Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Ferraina under Review by State Department of Education

The Star Ledger confirmed in a special report late roday that Long Branch Superintendent of Schools Joe "Mr. Visionary" Ferraina has been ordered to turn his contract over to the NJ Department of Education for review in the wake of the Keansburg debacle.



It is good to see that 1) a real newspaper cares to report on such things and 2) someone in Trenton felt that perhaps $300,000+ a year in total compensation for a municipal school employee probably warrants some investigating.

The Visionary's $150 Million response? Anyone who wants to see it can see it.

Gee, thanks Joe. Keep swinging for the bleacher's baby.

I suppose we should be thankful that he even knows there is such a thing as the Open Public Records Act.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you not have a life????? Do you know Mr. Ferraina and all that he done for the children? Without him they would NOT have beautiful brand new schools that they ALL deserve- Not happy in Long Branch?? Move

Long Branch Advocate said...

We the Long Branch Advocate have varying degrees of lives. Some are parents, some are not. Some are working, others retired. Some are active in public life, others are quietly leading their private lives under the radar--but we thank you for your concern.

Yes, we do know Mr. Ferraina, some of us better than others, and that is why we can write about him without violating our own rules about unwarranted attacks on individuals. We believe that Mr. Ferraina is building his own little Machiavellian Utopia within the school system.

Our question to you is do YOU know Mr. Ferraina? If so, how can you be so willing to accept the harm he is doing to our town's culture, youth, civic health, financial stability, employees and general welfare just because he offers you shiny new schools? Have you given any thought to the long term implications of having an ENTIRE infrastructure aging at the same rate? The new schools are ONLY beautiful brand new schools until they become decaying, harmful old schools--all in concert with one another.

We won't even get into the equity issues of the continuing addiction our schools, students, board of education and supreintendent have with a state financed failing school system.

We LOVE Long Branch. . . and we love it so much we have stepped forward as a group to help facilitate this intervention and are not ready to abandon it.

If you, however, believe that TRUE Long Branch Citizens would dare abandon this city just because we dislike certain aspects of it, then we suggest that you don't really get Long Branch.

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm maybe you stop hiding behind a blog and start helping the children if you are so concerned about the town- get out and actually do something instead of hiding behind a computer- I also highly doubt "you" are a "group" of concerned people- you are most likely a disgruntled employee who is angry that you don't get your way and are powerless in your position at the school-things that make you go hmmmmmmm

Long Branch Advocate said...

In the interest of fair play, the Long Branch Advocate posts the comments of anyone who posts here, provided they follow the rules of the blog.

Having said that, we post the preceding comment from "anonymous" who claims that we do not help children, hide behind our computers and are school employees--three baseless charges. Our claims in this blog are backed up by facts or links to other commentators. Anonymous's charges are based by the fact they he/she doesn't like what we have to say.

As such, we remind Anonymous and all of our readers of their privilege to not read our blog anytime they like. They are free to visit one of the other more than 6.2 Million websites on the Internet today. Other fun options include helping children, watching television or reading to the blind.

Anonymous said...

Wow, You really have to wonder who truly knows what Mr. Ferraina is all about besides Mr. Ferraina.

I have been very involved with LB, and with LB schools. Yes, there is a lot of positive that has been done. To see our schools and the technology that is at our children's fingertips just boggles the mind! But then, when you are as involved as I have been you see the other side as well. The fear a teacher or staff member has to feel in order to keep their job no one should have to deal with. The pressure that our teachers, principals, staff & board members, PTA's PTO's have been put under is disgraceful! The flip flopping of staff and principals causes our children to also feel unstable in their environment! I had the same principal all through Elementry school, the same through middle and the same through H.S. The Columbus Day Parade, The Cancer Society involvment are just 2 small things that we used to be involved in that our schools are now forbidden to participate in.

Wave of Hope???? As any parent or teacher what their true feelings are on Wave of Hope!

Thank Goodness Gregory school stuck to their guns and voted him down when Mr Ferinna wanted to get rid of their PTA!!! I wish our PTO was a true Parent Teacher Organization and not a "Para, Teacher Organization" This way the parents would be involved. Insted it's elections and it's fundraising is controlled by the school.
I too choose to be anonymous because of the fact that my children go to this school. My opinion and what I have seen first hand should have nothing to do with them.

Anonymous said...

One more thing......With regard to Mr. Ferraina's employees and how they are treated.....Why would he have to bargain with his teachers telling them the only way they will have a contract in his district is if they sign a confidentiality agreement? What is there to hide????? Is this the way a normal person conducts business?

Anonymous said...

Ladies and Gentleman...calm your horses.What are we fighting about? .better education for our children..well if you know JMF you know that nobody fights harder for children than him (other than the apparent Gregory School PTA: ha). Too much anger..the school district has accomplished record numbers in advanvced proficiency in some grades while providing resourses that are unmatched in other districts. You really don't want to compare all that has been done in our district to others..we would absolutely prevail. So..if you don;t have anything nice to say..join a PTA (just kidding)..don't say anything at all.

Anonymous said...

Besides people saying "Do you not have life" I don't think we are fighting. Yes we all want a better education for our children but when you get down to it is that what they are getting?? I love the fact that there is a full day pre school in our town. But it is so overcrowded with children who do not live in Long Branch it really is frustrating! Yes Mr. F gets the $$ needed to give us all this fancy equipment and schools but is it all being put to proper use? I have seen my children coming home with test paper after test paper being drilled to fill in the little circles in order for our kids to get the scores our district needs to get that money. There is more time spent filling in little circles than anything else. Besides the "gifted" classes I think the rest of our children are not getting what they really need. Vocabulary words were dropped from the curriculum and then teachers get in trouble for giving vocabulary words to their students because they feel they need them. Something is missing and I think that is the heart! Teachers get into teaching because they love children, thay have some of the biggest hearts there are and have so much to give to our kids. This is something that is not allowed in LB. Don't do exactly what you are told, shine a little brighter than the person in charge and you will be ripped out of your class and transferred or given that pink slip. I feel that our children's educations are sufferingecause of the level of fear our teachers are forced to work in and it is not fair for anyone. I can name 10 different families, possibly more, who have removed their children once they reached 2nd grade because they had had enough. Many people have their homes up for sale because they want their kids out too. They use it up for what it is worth and then it is time to bail. It's sad!

Anonymous said...

Hello all, Not to change this to a PTA discussion but I was involved with PTA when Mr. Ferraina tried to turn us into a PTO. It was in no way a nasty fight against our superintendent. It was just very matter of fact. He wanted us to be a PTO and we wanted to stay a PTA because there is a very big difference between the two. Personally I feel all of the schools should be PTA but that is besides the point! Because we were a PTA we had bylaws allowing us the right to a vote. Our board voted and the deciding vote was to stay a PTA (which we were all thrilled about.) It has nothing to do with having nothing nice to say so join a PTA. If you are not involved with PTA or PTO you would not know what it is they do for our schools and our community. I know that the Gregory school PTA raised approx. 25,000.00 that year and paid for many perks that our children enjoy like field day, fun day, assemblies that can cost $1000.00 or more, they donated books to our library & teachers, stypens to staff for their classrooms, donated to those in need in our community and I could go on and on! This is just an example of something good in our community that I thing Mr. Ferraina should not be involved with. Another group that he sould not be involved with is the Green and White Association if anyone wants to get on that subject. I don't know much about it but I do know it is another great organization that Mr. Ferraina is trying to tell what to do with their money.

Anonymous said...

Fear is the key. To be employed in Long Branch you must be progammed daily to say what you are told to say. Cameras surround you so if you are seen talking for more than 10 seconds, you might be called in.
Wave of Hope? Employees worked diligently for months raising money, and stayed up all night for the Cancer Walk, but who makes the paper? Joe. Walks in for an hour, shakes hands and gets a good night sleep. Many of the employees are dedicated and caring individuals, but if they are not connected and do not behave they will most definitely be punished, ridiculed, transferred. Who knows what goes on behind closed doors? How cruel that our young teachers, burdened by student loans, and full of fresh ideas are buried under philosophical rhetoric, and burnt out in a profession they wished to embrace. Times they are a changing, but for this district not in the right direction.