MULLICA TOWNSHIP — School board members spoke out for the first time Friday night in support of Superintendent Brenda Harring-Marro, defending her leadership in the face of criticism by parents and teachers who don’t want her contract renewed.
Mullica Township Education Association President Barbara Rheault said communication between MTEA members and Harring-Marro had broken down to such an extent that the board must create a board/staff relations committee so teachers and staff can get the information they need.
“We cannot move forward with the education of children at this point,” Rheault said at the school board meeting.
Board Attorney Will Donio said the board would form the committee, which is required when requested under the union contract.
“In summary, complaints against the superintendent are factually
inaccurate,” board President Mia Jones said. “We may not agree on all
decisions, but we listen and reflect. ... There is no just cause to
justify firing Dr. Harring-Marro.”
Board member Bob
Stollenwerk, the only member of the nine-member board who did not vote
to certify tenure charges against Mascio in February, said the board
still needs to figure out how to win back the trust of the community.
“My concern is where is
the disconnect, and how to address the disconnect,” he said. “The data
says one thing, public perception says another. How to fix that is the
main issueEntire article at
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/education/mullica-school-board-defends-superintendent-in-face-of-criticism-from/article_2ca2fbfc-cd80-11e3-99bc-0019bb2963f4.html
24 comments:
Great Dog and Pony show - complete with Power Point and microphone so all could be heard. Shame it did't play to a packed house! One question -reasons were given for large numbers of retirements at a national and state level - what about the Mullica level? Were any past or upcoming retirees asked their reasons?
One has to wonder where all the Kelly Supporters were???? I guess their cause isn't worthy enough to give up a Friday night.
One has to wonder why the Board hastily changed their scheduled Tuesday,23rd, meeting to a Friday,25th,night. They were probably hoping people had preexisting commitments.
The teacher did not perform her job properly. It does not matter how well she is liked. Stop making excuses and hold employees accountable. Its bad enough we have to fund lifetime benefits for these positions. They could at least do there job properly
It's amazing that the BA made mention a few times about the increase of the cost of health benefits, yet she did not mention that the teachers' contributions will also be greater this year due to the 4 tier system. The new teachers, who by law were put on the 4th step will also be contributing more since it is based on a percentage of the premium cost.
One also may wonder where all the Brenda supporters were....oh wait that's just her family and four BOE members ... They were there!
This Board, like most such Boards, are comprised of incompetents who lack intellect, power, prestige and title. By being on such a body, these people feel important while fulfilling their deep seated need for some semblance of power in their lives. This Board, like most, don't even understand their most basic function. They don't realize that the superintendent works for them. They also don't want to know the truth. Did the board speak with Ms Mascio? Did the board speak to any, if not all of the retirees, to gain insight into our school workings? What better way then to conduct an exit interview. And when the board lays claim to be financial stewards of our school, it really is difficult to contain my laughter. This is the same board that backed the previous superintendent when he violated the MTEA contract by paying tenured teachers a low wage. If the board would have just paid these teachers the few hundred dollars more than what they received, the grievance would have gone away. But no, our board spent $20,000 of taxpayer money defending the indefensible acts of Goldberg. In the end, the teachers got their money, but not before our board wasted over $20,000 of our money. And now with their backing of Morrow, continues to cost us taxpayers in more than one way. First, the educational quality of our school is greatly degraded by the toxic environment created by Morrow. Second, when Mascio gets reinstated, she will get back pay. The long term sub has been getting paid also, not to mention the lawsuit that will be forthcoming from Mascio's lawyers. Third, because our school is now effectively trashed, our property values have plummeted. Morrow and Mazzoni's mishandling of this whole event has brought disgrace upon our community. What young family would possibly want to move to Mullica?
Another problem related to this whole mess - even the substitutes don't want to work in Mullica anymore! There have been days when there aren't enough to cover all of the needed positions. Heard first hand from one that she is embarrassed to say that she works in Mullica. Another thank you to the Marro/Mazzoni team. BTW - when does Mazzoni get his for falsifying a police report? Oh, that's right , he did - he gets to be Principal of the whole school - God help us everyone!
10:40 pm- I guess from your comments that you will be on the ballot in November???
To the 10:40 post. My opinion is the board is filled by very smart and competent people. It always seems that the one's who do the least for the township do the most complaining. The board members donate their time for free and seem to care about the opinion of all the township residents. Maybe you should run for the Board at the next election. It always seems they are looking for qualified candidates.
to 2:13pm
This incident has opened the community's eyes about the role of the school board. If this board does nothing to Marro and Mazzoni,they deserve to be replaced. There will never be a good atmosphere in the school as long as these two are in our school.
I find it incomprehensible that Mazzoni will be offered the principle job. He should be the one suspended or fired for the way he handled the Mascio case.
Just a couple of questions
Why did the police not question Mascio after the report was filed ?
What happens if the arbitrator agrees with the School Board ?
But he (Mazzoni)did what the Superintendent wanted him to ; that's why he is the Principal for PK-8th
Marro and Mazzoni are friends. They use to work together at a previous district - I believe Buena. When she got the job, she brought him over with her. They are thick as thieves - literally. They have robbed our teachers of a healthy work environment, robbed our children of the best education they can receive and have robbed us taxpayers of our tax dollars not to mention destroying our property values all at the same time. But the Board sees nothing wrong - with the exception of Stollenwerk. One board member with some semblance of brain activity. The others follow Marro like sheep. They are incompetent with their blinders on. They no doubt are subscribers to Fox News where facts are denied and ignored. God help us all!
2:13pm poster - The board is filled with smart and competent people? Huh? Are you suggesting that the Board does a lot for our township? Are you kidding? The Board has been complicit in bringing shame to our township. Mullica has become a laughingstock. The Board failed to do their job by keeping Marro in check by her incredibly poor decision to seek tenure charges against Mrs. Mascio. You must be married to one of those boneheaded board members. While you are at it, change the channel and stop watching Sean Hannity.
. Like I said the one's who do the least for the township complain the most. If you know so much run for the board on the next election. Also I'm not married to a board member, I just look at all the facts unlike all of those who have hopped on the MTEA bandwagon. I can tell you I would not be happy if my 5 year old was in that class and was not being properly watched and believe me there are plenty of people I've talked to that feel the same way. And do I watch Fox News , I sure do, maybe you ought to stop watching MSNBC and watch some grown up news
Again, Gadfly stop the name calling. The people on the Board who donate their time deserve better. I would hope you censor those posts that continue to do that
The trachers union wanted a weak, compliant board for years. They got one now. Little did they realize that their "sword" would have a double edge.
MTEA never wanted a compliant board. They wanted a fair board that listened to the public and the staff.
“We cannot move forward with the education of children at this point,” Rheault said.
why is no one commenting on this? The teachers are just going to stop teaching b/c they don't like their boss!!!! That's ridiculous!
Lots of people don't like their boss, yet they still manage to do their jobs!
3:02pm,Rheault's statement was made because the teachers and staff are not getting the information they need from the administration. A special committee has to be formed as a go-between teachers and Marro because of the break down in communication.
Hey maybe it's the communicator, Barb Rheault should resign as MTEA president and let a more reasonable person have the post!
Rheaut's comment sounds like a threat to me.
The arbiter will give each a little of what they want. Kelly will have to watch her back forever as they will try for retribution until she leaves or retires. Mazzoni will control the next administrator as they will be a vice principal
Egg harbor city reduced their administration staff when their Superintendent retired, they combined the Superintendent with the Principal. Their enrollment is almost identical to ours. We have increased our admin budget. We pay almost one million annually for Administators salaries and benefits they voted themselves a large increase. 4%.
The teachers don't get the GreenBank stipend that The Superintendent and Mazzoni get
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