Board extends Wasser’s pact
Superintendent granted
FRHSD contract
running through ’06
In a vote that split the members of the Freehold Regional High School District Board of Education, a majority of the panel has approved a contract extension for the superintendent of schools.
The board’s vote in the early morning hours of March 19 sparked comments of impropriety as to the timing of the action.
The new contract approved for James Wasser will run through June 2006.
"This board has always treated its employees from the superintendent on down, to any other employee, very fairly," Wasser said. "I think it’s a very fair contract."
Wasser said his concern is that the majority of the board made a commitment for him to lead the district in a positive direction, as he said it had been done in the past.
"It makes it easier for me as superintendent to deal with some of the issues, redistricting and the budget and other things that come up, whether it’s building another high school or (some) other crisis that has to be dealt with within the district," he said.
The superintendent said he rests on his past performance.
"The district has moved forward, and I think the majority of the board would say that," Wasser said. "I feel really good about our accomplishments."
Teresa Rafferty, public information coordinator for the district, said Wasser’s contract renewal follows a three-month evaluation process of the superintendent by the board. The board was assisted in the process by representatives of the New Jersey School Boards Association.
Rafferty said the process involved a review and assessment of district-wide goals, an analysis of executive leadership skills and a conference between board members and the superintendent.
Board President Patricia Horvath said, "The board wishes to ensure the continued leadership of Mr. Wasser in the district. There are several major issues facing our six high schools and Mr. Wasser’s experience, energy and familiarity with communities in our region are important factors in the board’s confidence in him."
The process of renewing Wasser’s contract took shape at the end of a meeting that began in the early evening hours of March 18 at Colts Neck High School. The board went into executive session at 11:15 p.m. after completing the items on the meeting’s agenda. Horvath said the board might take action after the executive session.
Bonnie Rosenwald, a Marlboro resident who is a candidate for the board in the April 16 school election, said, "In the dead of the night, at approximately 1:20 a.m., the board came out of executive session and (board member) Terry Kraft of Howell initiated a resolution to give the current superintendent a new contract.
"This was done without public knowledge of what was to happen this evening. It was not an agenda item," Rosenwald said. "By the board voting in this manner, it precluded the public from having any comment or input. This is a violation of the basic trust between the board members and the students, parents and taxpayers they are sworn to represent."
The board votes on a point system that grants more weight to the larger communities that make up the district.
Voting in favor of the contract extension were board members Arlene Radman of Colts Neck (0.9 points); Horvath, of Manalapan, (1.4 points); Diana Cappiello of Englishtown (0.5 points); Kraft, of Howell, (1 point); and Ronald Lawson of Howell (1 point); for a total of 4.8 points.
Voting against the contract extension were Dr. Steven Mishkin of Marlboro (1.4 points); Marlene Caruso of Freehold Township (1.4 points); and Bernice Hammer of Freehold Borough (0.9 points), for a total of 3.7 points.
Board member Colin Miller of Farmingdale (0.5 points) abstained from the vote.
Those who voted no gave reasons for their vote.
"The board took action that was not on the written agenda," Mishkin said. "This action, although reprehensible, is not illegal. (However) it eliminates any public participation in the process."
Mishkin said that had the item appeared on the agenda, the public would have been aware of the board’s intention and would have had the opportunity to comment during the evening’s two public participation sessions.
"This board appears to be returning to its old tricks of four and five years ago," said Mishkin, who announced after the meeting that he was dropping out of the April 16 election and would not seek a second term on the board.
Caruso said she did what she thought was best for the district and said she made it clear that she wanted the vote to be put off until the board’s next meeting.
"There are so many things I thought we should be taking care of," she said. "I thought it should have been done as part of the agenda. The late hour, I thought it was ill-timed."
Caruso said she was not prepared to vote on the matter that night.
"I would have preferred it to have been on the agenda for the (March 25) meeting," she said. "It’s all about perception. When you do things in the wee hours of the morning without notification it leads to suspicion and (people) think that’s wrong."
Caruso said the board is a public entity and should be working in public.
"I don’t think it’s unreasonable for people to expect that," she said. "But, we were given no choice. If you have a majority that wants to take action, you have to participate."
Hammer, who also voted no, said, "I felt the timing was terrible. The priorities of the board should have been the redistricting and the budget, and then we could have taken care of the superintendent’s contract after the budget was (voted) either up or down."
Hammer said she agreed with Mishkin that there was no advance warning to the public that action would be taken.
"I think it’s their money and they should know about it. I am still very cognizant of the fact that this is the taxpayers’ money," Hammer said. "We are responsible to the taxpayer and that is foremost in my mind all the time."
Also commenting on the contract voting procedure was resident John Jennings of Freehold Township, who said he stayed in the audience until the end of the March 18-19 meeting. Jennings has served on ad hoc committees for the board in the past and is currently serving on a panel in Freehold Township that is developing that community’s position on the FRHSD’s ongoing redistricting issue.
"This is not the way to conduct business or build trust in the Freehold District. I think everyone realizes how difficult the next few months will be for the future of the high school district, but no decision on this (superintendent’s contract) issue had to be made until the end of June," Jennings said. "The means of coming up with a resolution without the proper notice and discussion as a regular agenda item is in my opinion highly unethical."
The superintendent’s new contract calls for a salary of $148,000 in the first year of the new contract, 2001-02, and it is tied to a percentage based increase in subsequent years, according to Rafferty. That percentage is based on an agreement with the principals’ association.
Wasser said the rate for the following year is locked in at about $154,000.
"The rest of it is percentages which are equivalent to the other employee groups," said the superintendent. "It’s a five-year contract that goes to June 30, 2006."
Wasser said he has all the other benefits that were in the previous contract and the only thing (that is additional) is a small increase for separation of services.
Referring to the separation of services, he noted that there was a small increase in the number of sick days that would be paid for upon leaving the position and a few additional vacation days.
Wasser came to the district in 1987 and for two years served as the FRHSD coordinator for substance awareness programs. He became an assistant to the superintendent in 1989 and served in that position until January 1995, when he became the assistant superintendent for personnel. In February 1998, Wasser was named interim superintendent. He was named superintendent that year and has remained in that position to date.