Stacy Gray For Board Of Education

I’ve been battling an inner struggle.  I have always viewed campaigning with, “What can you do for me”?  I’m not fond of candidates slinging mud at the other and not showing me what they have to offer.  However, I am beyond frustrated with some of the things I’ve witnessed (and not witnessed for that matter) by some of our current board members.  Therefore, I have tried really hard to not “throw mud” or take personal attacks on my opponents while still bringing the truth to light so you can be an educated voter.  The truth is so relevant and if you don’t attend meetings and do some research you’d never know.  It is one of the main reasons I am running for a board seat, I couldn’t just sit back anymore without trying to change the tide!  With that said, this blog post is about what I can and will do as your board member!

I am fortunate enough to work in a school district that is truly innovative.  Our community told us they wanted more involvement and we listened!!!  We now work with our senior citizen groups and bring them into our schools for various activities.  Last year our school had a book club.  The senior volunteers and some of our students read age appropriate novels outside of school and met once a month over lunch to have a book discussion.  It was a huge hit with everyone and our seniors could be a part of their tax dollars in action!  As a district technology teacher I had the privilege to teach basic and advanced computer classes to our seniors on Saturdays…it was a blast!!!!  I am also active on various volunteer, after school committees including school leadership, school safety/anti-bullying, assessment, and multicultural.  I have a great understanding of curriculum and the current mandate to meet the Common Core Curriculum Standards recently adopted by the state of New Jersey.  I know I can give feedback and offer ideas and methods to supplement the Everyday Math program.  The new standards call for repetition to meet the objectives while the Everyday Math program focuses on a spiral curriculum.  This is fine for the average student but the slow learner will need to be supplemented to be successful.  I also co-wrote our district’s technology curriculum.  I instruct my students with the necessary skills to be academically successful and tech savvy!  We use Excel, Powerpoint, and Word.  We explore blogs, wikis, keyboarding techniques, 3D architecture design and complete internet scavenger hunts.  I pride myself on searching relentlessly for the newest and most relevant skills to date and keep things fresh.  We spend time discussing social networking, the limitless opportunities of the internet as well as the dangers.  On our school leadership team we work with teachers, administrators and parents to communicate our needs and wants.  Last year, through this committee I assisted with our district’s annual multicultural day and coordinated science day!  We brought in guest speakers, parents and community members for both days.  On multicultural day our students learned about acceptance and diversity and appreciation of other cultures.  On science day, our community and parents led hands on activities and demonstrated many different careers that involve science.  Both events were exciting and awesome!  As a part of our assessment committee I was responsible for investigating, mastering and training staff in various online assessment programs to benchmark progress and pinpoint specific weakness.  As a parent of a differently-abled child I am proud to say that by knowing our rights, investigating alternative forms of assessment, providing manipulatives and suggesting modifications, our son is in a mainstreamed 4th grade class and is successful!  By speaking with the teachers and working together my son’s progress is now measured against himself instead of against the status quo; as it should be!  The last two years have been glorious and rewarding for all of us….working together as a team!  I understand the need to pinch pennies so we must do more with less.  We absolutely need to seek out the millions of dollars of money available in state, federal and corporate grants.

Now for accountability!  We obviously don’t want to micromanage, however we do need to follow-up!  I think Deptford does a lot of delegating and turns around and washes their hands of the issues.  For example, I expressed concern about 3 different policies on the website regarding National Junior Honor Society.  I was told we pay a lot of money to a tech person to run the website and that shouldn’t be happening.  It was never followed up on and never fixed.  The website itself can be daunting to navigate and I still can’t find the requirements for elementary school honor roll in the handbook/calendar.  If something is brought to light as a concern for our families I promise to be persistent in getting it fixed!  Speaking of being made aware….what about these “see attached”?  Parents are busy and can’t always make board meetings but they can read the minutes online.  The problem is, most of the minutes say “see attached” or on file in the Superintendent’s office.  Well, if people can’t make the meetings, how do we expect them to go to the board office every time they want to be informed about policy?  In this age of technology, attached should be ATTACHED…it’s not!  And attendance…..well, I understand that being a board member is voluntary and people have to work, emergencies, etc.  BUT…one of my opponents has missed 2 of the last 3 meetings.  I think that sends a bad message to the voters.  How can you ask for their vote in November and not show up to meetings in August and September?  It’s voluntary but as a board member I will also recognize the responsibility I have been entrusted with!

As you can clearly see, I am bursting with ideas and enthusiasm and this is just the tip of the iceberg!  I know I can bring innovation to Deptford Schools.  I am also receptive to others’ visions.  I am going to post my resume that I submitted for the vacant seat in July.  You can read and decide if you want to hire me with your vote!  Can’t wait to get busy on the board!

You would think this would be the #1 focus at every board meeting!  Not so much….. At the September meeting the room was filled with parents and presenters!  This was awesome!!!  The problem was, not everyone in attendance wanted to sing the praises of the board.  There was a man whose 4-year-old son was put on the wrong bus and “missing” for 45 minutes.  Another parent questioned why the 5-6 year olds are on the bus for almost an hour.  As the board attempted to offer excuses for the bus shortcomings and promised to look into the matter I realized what actually was missing from this exchange.  Not one person in leadership said, “I’m Sorry” or offered any type of heart-felt apology towards what these parents had to endure.  These problems seem to be the result of the lack of more routes and buses and the lack of aides on these buses of 50 kindergarten students.  Another concerned parent brought to the board’s attention the lack of any playground equipment at Good Intent, Lake Tract and Oak Valley.  As a teacher I can tell you, putting a grade level or 2 on a dirt field with 2-3 adults and nothing to play on or with equals a recipe for disaster!  The superintendent said playground equipment is expensive.  It is!  But, how about a plan?  We can look into grants, donations, fundraising, work with PTO?  Nada!  The most frustrating part of the whole meeting for me was the discussion by the former board president and a realtor.  The board, on the advisement of the former board president, is seeking to purchase a private church school in Deptford or to add onto Monongahela and sell New Sharon School to make it a strip mall or perhaps a lawyer’s office.  The realtor sold himself well with, “if there’s a buyer out there…I’ll find them”.  Then the former board president suggested architects and more walk-throughs and what may or may not be the most cost-effective solution.  Solution for what, you ask?  Well, Deptford was cited by QSAC for the isolation of the special ed students at New Sharon.  In NJ, all schools are monitored by QSAC.  This group evaluates schools on everything from structure to curriculum and student success.  The New Sharon School building is not handicap accessible and the students have no interaction with their regular ed peers.  Some of them are bussed to the other elementary schools for specials.  The part that drove me CRAZY was the fact that while they were discussing real estate and assessed value, no one mentioned the kids!  I did!  I asked what is the plan for the kids while you figure out these long-term logistics???  They really didn’t have one…. Prime example of the problem…..FOCUS ON THE KIDS FIRST!!!!!!  There is such a disconnect here!  That will be MY PLAN, friends…I promise you! Focus on the kids!!!!

It’s Back to School time!  I am sure everyone agrees it was rough getting back on the school schedule!  My kids seemed happy as they arrived home from their first day as 4th and 8th graders.  I am fortunate to not have had to deal with any of the bus issues that I’ve been reading about from friends…..my oldest had no difficulties….thank God.  I am excited that it’s finally time to start sharing my blog with everyone and also happy the BOE has FINALLY posted the minutes from June-August!  There is some interesting reading there.  I was really perplexed and surprised that the latest person appointed to the board in July (due to the resignation of the president) was someone that seemed to come out of the blue.  I’ve never really seen him at a board meeting and his kids are out of DTSD.  I guess the reason that puzzled me most was why this person was suddenly interested in becoming a board member in July when he wasn’t interested as of June 5th when all interested candidates had to submit their names to be on the ballot?!  Well, it’s interesting to point out that his wife was just hired to a newly created position as secretary of Lake Tract School at $29,000 at the June 26th board meeting then he was appointed as a board member in July.  Now, I want to be fair and clear: I don’t personally know the family.  I am sure they are wonderful people and his wife may have been the best candidate for that job.  This is just an example of what seems to be happening in this town and a way for a select group of people to monopolize the board and get done what they want done….problem is….what they are getting done has little to do with the ABC’s and 123’s.  The point is not to bash anyone but rather, to ask when these types of situations keep repeating themselves are we looking at networking or nepotism?  If this appointment was made in June, his wife couldn’t have taken that job as it would have been a form of nepotism and broken the Code of Ethics for NJ board members.  If you do some research and checking into such simple places as Facebook you can see all of the connections and relations of DTSD and DT employees.  I know it’s always about “who you know”….I get that.  What is of enormous concern to me is when you focus on getting jobs for friends and family and appointments day in and day out,  are you still able to focus on the important topics like curriculum and student achievement?  Some may think that’s a stretch but read the minutes and specific strategies for student improvement are few and far between but appointments and new hires are a part of each month’s minutes.  It is blatant and repetitive in Deptford.  Keep your eye out for this one too: a few months back, a new position was created and approved by the board for a director of operations while Mr. Berglund was still president but never filled.  I have had numerous people approach me and tell me that the rumor is that the president resigned his post so he could accept this six figure position.  Can I validate that?  NO…but only time will tell. A board member has to be separated from the board for at least six months before they can work for the district. Maybe he will be directing the building of the new fire building and remodeling of the Seventh Day Adventist School where they plan to move the New Sharon students (that’s if that goes through).  I don’t even understand why he is still part of that process since he’s no longer a board member.  After all, he said he resigned because he didn’t have the time to devote to the board anymore due to business ventures and THAT seems super time consuming!  It’s just disheartening to hear this rumor spread around our town!  In addition when these board appointments keep occurring they are taking the voice away from the voters!  You see, someone resigns before their term is up and they find a friend to appoint for the rest of the term.  Sure, we all need some help now and then but what about rewards from hard work and merit for integrity?  In the combined 50+ years that my family and my husband’s family have resided in Deptford no one has ever been employed by neither DT or the DTSD.  I will run my campaign and work hard to bring the facts to light and promise that I am not running for this seat for no other reason than to better our school district!  Also, if you go to Monroe Twp.’s Board agenda you’ll see they have appointed Ralph Ross as their Superintendent….odd considering he just stated less than a month ago how he really wants to extend his tenure in Deptford….hmmmm….something’s fishy….stay tuned!!!!

here is a link to the June minutes….see page 5, #5

http://deptford.schoolfusion.us/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/969292/File/Board%20of%20Education/Minutes%202011-12/062612.pdf?sessionid=73d6fea2fd0288f086adb63b6c32951d

Here is the director of operations position:

http://deptford.schoolfusion.us/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/969292/File/Board%20of%20Education/Minutes%202011-12/051512B.pdf?sessionid=d2e288f6bface206ed3915870263fb90

Monroe Township Board of Education Agenda: Sept. 6, 2012 Report of the Superintendent item #4

Click to access Sept6.pdf

So, interesting news last night!  I was perusing through the Monroe Township website and checked the agenda for Sept. 6th….OH MY!  At last week’s meeting Ralph Ross was very clear that he wanted to and was trying to stay on as Deptford’s superintendent.  At $500 a day, I cringed.  However, he is suddenly on Monroe’s agenda to be appointed interim to their district.  How can that be?????  This had to have been in the works for some time so why was he so persistent last week?  The good news is the district can start looking for a replacement that can focus on both long and short-term goals that is vested in improvement and will be accountable.  I personally found it hard to get Mr. Ross to make a decision and sends parents to present their concerns to the board instead.  Hopefully, the idea that came up as a possible replacement is not the route they take.  One member suggested Gary Loudenslager as an interim replacement.  Not another interim???!!!!  I think it’s due time we start demanding our board begins finding the best people to do the job instead of  friends and family getting a job!  We need to get a team of permanent administrators who are here for the long haul and are ready to lead this district to greatness!

Update- The September 6th minutes from Monroe Twp. and Mr. Ross was hired in a vote of 5-4.  He made no mention of his new job at the Deptford board meeting on Sept. 18th.  He actually said he was going to be working with Woodbury schools on Race to the Top grants which is a pretty long and involved project.  I wonder how that’s going to happen…..he’s already on their website and letterhead.  How is the leadership of our board OK with this?  Does he work for us or for them?  I’m confused! See Below!

August 29th-the rescheduled board meeting due to last week’s lack of attendance by most members….

The meeting tonight was quite lengthy.  There were numerous appointments, new hires, resignations and promotions to be approved.  There was also discussion on where Ralph Ross stood as far as being allowed by the pension board to stay on another 2 years as interim superintendent.  He pleaded for the board to hold off on advertising and interviewing and anticipated hearing from legislators that he had contacted for help in a week or two.  Two board members seemed concerned and wanted to move forward and be proactive but others didn’t feel a week or so would make a difference.  The vice president, Rachel Green had some great suggestions moving forward.  She suggested a “moving on” ceremony for the 8th graders leaving the middle school which is an excellent idea since it happens in the elementary school and the high school.  She also brought up the idea to start looking for grant writers!!!!  This is something I am truly passionate about.  There is money out there for the taking, let’s go get it!  I raised the question about newly appointed board member, Mr. Gentile and why the board has failed to follow procedure by notifying the county elections board that there was a recent resignation.  According to statute 18A that unexpired term should be on the November 6, 2012 ballot.  They answered that they are choosing to follow the solicitor’s advice rather than what most other districts are doing who are in the same position.  My concern is that they are taking away the voice of the people.  There is a reason that people vote and we shouldn’t just appoint people as we see fit.  My concerns seemed to fall on deaf ears from most board members but the public in attendance agreed wholeheartedly.  I will be following up with the proper channels to see if there is an avenue to force them to do the right thing and be accountable to the voters.  Stay tuned!

So tonight was a regularly scheduled board meeting.  I thought it was odd that the agenda which is to be posted 48 hours prior to a meeting was not on the website as of 4:40 on the day of the meeting.  It was also strange that they moved the meeting time up to 6 pm.  What was really shocking was when the meeting was about to start only the president and the vice president were there!  The agenda….al 12+ pages of it was eventually given out and after a 15 minute wait the meeting was cancelled due to NO ONE else showing up!  It was obvious that they knew ahead of time that there wouldn’t be a meeting, as many people on the agenda scheduled to present weren’t there either.  They had apparently been given notice ahead of time.  When I asked Mr. Wilson, the president, when he knew the meeting would be cancelled he admitted that he knew earlier that they wouldn’t have enough people to conduct a meeting.  He further explained that it’s a non-paying position and that people were on vacation.  All true…..however……they all volunteered for this position and it should be taken seriously.  Yes, I realize people go on vacation…..HOWEVER, I left my vacation to come home for a ballot drawing because it was important to me.  These meetings are scheduled by March at the latest so schedule your vacation on another week or drive home from the shore! There is only one meeting a month for crying out loud!  It is worrisome that it was the last meeting before school starts, there are several people slated to be approved for hiring, supervisors giving presentations about curriculum and a new bell schedule for the high school and it wasn’t important enough for 7 of 9 members to attend?  The most frustrating part for me was the fact that the newly appointed member (the seat I interviewed for) didn’t even attend his FIRST meeting!!!!  He is now also a member of almost every board committee as well (according to the agenda they handed out) and he hasn’t even attended ONE MEETING yet and I’m assuming he hasn’t had a chance to attend the mandated training either.  Look, I’m not bashing anyone here but at the same time this is one of the prime reasons I’m running…..accountability, consistency and follow through!  They are trying to reschedule for next week….stay tuned!

August 13th….my dad’s 70th birthday and day 3 of our 1 week family vacation down the shore!  But, today is also significant for another reason…..it is ballot position day!  So, rather than join my husband and boys on the beach I am trekking back home to Woodbury to witness my first ballot position drawing.  Today they are randomly drawing for where each person’s name appears on the ballot.  It’s exciting!  I drive home an hour and a half and am greeted at the county clerks office by a candidate that I know from a mutual friend that happens to be running for school board in Mantua.  I’m quite surprised that we are the only candidates out of all of Gloucester County that attend.  The process is interesting.  Each candidate’s name is written on a tiny slip and rolled up and placed in a tiny glass tube.  The tube is then capped and put in an envelope which goes into a larger envelope which has the township name on it.  The first drawing is for Republican or Democrat for the federal Presidential election.  (Republican will appear first, in case you were wondering).  Then they draw for a local Clayton election, and finally, it is the school board candidates turn!  I’m glad they went alphabetically so that Deptford was second.  My name is drawn from the wooden box 2nd!!!!  This means my name will be the second on the list of candidates!!!!  This made my 3 hour commute very worth it!!!!  I’m very pleased to be #2 of 4!  Happy Birthday Dad!!! :)

July 23, 2012

Tonight I got to interview for the open seat on the board that was left vacant when board president Beglund abruptly resigned on June 26, 2012.  Now, I should premise this by stating that I was contacted by at least 3 different people who are “in the know” that the board already had a person chosen and that it wasn’t me.  This is a bit frustrating since I was the only member of the community who had the intention of becoming a board member as of June 5th, the deadline to turn in your petition to be on the ballot.  I am running against 3 incumbent members for 3 seats.  In a perfect world, the board would have decided to appoint ME and then I would withdraw from the 3 year position and their incumbents would run unopposed and all of us would be board members!  However, they had other plans and a friend of theirs was the guy!  I was still invited to interview and I am glad I did.  The board president asked me 4 or 5 questions and I think I did an amazing job answering them.  I thrive on speaking about education and I think I got my message across and my intentions were clear: when it comes to policy, education and the future of Deptford’s schools—I mean BUSINESS!  They were all gracious and it was a great experience for me.  I finished feeling both competent and confident.  They still chose “their guy” and I congratulated him and wished him luck.  It made me really excited to get going for November and I consider the interview a dry run for spreading my campaign message.