In my opinion the only smokescreen here is the one that YOU, Ms. Garrity, are putting up to avoid the consequences of your own actions, as well as the actions of the school attorney, the school administration, and the "majority" school board members. The taxpayers want the details on this "sensitive" personnel matter, and we want the details now.

I don't know the by laws, but if this is something pertaining to our children or to an individual who works with and is around our children we have the right to know what is going on. I am extremely concerned because board members who are representatives for the children and parents are obviously being made to feel that they cannot address a situation and this is exactly what they are on the board for. I know how big the binder is for the "Bullying" guidelines and I would like to know that it is being followed the same in every circumstance. I applaude Mr Pavlik & Ms Vander Woude for standing up for what they believe in and obviously representing their positions in protecting the parents and our children.

I would tend to agree with Tony. It appears to me that Garrity is trying to hide behind proper "procedures" to distract from the real issue.

I believe that Ms. Garrity should explain to the parents and taxpayers of this town what the entire story is and they can decide for themselves who is correct in this situation. The only smokescreen I am seeing is her refusal to explain the source of this entire controversy.

As a former member of several boards in the past, I have learned that there is a fine line a member must walk when doing the town's work and ones personal agenda. When you are a member of the Board of Education and have children in the system, that line can become blurred. The original article specifically stated that these board members were at the central office on "personal" business, which means they were there as parents of children in the system and not Board members. They must learn to understand that the fine line tends to disappear when you are discussing your child. I had three of my children graduate from the Holmdel system and have been a resident for almost thirty years. There were a few occassions that I disagreed with a teacher or the system, but I was not a member of the Board. It's almost impossible to be impartial when the dispute is about your own child. If the school board attorney and the six other members of the Board told Mr. Pavlik and Ms. Vande Woude that they were behaving in a "vicious, self-serving manner designed to shame and humiliate", they must have had a very good reason to say so. The Board must not only protect the children but the other residents of the town from a possible massive lawsuit. Right now, without the facts, as Mr Searle said earlier, we must not judge. The Board is not hiding behind a smoke screen or press releases, they are merely following legal procedures for everyone's protection. This Board does not Bully.

Hopefully this ugly situation that we find ourselves in right now will ultimately have a silver lining....the hierarchy in this Administration and BOE needs to go - starting first and foremost with Duncan. Garrity is Duncan's puppet, and Currie is the mastermind that rubber-stamped the Columbia Readers and Writers Workshop Programs. They all must go. We finally need to clean house and start over with real LEADERS that are honest, ethical, and truly care about the children in the school district.

I think we should all stand down until we hear more. If it was a "personnel" matter does it make sense for 2 board members to break away and address it without the rest? It doesn't, and we shouldn't be backing Mr. P and Ms. V, or chastising Mrs. G without understanding the entire situation.

We the taxpayers are paying the salaries of these public employees... Holmdel taxpayers deserve to hear what is obviously being covered up. There needs to be an immediate investigation.

I have attended some BOE meetings before and witnessed Mr. P and Mrs. V disagree with the rest of the board before.Based on what I have seen and heard before I would say Mr. P and Mrs. V are self serving and do not have all of our childrens best intrests at heart.

The State of New Jersey has a team that will typically investigate this type of thing. Leadership can get stale and circle wagons but the state criminal and civil investigators typically cut through it with depositions and supeona powers. This must be chapter one in a book being written day by day. I applaud the expose as too often leaders and professionals get too lazy too comfortable and too smug for their own good
It happens...sunshine is the best disinfectant.

To Common Sense ???
What do you know about any members of this board? Do you live with them? Work with any of them? As a former member of the board, were you on it when they hired Duncan? Bryon? or how about Flaherty? Our district has been dragged down enough due to the majority of board members' lack of knowledge when it comes to hiring professionals with high standards.

dear jennifer,

the term--- the issue has been investigated and addressed-- seems to be the standard line for issues of concern being brought to light by both parents and board members in Holmdel--

Maybe Mrs. Garrity isn't the right person to be sitting in that chair. I am hoping that the Board reveals more information on this matter.

Well this was easy to figure out!! Just Google names of all high salary jobs in our district. Thanks for the clue Frank!

THANK YOU Ana & Dennis for being our HONEST eyes & ears. You are both so greatly appreciated by many Holmdel residents. Stick with your beliefs & keep up the great work :).

I am sorry for the late response for those that were not threatening my life LOL. I was suck at work and dealing with the fun issues of the day and day until my wife told me that Mr. Lee had come out and said he would kill me haha. Although I am sure he won’t be the last!!! The story is this I won't release the name of the person who has been working for almost two years for another district simply because they may have been allowed by their boss. The issue here is this person makes a good living taking care of our children. If they wanted to work somewhere else then we need to assume that A. Her boss permitted it or B. They lied about it working elsewhere. There is no way a person making a 100k plus should be allowed to consultant without the districts approval.

Cont:::: But the real kick in the pants is this person is working for a former employee of the district and BOE minutes for the other district shows them as a director. So looking at it from a neutral point of view it looks real suspicious. The point is that every corporation has policies in place to restrict or demand proper notice of secondary employment. Teachers are different because they do not make as much and are not expected to work beyond the require hours of their union contract but a director works a certain time whether it is 8 to 4 or 9 to 5. Making it almost impossible to work two similar jobs. Imagine working your 8 to 4 or 9 to 5 and balancing a similar job after hours. People wake up this is happening everywhere and no one cares because it is pushed aside. We all are equal in paying into the system if someone is not putting all of their time into our kids then what are doing here. At the end of the day it’s vital to look at the bigger picture.

as a former employee of for years there is a lot of miss dealings in this dist.
like not working there hours, taking days off and not reporting it . working side jobs while in school on school time. they hide work place bullying. they hide the mold issues that effect workers and students---by getting rid people if they bring it up.
parents of holmdel you need to clean house for your child