Matthews Under Fire
September 07, 2007 Filed in: Schools
Last weekend, The Bergen Record carried a front-page
story entitled "Trustees’ Rift to Cost
Taxpayers," reporting:
The original charges, now officially adopted and to be funded by the Board, were brought independent of the Board in March by Superintendent Carol Lisa, Board President Glenn Garrison and previous Board President Stephen Brown. There are 74 individual charges listed. The matter will be heard by a state panel and decided on by the Commissioner of Education.
Matthews, a former board president himself, has a history of disruptive behavior as his influence on the board has declined. Board sources have alleged that he has intimidated other board members and staff members on a continuing basis. He has in particular subjected Superintendent Lisa to continued criticism for unwillingness to heed his requests. Originally appointed to the Board by Mayor Donald Aronson, he has successfully run for election three times, and may choose to run for another three-year term in April, 2008, depending, of course, on a decision by the Commissioner on his fitness to do so.
The [Englewood] Board of Education voted on Thursday to hire an attorney to represent it in an ethics complaint against board member David Matthews, for what it said is a history of inappropriate and intimidating conduct at public meetings and with staff.
The original charges, now officially adopted and to be funded by the Board, were brought independent of the Board in March by Superintendent Carol Lisa, Board President Glenn Garrison and previous Board President Stephen Brown. There are 74 individual charges listed. The matter will be heard by a state panel and decided on by the Commissioner of Education.
Matthews, a former board president himself, has a history of disruptive behavior as his influence on the board has declined. Board sources have alleged that he has intimidated other board members and staff members on a continuing basis. He has in particular subjected Superintendent Lisa to continued criticism for unwillingness to heed his requests. Originally appointed to the Board by Mayor Donald Aronson, he has successfully run for election three times, and may choose to run for another three-year term in April, 2008, depending, of course, on a decision by the Commissioner on his fitness to do so.
