At Tuesday’s Hoboken Board of Education meeting, a few parents accused district schools of mishandling bullying situations. Interim Superintendent Peter Carter said that unresponsive principals would be “in trouble,” and promised that remedies would be forthcoming.
But on Wednesday, Carter said that two of the three situations in question predated his tenure, and they will not be further addressed. He said “further investigation” is needed on a third accusation.
“I’m not diplomatic.” – Peter Carter
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Bully bully
Hoboken mayoral candidate Patricia Waiters spoke at the meeting on behalf of another parent whose child, Waiters said, had been harassed at Hoboken High School. She said complaints had been “avoided” by school officials.
Furthermore, she said, the child had been transferred to Demarest High School from Hoboken High without parental consent – and the bullying continued.
Carter told Waiters that the parent, who spoke for herself later in the meeting, deserved an acceptable resolution and, if the building principal did not provide it, “that principal will be in trouble.”
One district principal told the Reporter after the meeting that Carter isn’t gaining any trust in the district by taking parental accusations at face value without speaking with his staff.
The principal said that not all situations can be addressed at a level acceptable to particular parents, and that some parents may embellish situations to put their child in the best light.
But more than one mother complained about harassment. Another mother said her son was “intimidated, harassed, and threatened” at Hoboken High. She said that bullies told her son, “The last you’ll be seen is in a body bag.”
She also claimed that the bullies live in other towns even though they attend Hoboken High.
Carter said in response, “I am so embarrassed…we will not learn in an atmosphere of fear.”
Dr. Lorraine Cella, prinicipal of Hoboken High, told the Reporter as she left the meeting, “Everything has been addressed, every situation, 100 percent.”
Thomas Fitzgibbons, principal at Demarest High, was swept out of the meeting by Assistant Superintendent Walter Rusak and could not be reached for comment. Demarest High is an alternative high school for Hoboken High.
On Thursday, Carter said two of the three bullying cases were not on his watch and would not be addressed.
“What happened in the past, happened in the past,” he said in an interview.
As far as publically accepting statements made by parents before talking to his staff, he said, “I’m not diplomatic.”
Fixing the district
Also at the meeting, Carter hinted that he had found some personnel or management problems within the district, but did not elaborate.
He said, “We found operational conditions here which need to be repaired, some with plaster, some with paint, some with a sledgehammer, but most with just the right screwdriver.”
On Wednesday, Carter still declined to elaborate. “I always have respect for my predecessor…[but] we found some things,” he said.
Former Superintendent Jack Raslowsky left the district this summer to run Xavier High School in Manhattan.
At the meeting, the board voted unanimously on the agenda that included some staff resignations and other items. The board generally fractures when pressed on these issues and Carter said it takes a lot of communication behind the scenes for everyone to be on the same page at the meeting.
“A lot of work went into that,” he said on Wednesday.
A school official did admit that one or two of the five resignations may be attributable to Carter’s alleged penchant for micromanaging staff.
Superintendent search
As an interim superintendent, Carter can only serve the district for one year. The board is already beginning their search for the next chief of schools.
They have already entered into an agreement with the New Jersey School Boards Association for the group to lead the search at a cost of $6,500.
A NJSBA representative worked with the board on defining their search and creating an ad to run in the Star-Ledger newspaper.
Board member Maureen Sullivan recommended also running the ad in the New York Times, but since the cost was almost threefold, the only split vote of the night was decided by Board President Rose Markle. She voted to not advertise in the Grey Lady, siding with minority board members and voting against her own five-member majority.
Timothy J. Carroll may be reached at tcarroll@hudsonreporter.com.