Interim Superintendent Faces Criticism Over Appearance on MSNBC Show

Fort Lee’s Interim Superintendent of Schools Monday thanked administrators, teachers, buildings and grounds personnel and even students for their role in making the from the high school gymnasium on March 2 a “terrific event.” But not everyone in attendance at the ’s regular business meeting viewed it as such, questioning Steven Engravalle on some of the comments he made on the show.

Engravalle said the response he received after the live broadcast was “very positive,” and he called the show “a first-rate showcase for our students and for our school district.”

“[The program] really showcased all the great things happening in our schools, and we’re very, very proud of that,” Engravalle said. “We had three current, sitting governors. If you include Howard Dean, we had a fourth governor here and many national figures.”

However Fort Lee resident David Sarnoff took issue with, among other things, an article in The Record that referred to Engravalle’s signature Superman socks as “a reference to ‘Waiting for Superman,’ a pro-charter, anti-union documentary that featured [Michelle] Rhee,” who also was a guest on the show.

“When I read this, it just struck me more than anything else that I heard from the show,” Sarnoff said. “I do not believe a charter school is beneficial to the school district in Fort Lee.”

Sarnoff added, “Personally, I would want the leader of my district to be an incredibly strong advocate for district public schools.”

He went on to ask Engravalle to clarify his position “with respect to supporting charter schools.”

“That was not a discussion that was had with me,” Engravalle said of The Record’s take on his socks. “That was something that was written by a member of the press.”

Fort Lee resident Nancy Stern also raised concerns about the school board’s position on charter schools, saying she brought up the question last summer, and then again in the fall. Stern also referred to a recent article in The Record about the Englewood School District’s budget woes that said the district was “asked to set aside $785,000” for a Hebrew-immersion charter school it plans to open in the fall.

“That is having a tremendous impact on their budget,” Stern said. “I don’t understand why the Fort Lee board has not addressed it.”

She added that the board should consider passing a resolution opposing charter schools as other districts have done.

Engravalle said however that he doesn’t in fact support charter schools.

“They don’t really fix the problem,” he said. “As we saw for years, the discussion was always, throw more money, throw more money, throw more money. Time and time again, we’ve realized that money is not the issue.”

But he also said there are “certain things” he does believe in “when it comes to education reform.”

“I do believe the tenure structure as it exists right now needs some serious reform and consideration because we need to make sure that every classroom has the most effective teacher,” Engravalle said by way of example.

School board president Arthur Levine was even more adamant in his opposition to charter schools.

“I don’t know if anybody who serves on the board could support charter schools,” Levine said. “I am personally dead-set against [them]. They would add nothing to our district; take away our valuable resources that we need for our children. I think they have no place in the town of Fort Lee.”

But criticism of the Morning Joe broadcast didn’t end with charter schools or socks.

Resident Diane Sicheri asked how many Fort Lee parents or taxpayers were there, how many people were in the audience, how they were chosen and why there wasn’t more advance notice.

“As far as attendance, we weren’t in control of that, so I don’t know off the top of my head how many folks were invited,” Engravalle said. “That was done through the governor’s office and the MSNBC team. There were some [parents]. There were over 30 students in our district. We had several teachers who asked to come; they were welcomed as well. We did have a strong showing here.”

Fort Lee resident Paula Colbath urged the board to make sure that the next time Engravalle makes such a high profile, public appearance “he make a statement, like many professionals do, that they’re speaking on behalf of themselves that represent their own views, and that those are not the views of the district.”

Another harsh critic at Monday’s BOE meeting was Fort Lee Education Association [FLEA] treasurer Howard Lipoff, who said in part, “No members of the union that represents most of the school employees in Fort Lee and around the state were included in the show.”

“While members of the [FLEA] have become accustomed to the governor’s insults and distortions, as well as the bias of the corporate media, we were surprised and disappointed by the comments made by the interim superintendent of Fort Lee Schools,” Lipoff said.