School Officials Continue to Face Backlash Over Termination of Language Arts Supervisor

After numerous honors were given out to various teachers and students at the beginning of Monday night's board of education meeting, school officials were once again confronted with residents' frustration over the termination of language arts supervisor, Deborah Bartley-Carter.

Only a handful of residents stayed late into the night for the public comment portion of the meeting to vouch for Bartley-Carter, who is one of few African-American supervisors in the district. 

Two West Orange High School security guards were also present at the meeting. 

Three residents said they felt insulted by the presence of the security guards. While many of the residents believed the security guards were there to keep order in case any individuals should become inappropriate or out of control, "I expect this board to be civil," said one resident. "We are not animals; what we are, are professionals."

Monday's meeting comes almost two weeks after a May 24 meeting where residents packed Washington Elementary School until 1:30 a.m. to challenge Bartley-Carter's termination.

Superintendent of Schools Anthony Cavanna said he called in security in light of last meeting's heavy turnout. He said security was meant to deal with possible parking and traffic issues. 

Still, residents continued imploring school officials to reconsider their decision to lay-off Bartley-Carter. 

One West Orange resident pleaded school officials to let Bartley-Carter come before the board and make her plea. 

According to school district Attorney Stephen Christiano, if Bartley-Carter chooses to make an appeal to the board, she can request a Donaldson hearing where the board must allow her to make her case. She can decide whether or not she would like the hearing to be public or private, Christiano said. 

The Board can then make a decision whether to overturn the Superintendent's recommendation.

According to the New Jersey School Boards Association, should Bartley-Carter choose to request a Donaldson hearing, she may also request within 15 days of her notification for her non-renewed contract a written statement explaining the terms why the decision was made. The board must then provide a statement explaining the reasons for her non-renewal within 30 days after the request was made. 

Although Cavanna could not legally say the terms upon which Bartley-Carter was non-renewed or whether she would be requesting a Donaldson hearing, he said that she is "pursuing what she can legally."

[Editor's note: To read more about Monday's board of education meeting and the announcement of Roosevelt's new principal, click here.]