Glen Ridge Board Confirms Bullying Finding as Equity Audit Draws Hours of Public Pushback

The Glen Ridge Board of Education opened its Oct. 25 meeting with a closed executive session on personnel and confidential matters, returning to public session at 7:01 p.m. to formally accept the superintendent's recommendation on a Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying investigation (HIB Report 21-2, RAS#1) at Ridgewood Avenue School, finding that HIB was substantiated. The board voted unanimously to accept the finding.

On personnel, the board accepted, with regret, the resignation of Damaris Dolan, a part-time paraprofessional at Ridgewood Avenue School, effective Oct. 22.

The board approved bills and claims totaling $1,012,827.82 and payroll and related bills of $1,237,618.72, along with open purchase orders of $401,610.73 for the 2021-2022 school year. Board President Elisabeth Ginsburg thanked the Glen Ridge Educational Foundation for an $8,000 donation to fund seats in the district's Virtual High School program, which lets students take courses -- including some Advanced Placement offerings -- not otherwise available in Glen Ridge.

Superintendent Dirk Phillips invited Linden Avenue School principal Dr. Caravela to describe the school's first field trip in nearly two years, a walk to Freeman Gardens in which second-, first- and combined pre-K/kindergarten classes visited in three separate groups. Garden director Kevin Sherry, whom Caravela called "one of the great resources of this community," led hour-long programs on the garden's plants, animals and history -- including that it was deeded to the borough by Clayton and Winifred Freeman in 1968 -- read "The Giving Tree" to the students, and sent each child home with a small pumpkin. A resident asked during public comment why children were masked outdoors on the trip; Phillips said masks were required only when students sat close together for activities like story time, consistent with the district's playground policy. Phillips also reported the district's gyms will remain available to the Glen Ridge Athletic Association for winter basketball as long as COVID numbers hold steady, following a written request from Doug Snyder; resident Gretchen Koss later asked that the arrangement specifically cover 7th- and 8th-grade GRAA teams.

Phillips reported that 80 percent of Glen Ridge students who took the SAT scored above 1050, and that the district expects roughly 800 AP exams to be administered this year -- both trends he described as improving despite some pandemic-related dips in scores and testing volume.

Ginsburg reported that legislation is being drafted to let districts postpone this year's mandated Quality Single Accountability Continuum (QSAC) review, as was allowed last year, and that the district continues to face shortages of bus drivers, paraprofessionals and teachers. The board gave a second reading and adopted Policy 2425 on emergency virtual or remote instruction, approved the district's Emergency Virtual or Remote Instructional Plan for the current school year, accepted the state-mandated school bus evacuation drill report, and approved a Field Hockey team trip to Rutgers University and Top Golf on Nov. 7.

The bulk of the nearly two-hour meeting, however, was consumed by public comment over the district's equity audit and a newly formed resident group, Citizens Defending Education. Dave and Fran Deacon of 27 Oakwood Avenue, and Maryellen and Vincent Cusumano of 297 Ridgewood Avenue, argued the audit and any resulting diversity, equity and inclusion program amounted to introducing critical race theory into Glen Ridge classrooms, calling it divisive and lacking transparency; Vincent Cusumano said a government that "fraudulently misdirects tax funds" to create division "must be dissolved." Resident Steve Lord read aloud passages from Ta-Nehisi Coates's "We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy" and from "How to Be an Antiracist," both of which he said were tied to the district's equity effort, calling the content "pretty horrific." Earlier in the meeting, when Lord asked whether there was scientific proof behind the three-foot masking guideline, the board replied that it follows state and local health directives rather than independent science, prompting Lord to accuse the board of "just following orders" -- a characterization the board did not dispute, saying only, "we are an arm of government, that's what we have to do." Resident Tom Lee later pressed the board on whether cutting off mask-related questions was compatible with being a "constitutional republic"; a board member replied that the question did not pertain to the board's business that night.

Not all comments were critical: resident Phil Johnson thanked the board for its handling of mask policy and said the equity audit's community input was valuable even with gaps in the analysis, while 50-year resident Robert Wohlgemuth said he saw no racism among Glen Ridge's children. Ginsburg and Phillips fielded repeated questions about the audit, confirming its $25,000 cost came from the district's tax-supported budget rather than state or federal funds, and that Glen Ridge has neither a DEI director nor a human resources director. Phillips said the equity audit, like a security audit the district commissioned after past school shootings, produced recommendations the board will review and prioritize rather than automatically adopt, and that any books proposed for classroom use still go through the district's standard teacher-review process, with alternative assignments available to families who object to a given title.

Action items

• Accepted the Superintendent's finding that a Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying complaint (Report 21-2, RAS#1) at Ridgewood Avenue School was substantiated.
• Accepted, with regret, the resignation of paraprofessional Damaris Dolan (Ridgewood Avenue School), effective Oct. 22.
• Approved bills/claims of $1,012,827.82, payroll and related bills of $1,237,618.72, and open purchase orders of $401,610.73.
• Accepted an $8,000 donation from the Glen Ridge Educational Foundation for the Virtual High School program.
• Adopted Policy 2425 (Emergency Virtual or Remote Instruction) and the district's Emergency Remote Instructional Plan for 2021-2022.
• Approved a Field Hockey team trip to Rutgers University and Top Golf on Nov. 7.

Watch key moments

• 28:00 — Resident Steve Lord challenges the board on the science behind mask mandates and accuses it of "just following orders"; the board answers only that "we are an arm of government."
• 49:30 — Resident Tom Lee confronts the board over whether shutting down mask-related questions squares with being a "constitutional republic."
• 53:42 — Steve Lord reads passages from Ta-Nehisi Coates's "We Were Eight Years in Power" and "How to Be an Antiracist" tied to the district's equity audit, calling them "pretty horrific."