Hundreds of North Shore residents attended the scheduled open meeting of the board of education on Monday, Oct. 5 at North Shore High School. Twice a year the district schedules open town meetings in which the community can ask questions of the board on any subject pertaining to North Shore School. Last night's meeting, scheduled so soon after the announcement by the board not to renew the superintendent's contract, was devoted almost exclusively to that issue.

The meeting began with a statement read by the vice president of the school board, Julia Brennan. She expressed anger and frustration at the statement made by President Montesano at the Oct. 29 meeting which she felt was full of Úquot;inaccuracies and falsehoods.Úquot; After unanimously appointing Dr. Root as superintendent two and a half years ago, no charges of mismanagement have been made against him in any substantive manner by the board of education. Trustee Montesano's assertion that the Úquot;new faceÚquot; of the board was in some way a mandate for a change in superintendent would mean that this district would change superintendents every other year when board members change.

Trustee Brennan stated that the president's use of a report written by the brand new administrator for special education after only 90 days on the job was unfair and unwarranted. She has seen no pattern of poor hiring practices despite Montesano's claim of Úquot;doctored resumes.Úquot; The accusation that the size of the school budget is the superintendent's responsibility is inaccurate since the board of education ultimately accepts or rejects every budget.

Trustee Brennan then praised Dr. Root's leadership throughout the $30 million building project at North Shore and for his work in greatly improving state test scores for 4th and 8th graders. She commended his focus on technology and believes that North Shore has made Úquot;steady gains under his leadership.Úquot; An overwhelming majority of the audience then gave her statements a standing ovation.

The public spoke at two microphones set up in the auditorium of the high school. Resident Peter Vollmer accused Trustee Pombar of not living up to his campaign promise in which he said that he would Úquot;stay in touch with the community.Úquot; He believes that the embarrassment of this vote of non-renewal will Úquot;cost more in lost home equity than any tax savings the board could make.Úquot;

Trustee Pombar then gave his reasons for his vote at the October 9 meeting. He Úquot;worries about the childrenÚquot; and thinks the district needs a new direction. He wants a superintendent to hold the staff more accountable and to measure outcomes in a more demanding way. He suggested that building principals had been left to Úquot;do as they pleased.Úquot; He feels the current administration needs to be more efficient in making the yearly budget and that Dr. Root is not a strong enough Úquot;managerÚquot; when dealing with staff, at which point resident Beth LeBlang reminded the board that Dr. Root was hired as an educator and not a manager.

Trustee Montesano then described his reasons for his vote of non-renewal. He feels that the budget is prepared by the administration and they are the only ones who know where cuts can be made. Although the board has the power to reject the budget presented by the superintendent, he believes that the superintendent should be doing more review of the numbers before it is presented. He feels there have been irresponsible hiring practices based on what he termed Úquot;retyped and edited resumes.Úquot; He believes that a full disclosure of candidate's backgrounds are not forthcoming. He also sees a duplication of services in the Special Education Department and incomplete and untimely reports as costly to the district.

Terry Manzione, president of SEPTA (Special Education Parent Teacher Association) stated that the board was Úquot;miscommunicatingÚquot; facts to the public. Having just met with Special Ed Administrator Dr. Jay Silverstein, Ms. Manzione was told that special ed services had not grown 80 percent as stated by Trustee Pombar, but was increasing only 1 percent this year. In addition, there were only a Úquot;handfulÚquot; of litigation cases pending for the 380 students classified as special ed in this district which was average for a district of this size. Ms. Manzione hoped that in their desire to cut costs, the board would not cut services as indicated in a letter recently sent home by Dr. Silverstein. She reiterated that special ed should not be used as a Úquot;scapecoatÚquot; in board of ed disagreements.

Speaker after speaker asked the board to clarify its need to Úquot;change direction.Úquot; Many asked for more specific failures of Dr. Root that would warrant this action. No one seemed to agree that the list of complaints listed so far would justify the removal of the superintendent. Many residents questioned the ability of the board to carry out a successful search in a district where the senior administration seemed so little respected.

The residents who spoke at the meeting also continued to question the way in which the vote not to renew had been taken. The use of executive session by the board for this important vote came into question. The issue of proper notification to the public and the lack of public participation at the Oct. 9 meeting were brought up again and again by community members.

Trustee Palermo finally described her actions at the Oct. 9 meeting. Because Dr. Root is entitled by law to an eight-month notice if his contract is not renewed, a motion was made and seconded on Oct. 9 to vote on a three-year renewal. The vote was five to two against the renewal with Ms. Palermo voting no. A no vote then eliminates the possibility of an additional year added to the superintendent's contract allowing for an easier transitional period during which a search is begun. However, Trustee Palermo believed that there would still be the possibility of other options even after the vote against renewal. When no such options seemed possible she consulted legal council on ways to reverse the decision. At the Oct. 9 meeting, Trustee Palermo made a motion to revote. The vote at this meeting was four to three not to renew. When asked for her reasons for voting against a three-year contract, Trustee Palermo cited the lack of action by the administration on issues of safety, transportation, staff behavior, and non-resident students attending North Shore.

The meeting went on for five hours of comments and questions to the board. Since it was not a traditional board meeting, no motion could be made and no action on any matter was taken. The board has called a special meeting at which they will discuss the superintendent's contract for Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. in the high school. The community is urged to attend.