Fireworks Fly At Glen Rock School Board Meeting Over Basketball Coach

GLEN ROCK, NJ — A school board member resigned and fireworks flew at a Glen Rock meeting Monday, as community members rallied around a girls' basketball coach.

[UPDATE: Sara Wolman has been chosen as the new coach. See new story here.]

According to a petition posted later that day, community members supported Junior Varsity Girls' Basketball Coach Sara Wolman at Glen Rock High School for the position of varsity coach.

But when another candidate was chosen for the spot, parents and volunteers were angry, saying he was from the superintendent's former district and was placed on the agenda at the last minute.

At the meeting, board member Elizabeth Carr said she was resigning, citing a lack of trust.

"It's increasingly hard to do your job when you're misinformed and uninformed and there is a lack of trust," she said. "The work that I've done for the district and the students since 2006 I feel I can no longer do, and I'm sorry. I want to thank everybody who voted for me. It's been an honor and a pleasure and my door is still going to be open and my phone is still going to be answered."

Rallying For Wolman

The petition about the coach hiring says, "On September 23rd, 2024, the Glen Rock Board of Education approved a new Head Coach for the Glen Rock High School Girls Varsity position. This was done without any proper consideration for the current Junior Varsity Coach, Coach Sara Wolman. Coach Sara, a GRHS alum and former collegiate player, has been involved with the High School basketball program and has helped with the youth league programs for over a decade."

The petition adds, "The other coach that was chosen for the job however has no experience living, playing, or attending a Glen Rock school. Initially, when the Varsity Head Coach position was vacated, the Athletic Director failed to contact Coach Sara about the opening..."

The petition received 531 signatures by Wednesday afternoon.

At the meeting, students spoke in support of Wolman — as did her mother, Randi Blumberg, a past board member.

One student said, to applause, "We are a team of women and it would be empowering to be led by another, especially Coach Sara."

Parent Stephanie Kivett Ohnegian complained that the superintendent has been hiring staff members from his former district.

She called Wolman "One of the best coaches my daughter's ever had for both basketball and softball" and rattled off a list of Pequannock staff members brought to Glen Rock, saying the superintendent (Brett Charleston, hired in 2019), had brought them in, to the detriment of the schools.

Update

A social media post on Wednesday night said that the chosen coach has resigned, and the position has been offered to Wolman. Read the post here.

Watch the school board meeting here, including comments about Wolman starting at 1:01.

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