Nicquel Terry

@NTerryAPP

Data Universe: Search Asbury school salaries

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ASBURY PARK – Interim schools superintendent Robert Mahon had enough.

First, there was the failed superintendent search. The nine-member school board spent the past year in arguments, litigation and division over the selection of a schools chief.

Asbury picks interim schools chief

Then, the visions were different. The board had rejected many of Mahon's recommendations, including one that would put two academic coaches in each school building to help the many students struggling with basic skills, he said.

But it all came to a head at the June 24 board meeting. Mahon argued with the board over its role: set policy or run the district day to day? Apply for a grant or not? And just when it seemed progress had stalled, the fireworks started.

Board members Felicia Simmons and Angela Ahbez-Anderson began bickering, yelling and insulting each other.

Simmons had just given a two-minute speech about how Mahon and the state proposed programs without consulting the school board.

"In the past we have let people come in here and run amuck in this district, and now we are paying for it," Simmons shouted, slamming her palm against the table.

Ahbez-Anderson, ignoring board President Geneva Smallwood's pounding gavel, told Simmons she was "opening the door for a state takeover."

"You sit here, you run your mouth every time we have a board meeting and we get nothing accomplished," she said, shaking her head and flailing her hands as she scowled at Simmons.

The next day, Mahon resigned.

In an interview last week, Mahon said he was frustrated with the board and no longer believed he could be effective for the district.

"I found myself arguing with the board about procedural types of things in the last few meetings," he said. "I don't think it does the district any good to air that kind of dissension publicly."

The squabbling, theatrics and public insults that mark the relationship between the school board and its interim superintendent would be comical, except for one thing: While the school leaders bicker, the school system continues to fail the students it's required to educate.

It costs an average of $30,845, the highest in the state for a K-12 district, to educate each of the 2,500 children in Asbury Park, and the bulk of the money comes from state taxpayers through state aid, according to 2012-13 budget data. The district spends roughly $70 million to operate its six schools.

Yet the district had a dismal 51 percent graduation rate in 2013, one of the lowest in the state. About 54 percent of Asbury Park fifth-graders entering middle school read at a first-grade level, according to a report from the state's fiscal monitor, who has the last say over who the board hires, fires and how it spends tax dollars.

The reason for the poor education in the city? A lack of consistent, and effective leadership in the Asbury Park school district, according to school officials.

There have been six directors of curriculum in the past five years, four superintendents in six years and five state monitors since 2007.

Not to mention, the school board is reflective of the community itself — divided by race.

The board's majority is black and from the city's impoverished west side, which is saturated with gun violence, broken families and rental homes in varying stages of decline.

In the minority are three white school board members elected with the support of the city's east side, marked by a thriving waterfront and business sector, a growing gay community and affluent beachfront properties. One black board member votes in their camp.

The west side community, along with the board members that represent it, is set on protecting the schools from a state takeover. The five members say they know what's best for minority children. Nearly 98 percent of the public school students are black or Hispanic.

Black activists here, along with Simmons, believe that only an African-American can solve the problems in a school district like Asbury Park in a 1.4 square-mile city of 16,000 that is 64 percent minority.

"(The community) wants a black person to be the face of the educational system of Asbury Park," said Daniel Harris, a west side resident who unsuccessfully ran for city council last year. "How many black superintendents are running predominately white districts?"

The east side community, home to the city's flourishing downtown, is usually less vocal about the school district's woes.

Jackie Pappas, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, declined to comment on the challenges in Asbury Park schools saying she would only make "positive" remarks.

"The business community remains invested in the youth of Asbury Park and it has nothing to do with any current events," Pappas said.

John Bennett, whose son Daquane Bland-Bennett graduated from the high school last month, blames the school board's dysfunction on the revolving door of leadership. He said it appears the board is struggling with the constant changes in administration.

"You might get comfortable with one superintendent and then boom he is gone and then you have to get reacquainted with someone else," John Bennett said. "Not only does it impact the school district but it impacts the board and how effective it can be."

Power hungry

So why can't the school board members get along?

State monitor Carole Morris likens the school board to an armed camp — a voting bloc of five members who don't consult with the other four.

Some board members have consistently challenged decisions made by Mahon and Morris. Even though Morris has virtual control over the district, according to state statute.

"The board should be accepting the professional opinions and recommendations of the people whom they have hired to make those recommendations," Mahon said. "And if they don't, then there's a real problem."

The infighting and a lack of management skills among the district's leadership have helped drive the schools' overspending and inability to improve student performance, state officials say.

But Simmons, elected in November, blames the state, saying monitors have brought in a host of programs and reorganization plans that haven't worked. The students are still failing, she said.

"We are concerned," said Simmons, who has a fifth grade son in the district and studies social work at Brookdale-Rutgers Communiversity. "We have let other people come in (the district) and just do whatever. Our children are paying for it. Our community is paying for it."

Morris questioned the district's $44.2 million salary budget, suggesting that it was a prime place to cut once a permanent superintendent is appointed. There is one staff member for every four students.

The district's strongest critics have proposed solutions ranging from better training for the board and more consistent staffing to consolidation — or a full state takeover, which would wrest control of the schools away from the city and residents. Morris said a state takeover or the consolidation of Asbury Park with another school district could be the next step if district performance and governance don't improve.

But those are last resorts, Morris said.

"Everything is on the table," Morris said.

District suffers

Asbury Park schools scored a 46 percent in governance and a 26 percent in programming and instruction, according to the state's monitoring and evaluation system for public schools, the Quality Single Accountability Continuum. A score of 80 out of 100 is considered adequate, said Glenn Forney, a director for the Department of Education.

"The department doesn't want to see anyone with scores like (Asbury Park's)," he said.

But state monitors have had limited success in Asbury Park, largely due to chronic infighting on the board, state officials say.

A report addressed to the school board from former state monitor Lester Richens in September indicated that during his tenure there had been 14 board meetings without a quorum in two years. In those instances, Richens had to approve all items on the agenda.

Richens also said the board struggles with communication, violates board ethics by breaking the confidentiality of executive sessions and is "divided into two camps that are not capable of working together."

Morris has yet to see a middle ground between the two camps. "They have not found a way to work with opposing views and opposing sides and excluding one group from the board is not the answer," Morris said. "There seems to be the conclusion that because five people are a voting bloc that the other four don't have to be included."

Board members say board president Geneva Smallwood, vice president Nicolle Harris, Christian Hall, Felicia Simmons and Kenneth Saunders Jr., with their majority voting bloc, usually dominate decisions on the board. Members Angela Ahbez-Anderson, Corey Lowell, Connie Breech and Barbara Lesinski are usually in the opposing camp.

Disagreements have sparked walkouts by board members in the middle of meetings.

For example, Lesinski left a Sept. 11, 2013, meeting early because she disagreed with the board's decision to restart the superintendent search so newly elected board members Simmons and Saunders could be a part of the hiring process.

Former board member Gregory Hopson, who resigned last year, said there were times when he and other board members would deliberately leave meetings so there wouldn't be a five-member quorum for voting.

Hopson said they would do this when they disagreed with certain agenda items and preferred the state monitor to handle it.

"That is counterproductive and that's why I said I even had a certain degree of dysfunction while I was on the board," Hopson said. "I stand firm on what I believe in and at that point I didn't feel that a full board could make a conscious decision on what was best for our children."

Ahbez-Anderson said members have boycotted special meetings, school board retreats and superintendent candidate interviews out of spite.

Qzeena Taylor, also a former board member, said she intentionally missed special board meetings that she felt shouldn't have been convened. For example, Taylor said she didn't think it was fair that former board president Ahbez-Anderson could call special meetings but reject other board members' attempts to call them.

Taylor, who served on the board from January to December 2013, said ethics charges also flew frequently between school board members.

"Instead of working together as a board to make decisions for the board and the children, we were fighting and arguing," said Taylor, who lost her bid for re-election in November after serving nearly a year. "It's like being a board member, you don't get anything accomplished."

Personal agendas

Some say the conflicts are largely personal.

Former superintendent Denise Lowe's four-year contract ended in June 2013 after the board decided not to extend her employment in the $190,000-a-year job.

Lowe's departure ended a contentious relationship with school board members, who frequently argued with her over issues such as Lowe's plan to redistrict the schools. She wanted three pre-kindergarten through third grade elementary schools with a focus on literacy and math.

Middle school would be fourth through eighth grades and high school 9th through 12th grades. The plan ultimately did not pass and the state ordered the Barack Obama Elementary School to be closed.

Hopson said last year that he believed the board ousted Lowe because she stood her ground. Board members who wanted to be in control didn't accept that leadership style, he said.

"Everybody wanted to be the superintendent," Hopson said. "They wanted to tell (Lowe) what to do, how to do it and when to do it."

In an interview last week, Lowe said the school board insulted her at public meetings and wanted to micromanage the district's operations.

"Publicly there was not that element of respect and courtesy that should be given to any person," said Lowe, who now owns a consulting firm that provides administrative coaching for educators.

Superintendent fight

Perhaps nothing personified the feud among the Asbury Park school board than the search for a new superintendent.

A board majority had decided last year they wanted to hire Gregory Allen, the former assistant superintendent of the Pleasantville school district.

But in November, Morris overturned the board's decision, saying in a letter to the board that the initial superintendent selection process was botched and that Gregory Allen did not "demonstrate mastery knowledge of the topics."

She also cited the board's rejection of candidates recommended by the New Jersey School Boards Association and said she was unable to find a "substantial background check" or verification of the information in Allen's résumé.

The board expected to offer Allen a salary of $145,000 and had already submitted his contract to the county superintendent for a final approval.

After Morris overturned the board's decision to hire Allen, it filed a lawsuit against Morris.

The appeal was backed by many community members who rallied at a standing-room only board meeting in November.

Some of those residents said that Allen, who is black and from Cherry Hill, understands the needs of students in this mostly black and Hispanic school district.

Duanne Small, president of the National Action Network Asbury Park chapter, charged the state with having an agenda: to put one of the "good old boys" -- someone in Morris or Mahon's circle -- in the superintendent post.

Board member Simmons declined to say whether she agreed with Small, though she voted to sue Morris.

She did, however, say a black man would be a more effective leader and role model for young men in the district who are often exposed to gun violence and death. Simmons also said the students need a superintendent who looks like them and can relate to their experiences.

"If you have someone who comes into a community not truly understanding the plight of the people who live there, not understanding what the children, parents and community need... then you cannot educate the child," Simmons said. "You cannot converse with the parents."

Morris said the board's superintendent choice will be critical to improving test scores and students' learning curve. She said the low literacy levels are the greatest obstacle faced by the district.

"It's critical that people be placed in the positions of leadership here who are skillful, visionary leaders who can turn the district around," Morris said. "And there has been nothing done since I've been here to accomplish that."

Ahbez-Anderson said she wasn't for or against Allen, but the other board members were not following the proper protocol to hire him. Ultimately, the board's disregard for the interview process showed when Morris overturned the superintendent choice, Ahbez-Anderson said.

"It was a very hostile situation," said Ahbez-Anderson, a board member since 2011. "You had people who wanted to do things their way and you had those who were trying to do things the appropriate way."

On Thursday night, five members of the board voted to hire Allen as the interim superintendent to replace Mahon, a swift move that surprised the four other members. Morris said she will determine next week if Allen will work in the district.

Harris said much of the turmoil on the board shows a lack of respect for the community.

He said it's time for the board to move forward and select a strong schools chief who has experience dealing with urban issues.

"They don't have a leader who can come in and take control of the board," Harris said. "They have to get a strong enough person in there who puts the children first, the community second."

The voters ultimately have the final say on who sits on the board. The seats of three members are up for grabs in November — Simmons and Saunders, who vote with the five-member majority bloc, and Ahbez-Anderson, who is usually in the four-member minority camp.

Nicquel Terry; nterry@app.com; 732-643-4023

This is the first of a two-part series on the leadership of Asbury Park schools. Next Sunday: How can Asbury Park fix its schools and the leadership vacuum?

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