Firing Of Brick's Transportation Duo 'A Major, Major Blunder,' Talty Says

If he had to do it over again, John Talty says he would have asked for a leave of absence.

Now, the longtime Brick Township Board of Education member can only sit and watch as turmoil envelopes the district.

“I should have taken a leave,” he said Monday by phone. His decision to step down from the board in April -- in the wake of open heart surgery -- and his attempts to return to the board since then have revealed a division on the board that has resulted in an inability to appoint anyone to fill the seat for the remainder of this year.

Votes at two separate meetings -- on June 8 and again last Thursday -- have resulted in the decision on who to appoint being put in the hands of Ocean County Executive Superintendent Todd C. Flora. An advertisement inviting applications for the position was posted on the Brick school district’s website and in the Asbury Park Press on Monday.

Applicants have until 4 p.m. on Thursday, July 23 to submit a letter and a resume to Brick schools business administrator James Edwards. All of the applications will then be forwarded to Flora, who will then interview the applicants and make a decision.

The turmoil, however, isn’t the only issue that has Talty bothered. The board’s vote last week to not renew the contracts of Tracey Nardiello, the assistant transportation manager, and of district services manager Lynelle Batzel and plans to cut as many as 24 full-time bus driver positions are just as concerning.

“I have always been opposed to a layoff (of drivers),” Talty said. “I don’t see how this will make things any better.”

Interim Superintendent Richard Caldes, who included Nardiello and Batzel on a list of nonaffiliated (nonunion) employees whose contracts he said should be renewed, urged the board repeatedly Thursday to keep the pair on until he could do a thorough examination of the department to determine where the issues lie.

In the wake of the announcement of the district’s plans to lay off 31 bus drivers -- a number that Caldes had trimmed to 24 by last week’s board meeting -- drivers have complained about management issues that affect how runs are filled when drivers are absent as well as other issues.

Those complaints spilled over again Thursday, as drivers in the audience at Veterans Memorial Middle School -- where the school board meetings are behind held this summer while the electrical system at Brick Township High School is replaced -- questioned why the contracts were being renewed and why the two were receiving raises.

Caldes said the contracts included a provision that would have allowed the district to fire either or both with 30 days’ notice, but that did not sway the board: Frank Pannucci Jr., Michael Conti and Susan Suter all voted against renewing the contracts, while John Barton abstained from voting on them.

“That is a major, major blunder,” Talty said. “Lynelle and Tracey were excellent, excellent workers” who were keeping the department functioning.

That sentiment has been seconded by others who have spoken behind the scene.

“Not renewing them is a tragedy,” Talty said.

Note: An earlier version of this article said John Barton voted not to renew the contracts. It has been updated to reflect that he abstained from voting on the Human Resources item that included them.