BOE Appoints School No. 1 Principal After All

Students at Fort Lee School No. 1 will be welcomed by a familiar face when they return to their classrooms in the fall: that of their principal for the past year—at least for another year. The Fort Lee Board of Education Monday approved a walk-in resolution to appoint Kristine Cecere principal of the elementary school for the 2011-2012 school year.

The school board had previously voted not to renew Cecere’s contract, among others, over what turned out to be an issue with her credentials.

Before school board president Arthur Levine read the walk-in resolution upon which the board voted immediately and separate from all other resolutions on the agenda, Cecere addressed the BOE.

“I want to thank the board very much for the opportunity to speak to you this evening and to serve at School 1 for another year,” she said. “I accept responsibility for the certificate issue. If the board’s been made to feel uncomfortable with what occurred, I sincerely apologize.”

The vote took place immediately after Cecere’s apology, and the resolution was approved unanimously.

“My vote is only because she takes responsibility for her actions,” said school board member Peter Suh before casting his “yes” vote. “And that’s what’s so important with the leaders in our district in our schools—and not to mention, that she’s done a pretty good job as well.”

Said school board president Arthur Levine before casting the final vote, “Same as Peter, yes.”

“Approved,” said business administrator and board secretary Cheryl Balletto, and the unusually large crowd gathered in the school’s library for Monday’s meeting erupted in applause as a visibly relieved and emotional Cecere took a moment to gather herself and the board took a short recess.

School officials had previously declined to offer specifics on Cecere’s nonrenewal—leaving some concerned parents scratching their heads. Those officials cited confidentiality of personnel matters and a legal process for staff members whose contracts are not renewed.

Fort Lee Superintendent of Schools Raymond Bandlow circulated a letter to parents Monday outlining what are essentially New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) guidelines governing nonrenewal.

“It is important for every parent to know that there are strict legal limitations on what the Board of Education or Superintendent of Schools can say to the public about an employee’s status,” Bandlow wrote in the letter. “This letter is to inform you what we can and cannot say.”

According to the NJSBA, a non-renewed staff member has the right to a written statement of reasons for nonrenewal upon request and to an informal appearance before the board called a “Donaldson hearing,” so named for a school law decision from the North Wildwood Board of Education.

“It is the teacher who must act first in order to activate these rights,” according to the NJSBA, which identifies the timeline of events as follows:

• The educator has 15 days after notification of non-renewal to request in writing the statement of reasons.
• The board then has 30 days to provide the statement to the educator.
• Within 10 days of receiving the statement of reasons, the teacher or faculty member can request—again in writing—an informal appearance before the board of education.
• The board must then schedule the appearance within 30 calendar days of the employee receiving the board’s statement of reasons.

“The process is typically resolved at the end of the ‘Donaldson’ hearing,” Bandlow wrote in the letter. “If the Board decides to reappoint the employee, it may do so by Board action at a public meeting.”

During the recess in Monday’s meeting after that action took place, Cecere shed some light on what the issue was with her credentials and just what she was apologizing for. She said it had to do with holding what turned out to be an invalid certificate to serve as a principal.

 “I received that certificate in 2005 after completing my second Master’s in 2004,” Cecere explained. “I tucked it away because I was teaching then. I pulled it out for this position, and I was just recently made aware that the state sent me the wrong certificate, which they acknowledged in writing to me. But the bottom line is I’m still responsible for making sure that I have the right certificate. So it’s been resolved, the board has given me an opportunity to move forward, and I am thrilled.”

Stefanie Stuart, the parent of a soon-to-be first-grader at School No. 1 who recently started an online petition to save Cecere’s job, said she was “glad it went our way.”

“I respect the process,” Stuart said. “I think it was a super learning experience for everybody, and I’m really excited to have Ms. Cecere back again for next year.”

Stuart said she wasn’t sure if the petition played a role in the board’s decision, but that she hopes it had some effect.

“I think it’s important for parents to be involved and to get the word out and to make themselves heard and to do so in a productive manner,” she said. “And I think that’s what we did. And even if it had not gone our way, I think we would have gone down that road. It was a good lesson—I think—for everyone in terms of parents standing up and speaking up.”

School board president Arthur Levine said Tuesday that school officials are barred from discussing specific personnel matters, but he did say there was no oversight on the part of the school district when it hired Cecere without the proper credentials.

"Everybody’s credentials are checked online with the state," he said. "The state did make a mistake."