Of Millburn and Short Hills See A2
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November 19, 2009 Newsstand 75¢ The Home-Delivered 53¢ www.theitemonline.com Serving our Community mmunitySince 1888 Shoplifting ‘On the Town’ arrest Paper Mill production Item Thieves took $8,000 reviewed. worth of scarves. See A6 of Millburn and Short Hills See A2 MILLBURN HIGH SCHOOL PREPARING TO GIVE THANKS Student issues cited in 2005 diversity report ties but threw up red flags about Alcohol, drug drugs and alcohol use went virtu- ally unreported to the public at the abuse colored time and appeared to receive little attention from the school adminis- tration or the Board of Education. student life The study grew, in large part, out of confrontations between the By Andrea Hughes school administration and the Rev. and Harry Trumbore Darryl George in the fall of 2004. of The Item George, who had two sons in the school system, claimed there As the Millburn Board of Edu- had been a number of incidents cation reviews an action plan to where African-American students stop hazing at Millburn High had been subject to racist com- School, several board members ments from white students. have expressed uncertainty at Despite the fact that some white recent meetings about to the role students had been disciplined, of a newly formed School and George continued to push for Community Task Force. Sensitiv- more diversity in the faculty and in ity training, a Big Brother-Big Sis- the curriculum. ter program and a welcome to In the fall of 2004, the Star high school barbecue for fresh- Ledger reported 16 percent of the men are a few of the recommend- teachers in the Millburn school STAFF PHOTO BY HARRY TRUMBORE ed steps Superintendent of system were minorities, but The Rev. Johann Bosman of Community Congregational Church, the Rev. Lisa Green of Christ Church and Rabbi Steven Schools Richard Brodow brought minorities made up only 2 percent Bayar of Congregation B’nai Israel, from left, review the program for the annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service. The service forth at this year’s board retreat. of the teaching staff. this year, which will be led by clergy from local congregations, will take place at Christ Church Wednesday, Nov. 25, at 7 p.m. Board members — and the pub- “We do value diversity,” Super- For the complete story, see A3. lic — this year will have the oppor- intendent of Schools Richard tunity to debate possible ways to Brodow told The Item of Millburn halt hazing and bullying and and Short Hills at the time. He BOARD OF EDUCATION examine the climate of the high said a consultant retained by the school. district was evaluating diversity in They didn’t have that opportu- the district. “She’s looking into nity four years ago. what we do and what we don’t do Focusing in on profile for super search The results of a 2005 Equity and and will be making recommenda- Diversity Study that not only shed tions about how we can serve all light on the issues facing students Member asks for oversight of student award criteria could be expected and were told of color and other student minori- SEE REPORT, PAGE B2 the situation was the same as last By Andrea Hughes high taxes and other financial time and the board was not at the of The Item “We’re not looking at constraints, building strong public point in the process where it had someone who has never relations and withstanding pres- decided. VICTORY CELEBRATION “Fair,” “intelligent,” “hands sures from factions and special Millburn Middle School PTO on,” “visible” and “excellent com- been in a central office.” interests. president Regina Truitt prefaced municator” are some of the words “We’re going to try very hard to her question about the search sta- members of Millburn’s education- Judith Ferguson match as many as we can,” Fergu- tus by saying, “vagueness leads to al community would like to use to son said. Now that the profile has anxiety,” and Board President describe the next superintendent, been formed, the consultants will Noreen Brunini was pressed to according to a Leadership Profile er stakeholders selected by the recruit and screen candidates say the board was not requiring presented by representatives of board, during their visit to Mill- until there are five or six candi- two candidates. Hazard, Young, Attea and Associ- burn last month. Open focus dates for the board to interview. “At the point in time when we ates at Board of Education meet- groups were also held. The search This pool will be narrowed down have had resumes and culled ing Monday, Nov. 16. firm received 87 completed sur- to fewer finalists, she said. When through the pool, we will make Judith Ferguson and Jamie veys from residents, which asked asked if the target finalist would our decision,” Brunini said. Savedoff of Hazard Young, who questions similar to those brought be a mid-career of later-career “We’re doing the best we can.” were appointed by the board to up in focus groups and interviews. professional, she said, “We’re not In other board business, the help hire a replacement for outgo- Items presented with frequency looking at someone who has nev- High School Liason Committee ing Superintendent of Schools in surveys, interviews and focus er been in a central office.” had a discussion about Power- Richard Brodow, said they will groups went into the report. No Ferguson and several board School, an online gradebook that use the 10-page profile, which names or positions were identi- members during public comments was adapted this year and allows was available to the public at the fied. asserted that the opportunity for parents and students to view meeting and can be found on the “The data does not represent a members of the public to inter- grades online, according to Eric district’s Web site, to recruit and scientific study,” Ferguson said. view more than one candidate is Siegel, chairman of the commit- select candidates to be appointed “However, most times of not all still under discussion and depends tee. At both the Nov. 2 meeting in July. Candidates will be given times our findings ring true with on the candidate pool. The sub- and the board retreat, board the profile to read so they can what people believe to be the key ject of whether teachers, adminis- members had discussed the affect determine whether they are a issues.” trators and parents could inter- of the program on students in good match. Qualities wanted in a superin- view candidates – and whether terms of stress. Parents can see The Leadership Profile lists tendent include strength of char- there would be more than one grades before students and this what members of the community acter, experience in a similar type candidate – dominated discussion has apparently added tension in identified as the district’s of district, willingness to hold self at the Nov. 2 board meeting. some homes within the commu- strengths, challenges a new school and others accountable, ability to Former board members Deb- nity. chief would face and characteris- withstand pressure, a collabora- bie Frank and Josh Scharf, as well “The word ‘stress’ came up tics desired in a superintendent. tive style of problem solving, fiscal as Parent Teacher Conference co- about 20 times at the meeting,” STAFF PHOTO BY JIM CONNELLY To form the profile, Ferguson and astuteness and sharing Millburn’s presidents Rona Wenik and Siegel said, “but they were saying Fans of the Millburn High School varsity boys soccer team Savedoff conducted personal or vision. Other requests were “not Larkin Cohan, lent their support it more in jest.” Students were greet Rohan Sood following the Millers’ 1-0 defeat of Scotch focus group interviews with 103 top down – no preconceived to having community members concerned that responsibility was Plains Nov. 13 in the championship match of the New Jersey individuals, such as all nine board agenda” and “keeps kids first.” interview candidates. being shifted from students to par- members, former board members, Challenges most frequently cited Several members of the public ents and “wanted a watered- State Interscholastic Athletic Association North Jersey, administrators, including Brodow, by all groups include maintaining asked whether the board had Section 2, Group 3 Tournament. See related photo on C1. teachers, PTO members and oth- programs and excellence given come to a decision or when one SEE BOE, PAGE A8 Vol. 122 No. 47 Bike path installations CLASSIFIEDSD6, D7 MOVIESA7Signs up, striping to come. Page A3 For home delivery, COMMUNITY D1-D3 OBITUARIESB5 call 888-504-4280. COMMUNITY EVENTSA4PUBLIC NOTICESD5 Pleaserecycle. Title dreams dashed At least34% EDITORIAL A5 PUZZLESA6 recycled newsprint EDUCATION B1-B4 RELIGIOUS NEWSB5 Girls soccer team falls in section 100% recyclable ENTERTAINMENT A6, A7 SPORTS C1-C6 0% Deforestation final. Page C1 A2 Thursday, November 19, 2009 The Item of Millburn and Short Hills www.TheItemOnLine.com Read & Recycle This Paper WELCOME TO THE FORCE OFFICERS Tutoring Setup Wireless iPod iPhone Email Internet iTunes Backup STAFF PHOTOS BY HARRY TRUMBORE LarryRoss ©2009 Communicatewith your Mac New Millburn police officer MillburnTownship Residentsince1994 Yvonne Hunt, above, shakes Apple Certified Help Desk Specialist MillburnMac.com hands with municipal Clerk David Dantowitz Joanne Monarque after taking the oath at the Nov. 10 973 50 My Mac Township Committee meeting. 973-506-9622 Looking on are Hunt’s parents, Barry Hunt and Martha Rodriguez-Hunt. Left, Steve Nacim takes the oath from Monarque as the second officer sworn in that evening. Holding the Bible is Nacim’s wife, Stephanie. WE U N D E R S T A N D T H E D I F F E R E N C E B E T W E E N I N S U R I N G A H O U S E A ND A H O M E .