Letter to the Editor About Ken Rota Firing: 'Residents ... are very concerned about the actions of this Board.'

Hello Editor,

Thanks so much for your continuing coverage of the issues here in the Paramus school system.

I am a member of a group of residents who are very concerned about the actions of this Board, particularly the contested vote to not renew the contract of current superintendent, Ken Rota. From our research, it is clear that the vote was 5-4 in favor of not renewing his contract, and the deciding vote was cast by the lame duck Trustee.

We have created an online petition at change.org asking for a revote with the newly reconstituted Board. It is our understanding that only a Trustee who has previously voted in favor of not renewing the contract OR the new Trustee can bring the matter up for revote. We hope to receive enough signatures on the petition for the Board to see the validity of our request and the concern of the community.

I also wanted to share with you the Mayor’s public comments on the situation, in case you haven’t seen them. He has posted your ... article on his Facebook page and in the comments he makes these remarks:

Couple things. 1. This is a personnel issue and i am not privy to the same information that the trustees are. I can only base my opinion on my experience as a parent and as mayor, and both to date have been positive. Again and no different than borough matters, this is a personnel issue an outsiders are not privy to the same information that trustees are.

2. I heard former councilman Ralph Amato said the other night and i must strongly agree, there is a perception issue here with recent boe actions / decisions that at some point must be addressed. In deference to the boe and similar to the borough, the process could tie their hands and what they can say at this time, but at some point the perception must be addressed and there should be as much transparency as permitted by law. Specific perception issues are process, or lack of, and appearance to have rushed to get things done with a lame duck trustee, which is of utmost concern. The board should address this at some point.

3. Continuity. The turnover at key administrative positions at all levels makes it difficult if not impossible for any consistency and continuity which is essential in long term planning associated with any institution and most especially education. In the four years i’ve been mayor there have been multiple superintendents and principals together with interims for both. With all the time and money spent on interims and searching i do not understand this turnover. This also creates a problem when trying to attract people as they will have little confidence in a commitment

Some might say i have said too much but as mayor i think it is important that i be heard, and i am also a parent.

Finally, we have set up a Facebook event called Keep Ken Rota! inviting members of the community to attend the next Paramus Board of Education Meeting to be held on Monday, January 26 at 7:30pm.

Thank you,

Jen Landa