COURIER-POST REPORTS
Scathing report cites Winslow schools' many woes
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
By ERIK SCHWARTZ
Courier-Post Staff
The chief administrator for the Winslow Township School District has sounded an alarm for a system in crisis.
The district's problems extend well beyond the $3.7 million budget deficit that Winslow is attempting to close by June 30, according to Michael E. Schreiner, who has served as interim superintendent since September.
This year, the district has struggled with poor student behavior abetted by lax discipline, meddling school board members, and the lack of a unified curriculum for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, among other things, he found.
Schreiner's "State of the District" report includes many of the same issues identified in recent weeks by the assistant superintendent, Daniel M. Swirsky, and the school board's vice president, Robert Bartolone, who made an impassioned speech at a board meeting last month.
When Schreiner, former head of the defunct Lower Camden County Regional school district that included Winslow, returned to the township last fall after five years, he was greeted warmly, but also with pleas for help.
In his "State of the District" report for the Winslow Township Board of Education and the community, Schreiner wrote that, upon his arrival, staff members criticized "virtually every aspect of the currently existing district."
Among the problems, he found that the Board of Education is "experiencing significant dysfunction" and creating "significant turmoil."
"This is a result of our Board of Education's tendency to involve itself in issues which are not the board's primary area of responsibility," Schreiner wrote. "Whenever Board of Education members stray from their primary responsibility of finance and policy, they tend to become a contributor to the problem rather than the solution."
These criticisms echo allegations made last month by Swirsky in an ethics complaint against Patricia A. Parker, president of the Board of Education.
Swirsky alleges that Parker, rather than the administration, is directing the schools. He said she intimidates and bullies staff in district headquarters and the schools. Also, Parker solicits complaints from the public and tries to resolve them on her own, Swirksy said.
Parker declined to comment. She said the board would discuss the report and perhaps craft a collective response. Her attorney in the ethics case could not be reached.
In his report, Schreiner said the district's "liberal and permissive" approach to student discipline has had "disastrous" results at its middle and high schools.
"In particular the high school became both chaotic and disorganized . . . Winslow High School was rapidly becoming an embarrassment to all concerned," he said.
Schreiner replaced the high school principal with Michele Ferner, a veteran administrator who had held the post when it was called Edgewood Regional High School. "Under her leadership, significant school climate changes have occurred," he wrote.
In his speech on Feb. 27, Bartolone acknowledged some progress on discipline, but called for "the implementation of more stringent measures which clearly send the following message: "You will not be victimized when you attend school at Winslow Township.' "
Bartolone said in an interview that Schreiner's report was accurate. Remedies, especially to Winslow's poor fiscal condition, could be difficult, he said.
A low fund balance, inaccurate cost projections and a $750,000 calculation error combined this year to create a $3.7 million shortfall in an $84.4 million budget, officials said.
Bartolone was elected to the board last year on a slate backed by Parker and the Winslow Township Democratic Party, but has since broken with that faction.
"That was just the group I thought had the best ideas at the time," he said. "I guess it didn't turn out that way."
Cindy Abbott, a home and school association leader at Elementary School No. 1, praised Schreiner's report and criticized the Board of Education.
"I think a lot of the community doesn't feel our best interests are being looked out for," she said. "Many of us feel that these people have other political agendas, rather than staying focused just on the school board."
Reach Erik Schwartz at (856) 486-2904 or eschwartz@courierpostonline.com
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
By ERIK SCHWARTZ
Courier-Post Staff
The chief administrator for the Winslow Township School District has sounded an alarm for a system in crisis.
The district's problems extend well beyond the $3.7 million budget deficit that Winslow is attempting to close by June 30, according to Michael E. Schreiner, who has served as interim superintendent since September.
This year, the district has struggled with poor student behavior abetted by lax discipline, meddling school board members, and the lack of a unified curriculum for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, among other things, he found.
Schreiner's "State of the District" report includes many of the same issues identified in recent weeks by the assistant superintendent, Daniel M. Swirsky, and the school board's vice president, Robert Bartolone, who made an impassioned speech at a board meeting last month.
When Schreiner, former head of the defunct Lower Camden County Regional school district that included Winslow, returned to the township last fall after five years, he was greeted warmly, but also with pleas for help.
In his "State of the District" report for the Winslow Township Board of Education and the community, Schreiner wrote that, upon his arrival, staff members criticized "virtually every aspect of the currently existing district."
Among the problems, he found that the Board of Education is "experiencing significant dysfunction" and creating "significant turmoil."
"This is a result of our Board of Education's tendency to involve itself in issues which are not the board's primary area of responsibility," Schreiner wrote. "Whenever Board of Education members stray from their primary responsibility of finance and policy, they tend to become a contributor to the problem rather than the solution."
These criticisms echo allegations made last month by Swirsky in an ethics complaint against Patricia A. Parker, president of the Board of Education.
Swirsky alleges that Parker, rather than the administration, is directing the schools. He said she intimidates and bullies staff in district headquarters and the schools. Also, Parker solicits complaints from the public and tries to resolve them on her own, Swirksy said.
Parker declined to comment. She said the board would discuss the report and perhaps craft a collective response. Her attorney in the ethics case could not be reached.
In his report, Schreiner said the district's "liberal and permissive" approach to student discipline has had "disastrous" results at its middle and high schools.
"In particular the high school became both chaotic and disorganized . . . Winslow High School was rapidly becoming an embarrassment to all concerned," he said.
Schreiner replaced the high school principal with Michele Ferner, a veteran administrator who had held the post when it was called Edgewood Regional High School. "Under her leadership, significant school climate changes have occurred," he wrote.
In his speech on Feb. 27, Bartolone acknowledged some progress on discipline, but called for "the implementation of more stringent measures which clearly send the following message: "You will not be victimized when you attend school at Winslow Township.' "
Bartolone said in an interview that Schreiner's report was accurate. Remedies, especially to Winslow's poor fiscal condition, could be difficult, he said.
A low fund balance, inaccurate cost projections and a $750,000 calculation error combined this year to create a $3.7 million shortfall in an $84.4 million budget, officials said.
Bartolone was elected to the board last year on a slate backed by Parker and the Winslow Township Democratic Party, but has since broken with that faction.
"That was just the group I thought had the best ideas at the time," he said. "I guess it didn't turn out that way."
Cindy Abbott, a home and school association leader at Elementary School No. 1, praised Schreiner's report and criticized the Board of Education.
"I think a lot of the community doesn't feel our best interests are being looked out for," she said. "Many of us feel that these people have other political agendas, rather than staying focused just on the school board."
Reach Erik Schwartz at (856) 486-2904 or eschwartz@courierpostonline.com
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