Schools

BOE Takes Public Comment on Role of Acting Superintendent

The special public meeting Tuesday held little of the drama that characterized the regular meeting in late September that precipitated it

The Fort Lee Board of Education took public comment for about 45 minutes Tuesday on the role of “Acting” or “Interim” Superintendent at a special meeting at .

The meeting was called after the board tabled a resolution that would have appointed Assistant Superintendent Steven Engravalle “Acting” Superintendent when Raymond Bandlow leaves the post on Oct. 31 at its last regular business meeting on Sept. 26 because of public outcry questioning Engravalle’s suitability for the role.

“I know there were a lot of concerns that the board was making decisions without listening to the community, and it is for this reason that I asked the president to set up a meeting where we could be listening to the community,” said board member John Bang. “The purpose of this meeting may be for us to find out what your opinion is and not say what our opinion is yet because, to be really fair, we shouldn’t form our opinion before we find out what your opinion is … The board members need to take notes and then deliberate upon them before we make any decisions on our own.”

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The board limited speakers to three minutes each Tuesday, telling them they could speak only once.

Ada Garcia was the first to speak, choosing to use her time to read a statement on behalf of Paula Colbath, who first raised the concerns about Engravalle’s past and what she saw as his lack of experience to running a disctrict the size of Fort Lee's. Garcia noted that Colbath could not be at the meeting Tuesday because of a prior “professional commitment.”

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Colbath said in her statement that the appointment of Engravalle was tantamount to naming him as a permanent replacement for Bandlow.

“The normal time period to find a superintendent, including screening and selection, is a minimum three to six months process, sometimes up to a year,” Colbath said. “As I understand the rules, this board is not permitted to enter into a contract with a new superintendent that would take effect after next April’s elections. Therefore, given the time timetable to identify and decide on a candidate, this board effectively cannot offer the permanent position to someone until after April. [Also], we have to consider that most superintendent contracts these days require superintendents to give 90 to 120 days notice before they can leave a district. Thus, if you find a candidate, say in May of 2012, and that candidate is [bound by] a notice period, he or she cannot even start in the district until next September.”

Calling the appointment of a superintendent “one of the most important decisions that this board will make,” Colbath asked whether the board considered or reviewed any of candidates on the New Jersey School Board’s list of available interim superintendents.

Board attorney Matthew Giacobbe explained the difference between an “acting” and an “interim” superintendent and the New Jersey School Board’s “list of qualified candidates,” saying that the purpose of appointing one or the other is so the board can continue its business as usual while engaged in the process of selecting a permanent superintendent.

“New Jersey School Boards has a list of approved, retired superintendents that you can select as an interim superintendent from that list, and that’s all mandated by statute in terms of what they can get paid; it’s got to be approved by the county executive,” Giacobbe said. “You’d think there’d be dozens of them, but I think there’s probably 20 or 25 approved interim superintendents throughout the state of New Jersey right now.”

He added that if the board decides to go with an interim superintendent from the list, that person can serve for up to two years.

“It could be months, and often it is months, but the most they can serve is two years,” Giacobbe said. “If they’re considering Mr. Engravalle, he has a one-year employment contract. His contract expires at the end of June 30, 2012. That’s all it’s been approved for through the county executive so that’s the longest it could be. But generally what happens is that the interim or acting is really just a stopgap measure while the board engages in the process of selecting a permanent superintendent.”

Next up Tuesday was Nina Levinson, who used her time to read a list of attributes she would like to see in an interim or acting superintendent, including fiscal responsibility, leadership, “leading by example, not by bullying or intimidation,” experience, vision and ingenuity and an ability to steer clear of lawsuits.

"He or she will recommend how our tax dollars are spent and therefore should be experienced with Fort Lee's sized budgets and be able to responsibly handle expenditures presented for board approval," Levinson said. "The candidate should have experience running a large school system such as ours, including experience in all levels, pre-K through 12, including special education."

Board president Arthur Levine gave Garcia the opportunity to speak on behalf of herself to end the meeting as well.

She said, “Everyone in this room wants the superintendent and school board to succeed.”

“No one has said that Mr. Engravalle should not be appointed as Acting Superintendent,” Garcia said. “What I wanted, what other people wanted, was a process, was a search to be done—not just giving something to someone because he is next in command.”

Garcia added that she didn’t think that “everybody in this room can say that they will give over the keys to their business to someone who filed for personal bankruptcy; it does affect his job.”

In between, however, several members of the public spoke in direct support of Engravalle, and their statements were often followed by applause.

“This is a matter of process,” said Doug Sugerman. “In any corporate structure, educational structure, government structure, when a head administrator leaves, the second in command takes over.”

Alyssa Kleinfeld called what Engravalle has done for Fort Lee High School “unbelievable,” noting his work with the Freshman Academy.

“We have great spirit; the kids are happy,” Kleinfeld said. “If you put in someone else right now, we’re back to square one—what took two years to clean up. I can’t say enough good things about Mr. Engravalle.”

Paul Umrichin also made it clear from his opening remarks that he stood firmly in Engravalle’s corner, and pointed out that Engravalle has a lot of incentive to excel in the role, especially if his ultimate aim is to assume the role permanently.

“I’m in favor of trial by fire,” Umrichin said. “He’s actually given an opportunity here where he can prove to Fort Lee—in the time he’s been here he’s picked up enough knowledge to lead us forward. If anybody is in a position to want to work harder as our Acting Superintendent, it’s that man right there.”

Tracy Mattei, another staunch supporter of Engravalle, pointed out that "we have 13 days," referring to the fact that Bandlow will be assuming his new duties as Superintendent in Beacon, N.Y. on Nov. 1.

"I don't see the purpose of [this meeting]," Mattei said. "Because of the 13 days, unless you hire an interim from that list at $1,000 a day, [Engravalle] is it. He's an excellent communicator ... Professionally, his reputation is pristine. He's brought us international and national recognition through the Dr. Drew show. He's the chairman of technology for the state. I really don't think there should be a question about his qualifications to run this district."

After everyone who wanted to speak had the opportunity to do so, the board went into private session to “discuss personnel.” No action was taken at the meeting, and Levine told the dozens of people gathered for the meeting that the board would not return from the private session.


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