The meeting will reconvene in public at approximately 7:30 p.m. in the Atrium of the George Innes Annex, 141 Park Street.
What the heck does this mean? Should the public show up at 7:30? or 6:30?
There are certain portions of public meetings that are not required to be, well, public.
These are Executive Session meetings.
The Board, or the Council when it goes into Executive Session, must make an announcement saying they are going into Executive Session and must give a reasonably detailed explanation of what they will be discussing. Minutes of that meeting must be kept, and there must be an announcement saying WHEN those minutes will be released. There is certain information that can be kept confidential longer, though.
NO VOTES can take place during an Executive Session. Discussions can be held, but the group must COME OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION and then hold a vote in public.
What do they discuss in Executive Session? Personnel issues, negotiations that are ongoing regarding contracts, etc.
There is a tendency to give very vague statements about why groups go into Executive Session, across the State. It’s an area of lots of lawsuits. Similarly, much of what goes on in Executive Sessions, speaking generally, really shouldn’t be held in Executive Session.
This is not to say in ANY WAY that our BOE abuses the process. I don’t believe they do.
Anyway, bottom line is the BOE sets aside an hour to discuss these issues, and you may as well not attend the meeting since they will go off to another room to go into Executive Session or otherwise provide for their privacy.
Go at 7:30PM.
Cary Africk
2nd Ward Councilor