HOLMDEL — Relations between the teachers union and school superintendent have been improving, but there are still some problems.
"Dr. [Leigh] Byron and I have had more personal contact since March, but he may not really be getting the message," said Holmdel Township Education Association (HTEA) President Doug Sanecki on Monday.
At the March 14 Board of Education meeting, the HTEA announced that its approximately 300 members had unanimously voted no confidence in Byron, who joined the district last summer.
Sanecki said he has met directly on a weekly basis with Byron since March and that communications have been much better than before the March no confidence vote.
But, he said, "The professional staff still feels abused and under-appreciated."
Sanecki said that in March, the board said the HTEA could take its concerns to the District Instructional Council, but in June, Byron said he would no longer sit on the council and appointed Assistant Superintendent Maureen Lally to take his place.
"It is another example of why he’s not getting it," Sanecki added.
"The reasons that the sanctions have to remain in place is that this is very insulting to the staff. The superintendent has always been on the council. Why does he feel that he does not have to be there?" said Sanecki.
Byron said Monday that Lally meets regularly with the administrators and is the perfect choice for that job.
Byron decided not to sit on the council, because much of the discussion does not require his presence, he said.
"Many of the matters discussed at these meetings, such as room temperatures, quantity of available substitute teachers, copy machine repair records and snow chain telephone calls for inclement weather days do not require monthly meetings with the superintendent and taking teachers out of classes as well," he said. "These matters are best addressed with the appropriate administrators."
Sanecki said the council is used to discuss and solve educational and instructional problems and that it is a forum to discuss educational philosophy and day-to-day issues. However, Byron said that at the meetings this past year, philosophies and theories of student activities were not discussed.
"We certainly would like to see a better start and finish than last year, and that the board and superintendent hopefully realize that we are all shareholders in this district," Sanecki said. "We want to move forward. The only way to do that is to communicate."