Diamond Email Leak Drama at Blind Brook BOE

The first regular meeting of the Blind Brook Board of Education could have ended unremarkably. A few people wondered why News 12 cameras were present interviewing Jeff Diamond at the start of the regular business session, but nothing else seemed out of the ordinary.

After a cordial presentation by Superintendent William Stark outlining the goals of the upcoming academic year and an efficient run-through of the newly adopted consent agenda format, it seemed the school board meeting might end without fanfare. 

But that would hardly be characteristic of Blind Brook.

Just as President Sheri Zarkower started to call for adjournment, resident Michael Borrelli reminded her of the public comment portion of the agenda.

Borrelli went to the podium and read a series of intercepted emails between Board Member Jeff Diamond and (now former) Citizens' Budget Advisory Committee member Debbie Faust.

Borrelli asked the board to account for the actions taken regarding the email thread, including any personnel actions against the administrative parties mentioned and suggested board member Diamond be voted off the board immediately.

Sheri Zarkower responded saying "the board was disturbed" by the email thread and revealed that counsel has been sought to figure out how to deal with any personnel ramifications wrought from Faust and Diamond's exchange. Faust has resigned from the CBAC immediately.

Zarkower said the meeting referred to in the email thread was, in fact, about setting the agenda for the regular board meeting and that the required disclosure was the agenda itself. Meeting to discuss the agenda was a normal happenstance between the superintendent and board president and vice president.

Resident Michael Rosenblum suggested the board should retain outside counsel to immediately conduct an independent investigation of the issues related to the email thread.

Obviously discomfitted by the turn of events, board member Diamond said, "I got a piece of information and I jumped to a conclusion that I shouldn't have." Diamond stopped short of apologizing, but made clear after the meeting that none of the administrative staff mentioned in the email thread- Stark, Ross and Arkawy- had any involvement or communication with him about the matter. Diamond also agreed that board member Steve Kaplan's communication had been mischaracterized in the email.  Former board president Monroe Haas, who is abroad, may have no knowledge of the email thread either and has not communicated with Diamond about the matter.

Kim Palumbo, active in the PTA, sternly chastised Diamond saying she was "disgusted by his smirk" as the emails were being read. "Are you going to do this every time there is a meeting?' Palumbo asked. "You are horrible."

Former school board candidate Peter Raider was also present, chiming in his dissatifaction with Diamond from the back of the room.

Zarkower said, "I just want to be clear, Mr. Stark is the leader of this district. I do not want this community ripped apart by people who have nothing better to do with their time than starting a generational war."  

Monroe Haas, who by all accounts is abroad in Ireland, openly criticized Zarkower at the August baord meeting for failing to recuse herself from school board negotiations with The Arbors. 

Zarkower then called for an adjournment of the meeting, telling Rosenblum that the suggestion for an outside counsel investigation "would be taken under advisement."

•

The email exchange (attached as PDF, with personal email addresses concealed) turns out to be the reason the September 12th board workshop was cancelled and the source of apparent embarrassment for Diamond.

In the correspondence, Faust alleges Board President Sheri Zarkower, Vice President Glen Schuster and Superintendent William Stark had conducted an improper secret meeting. From there, depending on interpretation, Board member Jeff Diamond either condones a plan for counter-espionage suggested by Faust to get to the bottom of it all or noncommitally vents his frustration about Zarkower, Schuster and Stark's actions.

In the first of the emails to Faust, Diamond says someone in the district office has let him know Zarkower, Schuster and Stark are having a meeting; a meeting for which he has not received prior notice. Diamond says, "These people are ridiculous. I should really call them out publicly."

Faust suggests Diamond contact Kaplan and confirm the situation before going forward. "I guess you need to give them till today to disclose but then go for it."

From there the exchange of emails suggest Diamond's dissatisfaction with Superintendent Willam Stark. Faust suggests enlisting the help of former board president Monroe Haas and the superintendent's secretary Susan Arkawy "to spy and report back" on Stark's correspondence with board members Schuster and Zarkower for evidence of any previous or future secret meetings. Diamond also mentions Assistant Superintendent Jonathan Ross characterizing him as "muzzled" and suggests he will set up a private meeting to discuss the matter.

At the point when Faust requests the email addresses is when the exchange between her and Diamond are inadvertently disclosed. Diamond includes the private email addresses of Kaplan, Schuster and Nancy Barr in the cc line of the correspondence, then sends the entire thread to all. 

•

Following the meeting last night, Board member Jeff Diamond published a statement about the matter on his blog:

"I was elected to the Board of Education by a significant majority of voters in the last election and was the top vote-getter in what was a hotly contested election.  I ran on a clear platform that I intend to pursue.

I represent a constituency that has serious concerns about this Board and the superintendent and how they have managed and mismanaged district finances and educational priorities.

I continue to be dismayed by the lack of transparency and readily available information that this community needs in order to understand the seriousness of the issues that we face.

I have been outspoken in the past about the failings of this board and that will not change now that I am elected.  I also expect that this board and the district superintendent will not act to muzzle me in my communications with my constituents or the wider community.

Furthermore, I do not understand that Mr. Stark’s contract immunizes him from criticism or permits him to conceal information from board members, or permits him to hold secret meetings with selected Board of Education members.  If his counsel or this board’s counsel offers opinion that it does, then that is a scandal in its own right and needs to be exposed.

The Blind Brook community has legitimate concerns about the turmoil that has taken place in recent years.  Literally all of the principal and assistant principal positions have turned over at least once during Mr. Stark’s relatively short tenure in this district.  That is hardly a sign of stability, or good leadership, and it is something for which he must be held accountable.

Over the last year I have warned repeatedly about the impending financial storm that awaits us. 2 percent tax cap or no 2 percent tax cap, the writing has been on the wall for a very long time. Passing the buck to the taxpayer is no longer an option. This board needs to make some bold changes that will take real thought and real planning in order to protect the quality of education in our district. The lack of a credible roadmap to get us through the next few years is disturbing. Dr. Ross may be an outstanding financial manager, but he is not a magician, and he cannot print money like our central bank.  Whether or not we make it through the next few years smoothly will depend on the leadership of our superintendent. (So far, I have not seen very much evidence that makes me optimistic about the outcome.)  A credible long-term financial plan that will enable us to tighten our belt while protecting the educational and extracurricular priorities of this district is long overdue.

Canceling a public meeting of this board (that was set by public resolution) by a secret vote of 3 board members is not how to address the challenges that we face. A private email between me and a constituent that amounts to nothing more than political banter is hardly an excuse to halt the serious work that awaits us."