Secaucus BOE Approves Principal Shakeup

SECAUCUS, NJ — In a contentious five to three vote Thursday night, the Secaucus Board of Education approved a request from superintendent Jennifer Montesano to transfer all three existing principals into new schools.

The shakeup comes as existing Secaucus High School principal Dr. Robert Berckes remains on a paid suspended leave from the high school. Montesano made the decision to suspend him in April of this year over his handling of a disciplinary matter with a student. Berckes, in return, has announced he intends to file a $5 million lawsuit against the Board of Education and Secaucus school district, saying he has been unfairly targeted and humiliated.

However, it now appears Berckes will remain on in the Secaucus school district, but has been demoted to become the principal of Clarendon school. Clarendon school principal Steven Viggiani will be moved over to run the high school.

While Berckes was at the Board of Ed. meeting Thursday night — silently watching it all — he has not said if he will drop his lawsuit. Louis Giele, Sharon Dellafave, and Kathleen McFarlane were the three Board members who voted no and Lance Bartletta abstained because his wife works at one of the schools.

Many Secaucus public school parents stood up Thursday night and spoke against the transfers, calling them unnecessary and extremely disruptive to students. One Secaucus High School student, who identified herself only as Cassidy, even stood up and testified before the board that the atmosphere at the high school has gotten "crazy," in her words, in Berckes' absence.

Students have broken dress code and there was a large food fight in the cafeteria recently, she said.

None of that would have happened under Dr. Bob's tenure, she said.

"I can show up to school in sweats, hoodies, headphones on, nobody says anything to me," she said. "And the booty shorts are everywhere. A giant food fight happened, food chucked everywhere, one of my friends got covered in sauce. No one got detention. And fistfights, I've known about four or five in the last few months, people come out with blood on their faces. Nobody gets in trouble ... Basically, Dr. Bob knew how to handle us."

"I do not understand what is going on this district," said Secaucus resident Elissa Badi. "I not understand how she can suspend Dr. Bob, and then turn around and want to move him to the elementary school ... I am proud to send my child to the public schools in Secaucus, and it is a disgrace what is being done to move all these principals around when they are doing a great job. Our children are the ones who are going to suffer from your decision," she told the Board.

"These kids want their principals where they are. They should be left where they are," she added, to applause from the audience.

Sharon DellaFave was one of the three Board members who voted against the principal transfer. She also said the district was in disarray.

"The superintendent has offered no long-term educational plan to validate these transfers," she said. "For a while now, I've had serious reservations about the direction in which our district is moving. Our legal bills have doubled in comparison to what they were at this time last year - and that's money that could be used for your children's education."

But Ruby Pantoliano said she voted in favor of the transfers because they had been agreed upon privately by the two principals involved, Viggiani and Valente. One Board member, Kathy O'Connell, even apologized to Montesano, and implored her to ignore the negative criticism and to stay on and run the Secaucus school district as she sees fit. Pantoliano then curiously even admitted her children would be upset by the transfers, prompting boos from the audience. She declined to talk to an NJ.com reporter who chased her down a hallway after the meeting, asking her to explain her vote.

If Pantoliano had voted no, the measure would not have passed.

Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli called for him and Montesano to work together. He said when he called her about moving all the principals, she never called him back.

"By not getting answers about the moving of principals, I kind of took it as a slap in the face," Gonnelli said. "I'm not gonna tell you how to run the schools ... I don't get involved in education. But I should have received a phone call because I got a million texts and I couldn't give the answers."

All photos and reporting done by Carly Baldwin/Patch