The Scales of Justice

The citizens of Plainfield must not allow the recent decision by the board of education members to terminate the contracts of L. Kelly and L. Borge to supplant the quest for truth. Regardless of the tactics Gallon may utilize at this particular juncture, any attempts to derail the will of the people will be met with unending resolve. The CSA touts himself as an educational leader when in fact he is a pompous bully intent on developing his vitae at the expense of the students. Unsubstantiated rumor permeates the school district and the looming legal action, questions the motives of the CSA who through his actions denigrates the Plainfield Public School system, its students, parents, administrators, teachers, and community members. Dave Matthau of 101.5 reported that Governor Christie has, “ instructed Commissioner Schundler to look at what options he has as Commissioner of Education- to take disciplinary action against the Superintendent - and to work in conjunction with the board of education there- to get to the bottom of why he thought he could possibly get away with something like that - and whether or not that now gives us a window into the judgment of the person they hired for Superintendent." 

At a recent forum, hosted by the Plainfield League of Women Voters the bizarre analysis of the current state of educational affairs offered by the incumbents was quite unnerving. Martin Coxs’ ridiculous suggestion of providing space to charter schools causes one to question his knowledge of the serious implications of offering space to the very schools that are directly competing for the students of Plainfield. We cannot discount the fact that the people who are opening these charter schools are not residents of the city. They are no different from the individuals we hired from Miami; they have no stake in what truly happens it is a financial opportunity, no more no less. Inquiring minds want to know if Cox’s pronouncement reveals a nefarious element. Is there something amiss Mr. Cox? Consider that this man has been a lifelong board member and has made countless imbecilic decisions. He is an absolute embarrassment and must be removed. The actions of Mr. Estevez, have mirrored the unconscionable decisions of his "partner in crime" Mr. Cox. Estevez has been an abysmal member and under no terms should he return to the board. Honestly, where has he  (Estevez) been the past two years?  Mark Spivey attended the forum and reported, "the forum suggested that the election could determine whether Gallon keeps his job. All 14 candidates during the forum were asked to list three of their top priorities if voted into office, and nine of them … Abdul-Haqq, Burgwinkle, Callands, Campbell, Edwards, Fletcher, Hernandez, Pile and Riley … said they would seek to terminate the superintendent immediately, consider replacing him or take a careful look at his contract." 

The time has come for our community to demand removal of the superintendent and scrutinize his pending proposals and attempts to restructure the school system. His apparent rambunctious appointment of a former principal of one of the local charter schools is an example of his inability to provide fiduciary management of public funds. The salary of $127,000.00 is horrendous when you factor in that there are current administrators who could have filled that position easily and without adding additional personnel to the payroll. Gallon refused to interview any district candidates even though there are many individuals in district who are more than qualified. It is also quite ironic when one considers that while Gallon arrogantly refused to adhere to state statute and code he hired personnel lacking the requisite certification. I might add, that the recently hired principal of an elementary school, was mentioned as possibly being involved with changing test scores when the Trenton Public School System employed him. The fact that he did not earn tenure in Trenton Public Schools, another struggling school district is an indication "where there is smoke there is fire." 

Doris Williams is being paid approximately $50,000.00 per year to do what? Just what is her job and why did the board approve the superintendent’s request that she be enticed out of retirement? This is not personal but truly reflects a lack of fidelity managing state funds when you consider there are many administrators working in the district who could do whatever she does or does not do.  However, what is most disheartening is that the damage inflicted upon our school district because of the irresponsible actions of the board of education members and the superintendent of schools will take years to reconstruct.  To provide the types of schools our children deserve we must remain undaunted in our resolve demanding the immediate removal of Steve Gallon and Angela Kemp without equivocation.