I was there and according to Martin the school board is not involved.. So, why was he there NOT answering questions?

Who made the complaint?

We tell our kids to speak up if they are bullied that way the problem can be resolved. That is exactly what Ana, Dennis and Phyllis did. Instead of the issue being addressed they were brought up on ethics charges. This is as if one of our children was suspended because they said they were bullied. It is shameful.

What about the rest of the meeting(school security and Chartwells selling Marleys to our children). Since Christina is not going to mention them I guess I will start the conversation.
It was nice to find out that Chartwells is a completely incompetent company. Their two representatives confirmed that there was no real oversight of the ordering process and that is how that poison wound up on the shelves of our schools. They are now trying to put a system in place to stop this from happening in the future. I say it's too little too late. When such gross negligence is perpetrated by a vendor, there should be no second chances, no chance to fix your internal problems. We need to cancel the contract with Chartwells and look for a new vendor that already has the neccssary safeguards in place. Also a disturbing note was when Barbra Garrity said that at the beginning of each year the board is sent a list of the food that is to be sold by Chartwells. This tells me that Ms. Garrity is aware that our children are being sold double shots of Starbucks and Black Water. This is outrageous. Our children should be served milk, juice, and water. There is no need for anything else.

The biggest take away that I got from the security briefing was that the Holmdel police are stretched thin. I do not blame them for that. They do an amazing job and should be commended for the work they do. Almost everyone in attendance seems to agree that a uniformed police presence is necessary in all of our schools. The board needs to find the money to make this happen. If Holmdel can not afford to put an on duty officer at each school, then the board needs to secure the funds to pay off duty Holmdel police officers to take up that task.
Also of note was that Barbra Duncan was called to task for not communicating with parents concerning both the security issues at the school and the Marleys incident. We will all be watching and waiting to see if she will actually take the voters comments into account in the future.

Where did all the comments go???

I hope Mrs. Duncan heard our concerns regarding that there is a communication problem,but I think not. Her response was if you want bits and pieces of info I will try to remember that. Mrs. Duncan we want reassurances about what is being done in our schools regarding these issues . Ultimately you are in charge and therefore have the accountability of keeping us informed.

Is this the method our BOE leadership employs to deal with dissent? Now whose interest does that serve? (Certainly not mine as a taxpayer and parent.) Their heels are dug in so deep they are no longer functional; or even productive. It’s time for a recall.

If taxpayer dollars are used to litigate these ridiculous ethics charges we should all be outraged and embarrassed. It appears Ms. Garrity has a personal axe to grind with her fellow board members. Stop this petty infighting and start focusing on the job of advocating for Holmdel's students!

Firstly I want to thank Mrs. Pascucci for coming forward and making her statement that she is the 3rd BOE member that was intimidated and bullied simply for raising a concern on behalf of the school district and taxpayers at an October closed-door session. It takes courage and conviction to stand up for what you believe in-especially when you find yourself in the minority-and I applaud the 3 board members for doing so on our behalf.

I also echo the sentiment of one of the other meeting attendees who asked the Board "Can't the Board and Administration work this issue out without having to resort to lawsuits?" After that question was asked there was a long and awkward silence so I took that as a 'No.' When asked about the specific nature of these ethics charges Mr. Barger, the Board Attorney, said he could not comment but he did actually suggest that we could all google 'ethics code' and try to figure it out on our own that way. Mr. Barger did point out that the Board itself has not lodged the ethics charges, but he would not disclose the name of the individual or individuals that have lodged them. So we still don't know who exactly is lodging the ethics charges, and we still don't know why. I assume the three Board Members, who volunteer their time, will be paying for the cost of their legal defense out of their own pockets. But when Mr. Barger was asked WHO specifically would be paying for the cost of the legal proceedings lodged against the 3 board members he stated that it would be the TAXPAYERS of the State of New Jersey. Especially in light of the tragedy that transpired recently in the Sandy Hook school, I can think of many other very important things that I would like my taxpayer money to be spent on.... and this is certainly not one of them.

The first hour of the meeting brought attention to productive concerns about food and drinks sold in our schools and the security of our children. It is very disheartening to learn that instead of working together and finding solutions to these very important issues concerning the safety of our children, our board (or at least one member) believes time is better served filing claims of ethics violations. It was revealed at the meeting that BOE business has come to a veritable standstill as these secretive violations run their way through our court system. I would like to believe that the horrible events in Newtown have taught us that nothing is more important than the safety of our children. As far as I am concerned our children’s safety is being compromised by these secretive violations inasmuch as time that is wasted and the lack of communication between Board members. The Board has some important issues to deal with - I appeal to the Board Member who has brought these charges to think about the children and drop these charges so the Board can function and carry out their important duties of providing the students of Holmdel a safe environment to learn. I plead with the Board to put aside their personal petty differences and work together in an environment where questions of any nature are viewed as healthy and productive, not matters that need to be litigated through the court.

Jeff, please tell us how exactly these board members violated any privacy and codes of ethics? They read a statement saying they were made to feel intimidated for bringing to a light a serious and delicate issue that they specifically said they could not speak publically about. http://holmdel-hazlet.patch.com/articles/two-holmdel-school-board-members-say-they-are-being-bullied-by-colleagues-over-raising-issue
Mrs. Garrity was the one that issued the public statement announcing to the world that it was a staffer's second job that was the subject of the board investigation. http://holmdel-hazlet.patch.com/articles/holmdel-boe-president-unspoken-issue-involves-staffer-s-second-job
Please be informed if you are going to comment.

Dear All,

Although I do not know Ms Pascucci personally she has an impeccable reputation in the Holmdel community. She is well know in the community as a staunch supporter and advocate for children with special needs. As we all know, special education is a highly confidential area. I am sure Ms Pascucci is very familiar with the ehtical code of confidentiality

Mrs. Duncan and Mrs. Garrity, When will we hear the real story about the staffer's second job that was the subject of the board investigation that started all of this? Since we are not being given any additional information I can only guess that the staffer was caught performing duties for their second job during this individual's normal business hours here within the Holmdel School District. On our taxpayers dime. Which, by the way, is a crime punishable with jail time, as well as restitution to the taxpayers in the amount for any wages paid to this staffer while they were working at their second job. I'd like to know when we are going to get our money back.

I decided to do some investigative work and while I can neither confirm nor deny that this is the staff member in question, all of this information was gathered via simple Google searches. A basic search of the Asbury Park press Data Universe displays all school employees and salaries. After gathering a list of the Administrators names, I cross referenced with other school districts. A certain name, the Director of Special Services for Holmdel Township also shows up as the Director of Special Services. for Beverly City School, in Beverly NJ. While it's possible both schools have a Director of Special Services with the same name, it was interesting to stumble upon given the circumstances and the alleged ethic violations toward the board members about a staffers second job. I don't see how someone can be the director of Special Ed in two districts at the same time so hopefully this is just a coincidence. Administrators are listed in each schools handbook below...

Holmdel handbook - http://www.holmdel.k12.nj.us/home/pdf/district_calendar_handbook.pdf

Beverly Handbook -
http://www.beverly.k12.nj.us/files/handbook.pdf

Interestingly enough the principal at the Beverly school has the same exact name as the former principal of the Holmdel village school

Also, the Superintendent of the Beverly school district is Ms. Giacobbe, who was the Village School principal for a short time.

I'm not understanding this whole situate. If it is the director of Special Services in Holmdel, she is making a six figure salary. Either it is allowed by Holmdel that she have another job as the director of Special Services in Beverly, or the Board has to deal with the situation. I'm not sure if it is allowed, but why are the 3 board members being bullied for pointing it out, then being brought up on ethics charges?

Mr. Barger should be commended for ignoring our questions and suggesting taking to Google to find answers. Once Google realized what I was searching for, the similarities between Holmdel and Beverly City were just popping out of the screen. I don't know that it means anything, but it sure is some coincidence if nothing else..

A reasonable person would conclude that ALL board members are in agreement that this can’t be discussed in public, since all have refused to speak to the details. Yet Mr. Pavlik and Ms. Vander Woude did go public with inflammatory references to the Penn State and Brookdale scandals.

I can only surmise that Mr. Pavlik and Ms. Vander Woude stirred up the community in the hopes that we will bring so much pressure that any contemplated ethics charges will just be dropped to quiet the noise. Ironically, they are trying to use the community to "bully" the rest of the board!

I have a hard time understanding how the community believes that a majority of the board would be complicit in a cover up for a staffer’s moonlighting activities … what would all 6 board members have to gain?? It seems more plausible to me that there is no evidence that the person working both jobs has violated any agreements or engaged in behavior that is a conflict of interest. The reason I find that more likely is because I can’t conjure up a scenario where 6 board members would have the need or the desire to engage in a conspiracy.

We all may not like the situation but if no rules have been broken, the only remedy is to change the rule, not enforce one that does not yet exist.

As far as the ethics charges, how can we have an opinion when we don't know the nature of the charges and what led to them being filed?

She shouldn't be allowed to double-dip, especially on our time(The Taxpayers). I'm pretty sure this other school doesn't run a night shift. she should be givin an ultimatum, either work here or there, but at this point the damage is already done. Your tax dollars are paying for her to work here and she's working in Beverly, making nice money I would assume. This is just another one of the issues that are swept under the rug by our wonderful President and the administration. Obviously it must be one of their Goomba's their protecting. They got caught with their hand in the cookie jar and now their trying to pawn off the blame on these other members. No one should be taking cheap shots at these individuals. Wake up!!! They are doing their job looking out for you(Taxpayers) and your kids well being. When this is all said and done, The Paddy Wagon will be coming for them!!!!!

I wonder if you noticed that the Business Administrator at Beverly school is also employed in two places. He was one of the first ones I googled to see if there were any others there that are doing the same thing.

Do I like it? No. But the board should not be in the business of enforcing rules that they think SHOULD be on the books ... they should only enforce existing rules.

Should we adopt a rule to prevent this? I think so. But that is irrelevant.

Everyone is ignoring the fact that an investigation was done. I am concluding that this person showed up for work in Holmdel when she was supposed to and she did her part time gig on her time. If there was evidence to the contrary, I believe some type of action would have occurred.

Extra police presence in our schools was also discussed.Maybe Ms. Duncan would be willing to take a cut in her huge salary. After all it is for the sake of the children. I am sadden every time I return from a BOE meeting

FYI. Mrs. Duncan hasn't taken any paycuts as yet. That comes in June when her contract expires.

Antoinette, you have good hearing. I was at the meeting and I did speak. I introduced myself to Ms. Duncan at the break and thanked her for all she has done for the children over the years. I have exchanged emails with her in the past but it was nice to finally meet her face to face.

To SAC and Antoinette. As you suggested I used google. I am not sure what you want me to find. Looks like a part time position to me (page 30, agenda item 56..lower salary than the FT head custodian). If you scroll down further you will see the business administrator is also part time.

http://www.beverly.k12.nj.us/files/Aug2012Agenda.pdf

Unfortunately I was unable to attend the meeting but I do have a question about our board policy regarding outside employment. After reading eveyone's comments it seems like our policies regarding outside employment are extremely lax. What exactly would one have to do in order to violate our outside employment policy?? Mr. Searles, do you think it would be considered a violation if a Holmdel staffer was making phone calls and sending emails for their second job during our normal business hours here in the Holmdel schools? Would you consider that more than 'moonlighting?'

omg Giacobbe is somehow connected to this mess? If that woman is involved there is definitely something shady going on. When she was Principal at Village School she had very questionable ethics and decision making ability to put it mildly. And coincidentally she was very buddy buddy with Mrs. Duncan during her days at Village School. But even Mrs. Duncan couldn't save her when was finally let go due to inappropriate postings that she put on her FB page....where she said that the children of Holmdel were spoiled brats. Another example of one of Mrs. Duncan's cronies!

Holy cow, thank you very much for this link Mr. Searles. http://www.beverly.k12.nj.us/files/Aug2012Agenda.pdf When I looked on pages 213-217 I was floored to see just how lengthy the job description is for the Director of Special Services position in the Beverly School. How could our Superintendent, Board Attorney, and a majority of our Board of Education members possibly believe that someone could SUPERVISE the Beverly district's special education program on the weekend, at night, or during their lunch hour/coffee break. That doesn't sound like a sound investigation to me. Here are just some of the many "Performance Responsibilities" for the Beverly School Director of Special Services: "responsible for recruitment, assignment, supervision and evaluation of all certified and non-certified special education staff," "supervises and coordinates the activities of child study team members," "attends child study team meetings and assumes responsibility for the preparation and timely submission of all required documents and reports, in order to assure district compliance with legal requirements of this process" and much much more (also keep in mind that Beverly is over an hour away from Holmdel and part of the job description requires "attending child study team meetings.").

It seems to me that both Holmdel and Beverly are being cheated by not having a dedicated Director of Special Services, and both districts are not getting their money's worth from this Administrator level position. I wonder if the Beverly School district knows that their Superintendent hired a staffer that already has a full time job in Holmdel and is allegedly only 'moonlighting' for them during evening, weekend hours and/or lunch and coffee breaks for such a significant and important position within their school.

Tony,
I read the statements regarding "Penn State" and Brookdale". To use such examples, in my mind, infers that a serious offense was committed in Holmdel. My question still stands. Why has this not been reported to the County Prosecutors Office? As you state, if business was conducted on Holmdel time for Beverly, and vice versa, it is a crime. If the three board members felt they were "bullied" or that there is a "cover-up" all the more reason to go to the Prosecutor's Office. Hopefully, this will event will be brought to court and the facts will emerge. Than we can all go back to buying Big Mike's T-shirts. Possibly, by that time he will have a line of Big Mike's cologne! What do you think Mike?

Let's keep in mind this is all speculation at this point because no one will confirm anything about this shady situation. Having said that, even if the person in question was working on a part time basis for Beverly, it is not reasonable to think she could hold the same exact position in two schools, regardless of how small the school may be or whether it is full or part time. Mr. Searles, I understand your not wanting to crucify anyone without the facts, but don't you think it may be possible that the Board did not want this coming to light and thus their "investigation" put a lid on it and that is why the other 3 Board members may have decided to address it again?

I truly hope there is a logical explanation and this Holmdel/Beverly connection is a mere coincidence, but the fact still remains that if it is not and this is the "second job" that 6 of 9 board members felt was a non-issue, that is a problem. Whether she checked an email or made a phone call or split time between both places, that is double dipping and there is a clear distinction between "moonlighting" as some people keep saying and getting paid from two districts for the same billable hours.

The plot also thickens quite a bit if it's true that the current Beverly Superintendent is the former principal of Village school because both she and the staff member in question are on numerous prior Holmdel board agendas as serving on the same committees

Dear All

Maybe the other board members who are not addrressing the issue or supporting their fellow board members may also feel intimidated. Althought the board president Ms Garrity did not confirm or deny it was herself who filed, if it was I can understand the other 5 board members being a little nervous to get involved.
Sadly in our society today too many people look the other way

Thanks BM for the gracious offer of a free T-Shirt and possible job offer. But, I'll have to decline both. Not enough money in marketing and, since leaving the military, not a T-shirt guy. If you decide to speak at the next Board meeting I would like to thank you, in person, for your very kind offer. Most generous.

thank you SAC for this link wow very interesting!!!!!

FYI Having the experience of what bullying can do it went on for Many Years in my town of Toms River due to having cronies. Everyone on the BOE closed both their eyes and ears as to what was going on right under their noses and look where it got our children!!! Our superintendent diverted the attention from himself by building The Ritacco Center back in 2003 and that's not a typo, he named it after himself, Then he decided we needed a sport complex by erecting the John Bennett Indoor sport complex. He took a lot of heat after naming the Ritacco Center he then pulled out the name of an Outstanding Superintendent from precious years and name the complex after John Bennett. Again just to divert the attention from himself, To Smell Like a Rose. I believe someone is trying to Divert attention away from themself at this time by filing those ethic charges against those 3 honest board members. Its all about Control and Power with some people not the concern and well being of our children. Only you know how she behaves behind closed doors, the one that yells the loudest is the one you need to investigate. We have police in our schools for quite some time now, which I believe was due to illegal drugs which had been there since my daughter was in intermediate school and she is now 37, If there is a $$$ issue maybe retired police officers would be the answer. I hope this enlightens anyone with concerns about your district, Ritacco is now serving time behind bars!!!