Common Courtesy
One would think that when an elected board hires professional personnel they would at least have courtesy and be polite to the people who pay them.
But then, one would think that the elected personnel to whom they answer would at the very least correct them for their rudeness or at a minimum apologize to the public and suggest a change of action.
None of that happened at Tuesday night’s meeting of the boards of education of the three schools in Highlands and Atlantic Highlands.
The meeting started on time, as noticed, and also, as noticed, the boards almost immediately went into executive session.
Out You Go
But it was not the board members, the elected officials, who left the room to speak privately with their attorney. It was the people who put them in office who had to get up and leave the room.
Nor were the displaced taxpayers given any courtesy. Standing in the hall was the only location for most; some wandered outside, others were at the basketball game, some went into another room. For those in the other room, it did not last too long. They were directed to move out of that room and back into the hall or anywhere else.
Take a Seat … NOT
Nor could the displaced taxpayers sit anyplace in that hallway. For those who did not want to walk any distance, they chose to take chairs from the meeting room on their way out, and sit several feet from the closed door. So they sat directly in front of the windows looking into the huge gym, now empty of taxpayers and with board members and their professionals sitting at their tables at the far end of the room. It was only minutes, however, before the shades were drawn on those windows .
Even that wasn’t good enough. Those residents had to get up once again and move away from the shaded windows and proximity to the door. Highlands police officers, paid by the borough of Highlands to be in attendance at the meeting for whatever reason, assisted people in moving chairs. Doesn’t Highlands ever bill Henry Hudson for all the additional police work it entails?
Working Hard
So it went for another hour. That was when the attorney came out, apologized, said the board members were making progress and working hard. But they would be behind closed doors for perhaps another 45 minutes or so. It was then he asked if anyone needed any chairs. They did. And the Highlands police officers were once again the ones who carried out chairs to make it at least a bit more comfortable for the waiting public.
And so it went, while the taxpayers sat, stood, walked, talked, and waited uncomfortably out in halls while the future of their children’s education and their tax dollars were being discussed in private.
After approximately two hours, the board members apparently had said or heard all they needed to say or hear before taking a vote on the future for three boroughs and their schools.
Answer the Questions
Of course their minds were made up long before that two hour executive session. When they discussed it prior to then, will probably never be known. Nor would anyone on the board, the superintendent nor the attorney even explain it when asked, not once, not twice but three times during that public session. A former board member asked “Whose idea was this?’ Several times. She never got an answer. “What happened since July when you unanimously passed a different resolution?” she persisted. Still she got no answer. A Highlands councilman asked for any guarantees that this resolution, directly in opposition to the resolution unanimously adopted during the summer, would not be changed anytime again? What’s the sense, he asked, without any assurance of stability. Still no answer.
No One Can Hear
Then the public got up to question and opine. Even overlooking the poor audio system in a school that excels in presenting outstanding theater in the very same room at other times, and the number of times both board members and the public said they could not hear, the meeting went on. Residents were almost always confined to their three minutes of addressing the silent board and its verbose attorney. But the attorney was prolific in his broad but difficult to hear responses to not only questions, but statements as well.
How About Walking and Chewing Gum?
The attorney. And the Superintendent. Were they really listening to the public?
Can they really talk and listen at the same time?
Too many times during the period when the public was supposed to be heard, the superintendent was sending written messages to the attorney, talking to him, and him to her, all while taxpayers were trying to have their say at a podium with a mike that finally got changed for one somewhat more workable.
When finally challenged on those actions, the attorney responded they had to share information so he could keep the public informed. He did not explain, however, why the duo could not wait until a person had stopped speaking before conferring on whatever they were going to answer.
Did he apologize when chastised for the rude behavior? Indeed he did, saying they had no intention of being rude or discourteous.
But did they stop that rude and discourteous talking while a member of the public was talking? Indeed they did not. It continued in front of taxpayers after taxpayer for the rest of the public portion of the meeting.
Insult to Sea Bright
Not only did the attorney insult the public present at the meeting, but in a single word, he insulted the entire borough of Sea Bright and all the residents of that borough who are trying to bring $15 million to Highlands and Atlantic Highlands.
That borough’s residents have been quietly and calming supporting hearings, testimonies and actions that would have them bring what they feel is a better education for their own children, while eventually, but not immediately, saving themselves some money, and almost immediately bringing more money to offset what Highlands and Atlantic Highlands taxpayers spend on education. It’s been a lot of work, over a lot of years and a lot of studies information gathering, and meetings for input and explanations. It’s been intelligent people working hard to do better for themselves and others.
But how did the attorney describe it? Simply as “the rigamarole over Sea Bright.” Really? Rigamarole? Confused or meaningless talk? That isn’t nice.
Only at one point during the meeting did it get a bit contentious and result in a shouting match between the attorney who wanted to be heard and the resident who was not finished saying and asking what he wanted. The resident lost.
Public Be Dammed
The very set-up of board meetings at Henry Hudson is not conducive to the public. There is so much distance between the audience and the board that only the residents with really great eyesight can even see the names of the officials or professionals at the table. The audio system leaves too much to be desired to be explained in a paragraph. While complaints are heard often, nothing has been done to make any improvements. That’s for those with normal hearing, those with impaired hearing are at a distinct disadvantage at meetings at Henry Hudson. There is no introduction of board members, or any courtesies at a meeting specifically called to hear from the public other than the routine roll call.
There was no explanation for absent members at a meeting as important as this one was.
None of that is necessary, directed, or in the rules. It’s simply common courtesy. And a desire to be certain the public gets the respect it deserves.
