Mr. Englert was not even at attendance at the meeting. So how he can make these conclusion without seeing the events in quesiton? I stand by what I said in this post it was an ugly power grab as part of divided board and this does not bode well for good school governance. I find it odd the officer elections for year have been a 5-0 votes with not debate untill 2013 and it was Ms. Mordaci's turn. I find in odd that no one served two terms in a row a BOE president for at least a decade and now Ms. Casalin is leading for two terms. Let call things as they are politcal pay back and a power grab. The 4-1 votes were she was the one oposed vote resulted in pay back. So the message is if a BOE member votes as he or she thinks is right it will cause political pay back.

Mr. Kraemer:

One need not be in attendance at a particular meeting to fully understand the dyamics at play and nothing espressed in my rebuttal to your blog post.

As usual, you started with a faulty premise and wound up with an equally faulty conclusion: there is no "tradition" or "rotation" in place, let alone any entitlement to a position.

The math that might have supported such a protocol (prior to 1997 when five year terms were the norm) simply no longer exists.

How would you suggest this "rotation" should play out for two Board members elected simultaneously for the first time?

If logic and common sense dictates that they lack the requisite experience to serve as an officer their freshman year, and that service as vice-president is prerequisite for serving as president, one of the two will never hold either office.

All that said, leadership isn't a mantle that one should acquire automatcially and is best earned.

Above should read:

"One need not be in attendance at a particular meeting to fully understand the dyamics at play and nothing espressed in my rebuttal to your blog post necessitated witnesssing anything with my own eyes."

Ms. Mordaci - Is qualified to lead she would be hard pressed to do worse than the past presidents of the BOE who miss-managed the relationship with Dr. Cavana and have presided over large tax bills and less than stellar test scores.

The previous president of the Board decided long before Ms. Mordecai did that Superintendent Cavanna should be replaced. Ms. Mordecai was one of his most die-hard supporters, in point of fact.

wohopeful Terrific comments .Many years ago, the State presented the West Orange Board of Education with a BOOK of cost saving suggestions .Most were related to excessive employee compensation - salaries, benefits. longevity pay. the number of salary steps, personal days , sick days, vacation days etc. etc. I don't think that Board and succeeding Boards, have implemented one of those suggestions. . The State should not send West Orange a dime of school funding .The State determined unequivocally that West Orange was and still is grossly overspending on it's employees . Why does the State on the one hand say that West Orange can save millions by implementing the reasonable reforms the State has suggested, and then on the other hand continue to send the same profligate, underachieving District millions in financial aid ? Does that make any sense - "You have been grossly overspending for decades !! And if you refuse to reduce costs,guess what?, ..... Every year we will send you several million dollars in financial assistance." Have we moved from the "Abbott Rim" to the Abbott?

Many years ago,the School Board as it was then constituted did the exact same thing to Harold Dorfman as this Board has done to Ms. Mordecai .I met Mr. Dorfman at a a School Board meeting . We had a brief conversation . After that night, I met and spoke with him a few more times .I came to believe that he was an honest and fair person who truly wanted to make things better. That's what I believed about Mr. Dorfman, When the School Board screwed him, they confirmed to me that I had put my trust in the right guy. .

BG,

Isn't it important to know whether or not Mrs. Mordecai is fit for the position? I guess not.

Barry ! I'm sure when the town resurfaces Old Indian Road,they are also going to install those absurd and costly speed walls like the ones that are on Saint Cloud Avenue. You've been guaranteed your park for neighborhood residents only. You've got your gated community courtesy of the West Orange taxpayers and the power of boycott and the abuse of Historical Preservation, so what are you angling for now? Years ago , a young man on the Historic Preservation Committee said he believed the ENTIRE St. Cloud neighborhood qualifies for Historic Preservation. Is that it? What comes after that, a crocodile infested moat?. .

SS,
You missed my point, Kraemer will take up any issue with the board because each one of them has defeated him. I do not have enough knowledge of the inner workings of the BOE to make any assertion about Mrs Mordecai's accomplishments or lack there of. Just because Kraemer says it does mean its true. He has a well known personal issue with this board

Once again John you hijack a thread and type jibberish. What do your comments remotely have to do with anything in the above article???

Barry - I have lost an election to every current member of the BOE except Ms. Brill who defeated me twice. The closest I cam to winning was in 2010 when Ms. Mordecai defeated me by a razor thin margin with her coming in second and me being third. I don't always agree with Ms. Mordecai. She is a strong Democrat I am strong Republican. However, she shows signs of intelligence and integrity in her actions as a BOE member so it is very disconcerting when she is past over in a power grab. The BOE has to change: school spending is way too high and the result are not acceptable in all areas. Yes some good thing do occur in our schools but we need change and we need fairness and common sense in school governance. The Monday night foolishness at the BOE was really bad. A person who really tires to do right by the kids and the town was trashed for political reasons and that was a bad thing.

Adam you say we need change.Super O'Neill is instituting change and here is an instance where now the BOE is instituting change. But when change doesnt go your way then it is deemed unfair. You constantly yell for change, becareful for what you wish for!!!!

This was payback . I have written several times about my phone call to Laura Lab I told her I wanted to talk to her about special education in general and about my autistic son specifically . I said " Can I stop over "?" No. "Could you come here?" She replied " We can talk now on the phone. " She suddenly blurted . " I have to go, but I'll call you right back." Of course she never did . A woman wrote a letter with a similar story to mine Then Englert writes " I'm sure your son got all the services he was entitled to." He had no way of knowing if his statement was true or not, but now he does - my son DID NOT get all the services he was entitled to. And he wouldn't have gotten at least some of what he did get if not for 2 wonderful advocates who helped us immeasurably. Payback .

Chris Christie is being seriously touted as presidential timber, especially by himself. By virtually every MEASURABLE standard, he is an abysmal failure as Governor. Is Cory Booker our next U.S. Senator? Again,on SUBSTANCE, he's been a horrible Mayor. What I want to ask is this; Is Ms. Mordecai demanding a longer school day and year? Does she want WOHS to at least increase the amount of daily instructional time to the State average? Are scheduled early dismissals o.k. with her? Are the ever declining hours dedicated to core - curriculum something she takes issue with? Has she given a written or at least a verbal pledge not to engage in acts of cronyism and/or nepotism? Years ago, City Hall eliminated longevity pay for new employees. Does she agree or disagree with that change? What does she think about one health plan for both City Hall and the School System? Does she believe West Orange teachers and Administrators are overcompensated,or does she feel that educators in towns of equal or greater wealth than West Orange are underpaid? Has she expressed a problem with teachers moonlighting at one or more jobs in the private sector? In other words, is she truly at odds with the other Board members on matters of real substance,or is this just more internecine warfare West Orange style? I'll take her over the rest of the Board members any day, but to me,the term "Strong Democrat" DOES NOT sound like someone who wants to reduce the size and cost of government. To the contrary.

Adam Did you know that people who call for "change", like you and I, actually mean ANY change. I didn't. I thought you and I have repeatedly and clearly articulated many of the types of changes we want But if per pupil spending goes way up,,and test scores go way down, school day is shortened, religious instruction is added to the curriculum, and the schools host political rallies and candidate forums and debates, or the School Board engages in behavior that you regard as unfair and counterproductive etc. If these types of things were to occur, you would be in no position to complain. You called for change, and those are changes. You and I want "reduced spending". I want "more instructional time" If the Board reduces spending by a penny and adds one second a year to one math class , then the changes we called for have occurred and we should be happy about it, and we should fall silent. I for one am going to be very careful from here on in about what I wish for and how I can best define that wish with exactitude.. barry - specifically, barry Geitzeiler, thanks for the wake - up call.

Unfortunately if you get a voucher, then many schools will only take a couple of voucher students. The good places will not be overun with 'voucher kids'. It may be a red herring.

Margot - Unfortunately you are right. The student and tax payers loose in this fight.

You as usual make sense. What I think that we forget about is that we are all in this together. The town makes a real mistake by castigating people and often treating them with contempt or ignoring them after years of service. When people feel neglected or their needs are not being met, they tend to leave. For what it's worth. I have some very deep and very satisfying ties to this town. But this town makes me nervous. It's changing and not for the better. It's not really living up it's progressive promise, because some of those who are in charge need to move on. We need fresh blood and real ideas that promote the kind of system that people feel they want their kids in.

Then why the power grab by Ms. Casalino and Ms. Brill? Obviously it is much more to them than jsut a title if they have been campaigning for weeks for the position as you previously stated.

This is much more than simply titles with no power. This is about a power grab by a select few to further their own personal agendas and not for the greater good of the community or the children.

wohopeful:

The suggestion there has been some "power grab" here is nothing more than ill-informed, inflammatory nonsense...period.

There are five members of the Board whose votes are neither diminished nro embelished by which of them are serving as President or Vice.

Hell, the President doesn't even set the meeting agendas, the Superintendent and his administration does.

Lastly, nobody was "campaigning for weeks" for these positions, rather they simply made a couple of telephone calls weeks ago to reach consensus.

Ms. Mordecai didn't make her first call until last Monday and came up short as a result.

Then we must ask agin why the power grab by ms. Casalino and Ms. Brill? Clearly it means something if they conspired as Mr. Englert describes to ensure they had the necessary votes lined p before the meeting. An awful lot of sneakiness going on if it is a meaningless title as Mr. Englert wants everyone to believe.

wohopeful Well said These people and their minions are eviscerating the town. Michele Casalino has been an absolutely horrible school board member .....if your desire is quality education at a reasonable price. On the other hand, if your interested in a job or service and supply contracts for you and yours that pay enough for you to afford to move to a town that provides decent services and doesn't spend money on it's employees like West Orange spends on you, then Ms. Casalino has been and will continue to be a superb member/ president of the school board. As I said, look at the extremely excessive and wasteful spending, look at the abysmal test scores and the rampant cronyism and the nepotism, but then take note that Ms.Casalino was the top vote getter in the last school board election.wohopeful I have noticed more than a few people have expressed their support for Ms. Casalino on Patch. Are these people merely some of the rather large in - crowd or in - crowd wannabes, or do they truly regard Ms. Casalino's performance in areas like cost - per - pupil,test scores and hiring and promotion practices as exemplary? If they do, maybe they could enlighten us at to why they do.. . , .

Mr. Prignano, I believe as most of the hard working honest taxpayer of WO, that the educational system in WO is broken and has been broken for quite some time. The WOBOE continues to be plagued with those who want to promote their own agendas and promote nepotism and cronyism. WO taxpayers pay one of the largest per pupil tax bills in the country and our students rank in the bottom third of schools in NJ. This is unacceptable. We must demand affordable quality education.

The days of looking the other way while board member's children are given BOE jobs, while board members cost the taxpayers unnessecary legal bills because of their careless disregard for the law, etc. are over. We must demand change, hold those currently in office accountable for their actions, and vote for change as soon as possible.

Why do the taxpayers of West Orange no logner get the right to vote on the WOBOE budget? Because these board members do not want to be held to be transparent to those they serve.

wohopeful You alluded to the fact that we can no longer vote on the school budget. . Because of the Shared Services agreement between the board of education and the township that they entered into several years ago,we have also been denied our right of Initiative and Referendum on multi - million dollar school construction projects. The public has voted No on too, too many budgets and referendums to suit a great many board members.They were magnanimous enough to give us opportunities to vote Yes, but those of us who could not or would not see the absolute necessity of their spending initiatives kept voting No. So in the classic tradition of the "You people are too stupid to know what's best for you ,so we will tell you what's best for you " school of thought, they have taken away 2 of our voting opportunities..

Exactly my point Mr. Prignano. These BOE member have very skillfully stripped the public of their rights to the checks and balances needed to protect the average hard working taxpayers. We are no longer able to vote on the budget, we are no longer able to vote on massive buidling projects, etc. The power grab here by Ms. Casalino and Ms. Brill was just another show of bully force to strip the majority of honest hard working taxpayers in West Orange of their rights by a select few who want to control millions of our dollars.

The results are clear for everyone to see, failing schools and massive budgets. And in the end the public has no power to do anything about it.

I have never understood how 'low starting salary + incentives' is supposed to work when there's a salary cap in place. Seems to me it would only work if all the other boards are doing the same thing. Otherwise, we just won't have any candidates applying.

I don't understand how you can praise Ms. Mordecai's leadership in one sentence and denounce the prior superintendent in the next. She was one of his biggest supporters, well after a majority of the board decided he should be replaced. (And yes, the same is true of Ms. Casalino, who I am not endorsing.)

Shoshanna Great letter.No one in their right mind could think that this Board is sincere about providing a good education to the children of this Township. In the face of dozens of non- core curriculum mandates, what have they done? They've added their own non - core curriculum mandates, and gouged more and more hours from the school day !14 days less yearly instructional time at WOHS than the State average, and a dozen scheduled early dismissals in the grammar schools. Nepotism and cronyism by their very nature undermine performance and accountability. Years ago I walked into a pizzeria as a 100K + department head was walking out. On the counter was a glass jar. The label said ; Donations for WOHS marching band uniforms .Some time ago, a gym teacher at the Washington School asked the District to purchase hand weights for her classes. Sorry, no money. So she said she took plastic soda bottles, cut them, filled the bottoms with sand, and then sealed them with heated plastic.Shoshanna, you mentioned that 10% of the students are getting a great education. I once asked Superintendent Tarnoff ,how many of that 10% are tutored after school ,and attend enrichment courses, curriculum camps and the like, which are paid for by their parents? He answered. Alot! The instructional time or lack thereof this District provides guarantees a high rate of failure. Educators worth their salt by and large agree; Quote "The most important classroom resource is time." John Pragmatic .

Shoshanna:

Start with a faulty premise and the result will always be a faulty conclusion.

In this particular case, the fallacy is that any special "power" accrues to the President or Vice President of the Board of Education, as none does.

The Board President Chairs the meetings and serves as the Board's public spokesperson (during their term) conveying the Board's policies and opinions as reached through consensus.

The Vice President fulfills those rolls in the President's absence...period.

The position does not constitute a separate (executive) branch of government as does the Presidency of the United States and doesn't even convey the aability to set a legislative agenda as is the responsibility of the Speaker of the House.

Of consequence, there is will be no material effect (pro or con) on either the school children, or taxpayers, based on who happens to be holding the gavel for the next twelve months.

Chris Christie has capped School Superintendent's salaries at $175.000. I don't think that's his business. However, there are Police Chiefs and Fire Chiefs and subordinates who make more, in some cases much more ,than his $175,000 School Superintendent cap .There are Police Chiefs in charge of 30 and 40 officer Departments who make well over $200,000 in base salary. Why hasn't the Governor publicly expressed a problem with that? Now it takes 4 years for a teacher to get tenure instead of 3 years..But a family member will still be a family member for the additional year, and a crony who was a crony for 3 years, will more than likely still be a crony after another year has passed. Tenure should be eliminated. Generally speaking, working for a government monopoly that guarantees lifetime employment is not the sort of an arrangement that encourages people to be at the top of their game.

Ms. Oliver's and Mr. Sweeney's appointments are only an issue for you because they meant that Mr. McKeon and Codey were pushed aside by their own party.

It was Mr. Englert who suggested Ms. Casalino and Ms Brill was campaigning and making calls to garener support for their power grab on the WOBOE. Now he wants us to beleive that there is nothing going on. If these positions truly hold no significance then perhaps he will join us at the next WOBOE meeting in a show of solidarity to demand that Ms. Casalino and Ms. Brill step down from their positions.

Mr. Englert, it is very telling when your own words are repeated abck to you that you think someone is trying to misconstrue something. If anyone is misconstruing anything uit would be yourself. You make comments about meetings that you didn't attend, try to promote excuses when factual evidence proves you wrong, and the list goes on.

Clearly there was a power grab here by Ms. Casalino and Ms. Brill. Those of us in attendance witnessed it first hand. The WOBOE talks about the Anti-Bully policy they promote in the distrcit but bullying is alive and well at the WOBOE, just attend any meeting and sit thorugh the public comment where Ms. Casalino and Ms Brill shut down the representatives from thepublic. Now they have pulled a power grab on the WOBOE and it will be up to the citizens to right the injustice.

I suggest you show up and join us in solidarity as we call for Ms. Casalino and Ms Brill to step down and allow the injustice to be corrected for the good of our community.

Ms. Mordecai stated in the meeting that the reason she did not actively lobby for the VP spot was because based on past practices, she assumed that it was her turn to at least be VP, and the election would just have been a formality. My take on this is that race was not a factor, but rather alliances among the board members. There is a strong alliance among Mses Brill, Casalino and Laub. Ron is an unknown at this point, but I will not be surprised if there is a 4 to 1 alliance on this board. This would mirror the 4 to 1 alliance on many issues in our Town Council, with Joe Krakoviak being the dissenting vote. These conclusions are based solely on my personal observations at the meetings.

My apologies for misspelling...it should be Ms Lab, NOT Laub.

Concerned:

You are substantially correct and Ms. Mordecai's assumption was just that and simply misplaced.

The members of legislative bodies throughout the land reach consensus as to who will hold what leadership positions prior to a public vote being taken and in virtually every case, yes, one's politics, positions and opinions come into play.

Does the majority party in the House of Representatives install someone from across the aisle as Speaker of the House...does the State Assembly or Senate?

No...they appoint those allied with their own political thought and philosophies.

That is precisely what happened with the Board of Education and, based on all reports and observations, the fact that Ms. Mordecai is often out of sync and at odds with her colleagues is surely old news.

It still does not explain the power grag by Ms. Casalino and Ms. Brill. Based on the positions being nothing other than a title there was no need to dispense with tradition, but both Ms Casalino and Ms Brill made the power play and now only time will tell what they have up their sleeves.

Hmmmm. Will Joe Kraloviak ever have a chance to be the President of the Town Council?

wohopeful:

Let me lay it out as simply as I can for you:

Ms. Mordecai has often been at odds with her colleagues on various and sundry matters.

As a result, it's more than reasonable to conclude that none of them very likely thought she was the best person to be speaking on behalf of a majority she is often opposed to.

Had Ms. Mordecai expressed interest in a position before the meeting (and she did not, publicly and incorrectly acknowledging only that she thought it was "her turn"), her colleagues might have then illuminated the terrain in which she found herself deployed...assuming she couldn't figure it out for yourself.

It still does not explain the power grab by Ms. Casalino and Ms. Brill with regards to the positions they took. If these are solely positions of title then there should have been no need for either Ms Casalino or Ms. Brill to make the power play that they did and avoid tradiition.

I urge you to come out to the WOBOE meeting and stand with us in solidarity as we request that Ms. Casalino and Ms. Brill step down and apologize for the power grab.

Lesson Learned: To avoid this misunderstanding from happening in the future, the BOE By-Laws should provide that "the President and Vice President will be elected by the Board after every election." Relying on past practices or traditions, in this case, will not always work.

Sorry...above should, of course, read "3 to 1 majority"...

Wait a minute .The vast majority of letters on this thread have expressed strong support for Ms. Mordecai .Why does Englert refuse to get "in sync" with the majority. Why does he dissent? Let me guess. By expressing his beliefs and obeying his conscience, it appears to me he is exercising his inalienable right to free speech and freedom of choice without fear of retribution. By the way, the rule of law states" The majority rules" not "The majority is right" Henrik Ibsen articulates this point beautifully in "An Enemy of the People ". John Pragmatic.

john anthony prignano:

There is nothing to suggest that the majority of those posting on this Board is posibly representative of the majority of the citizens of our Townhip and, either way, I wouldn't be inclined to get in sync with many of the opinions being expressed here.

Point in fact, however, 3 of 11 of our local elected officials (or 27%) are registered Republicans, which pretty much mirrors the fact that Democrats hold a 4 to 1 majority on the voter registration rolls.

Rather than bemoaning the fact that someone assuming they were entitled to an appointed position didn't get one, we should be celebrating the fact that tow Democrats and two Republicans reached across the aisle, reached a consensus and made a decision for the greater good.

If that were happening in Congress, I'm sure we'd all be more than happy about it.

There are certain terms and labels that are in no way apocryphal .One is "an Essex County Republican " Former Councilman Anthony Benevento was a a registered Republican. Where was the substance of his smaller government philosophy? Perhaps he was a Liberal Republican That may explain why he was in sync with the other Council members much of the time - because they were Ultra - Conservative Democrats.These farces are akin to professional wrestling feuds.Over $21k per pupil,and Englert says there are 3 Republicans. Semantics and a corruption of the language..Republican is too generic a term. Ultra - liberal? Liberal? Conservative? Ultra - conservative? Words and terms which are ineffable, and thus are meaningless There's only one party - the Money/Power party.The appearance of resistance is straight out of George Orwell's 1984. It is advantageous to give true conservatives the impression that there are people in positions of power who are of a similar mindset. Look at their VOTING RECORD, not their rhetoric.Look at your tax bill,look at how we pay more and more for less and less service crummy overpriced schools,filthy streets, riddled with potholes ad infinitum., Look at the epidemic of cronyism and nepotism and the acts of overt contempt for the taxpayers our "Republican"office holders engage in.There are still a lot of true Republicans, but these people aint them.If you dare to reach across the aisle,your hand will come back without your wristwatch . .. . . . . . .

Shakespeare ; " Words are but the shadows of actions." Many people claim to be conservatives, uncompromising tax watchdogs, indefatigable champions of the common man, etc. Macbeth ; ..... It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" We must never let propaganda trump performance..

Ms. Farrell you miss the point. Ms. Casalino and Ms. Brill had every intention of executing a power grab and as a result would have told someone else that they need to stand on their heads to get the position. According to your friend Mr. Englert they conspired via phone calls and campaigning to ensure who would nominate who, who would second it and ultimately who would get the positions. There was nothing fair about the process and we shoudl all be ambarrassed and saddended by this show of force by Ms. Casalino anjd Ms. Brill in pulling off their power grab.