At last week’s Newburgh Board of Education meeting, there was no mention of the elephant in the room.
In this case, the elephant was the empty chair normally occupied by Superintendent Roberto Padilla. He had been suspended with pay a few days earlier in a board resolution that didn’t actually mention him by name. The action was taken amid allegations of inappropriate conduct toward a female subordinate while at a conference to San Diego, CA.
Padilla has not been seen or heard in public since conducting a virtual town hall meeting on August 18 to discuss the opening of school. His name was not mentioned at last Tuesday’s school board meeting, and School Board President Carole Mineo went so far as to caution district residents to “please don’t use people’s names when you’re talking at the mike” during the public portion of the meeting.
Acknowledgment of the situation came when the school board unanimously named Ed Forgit as the acting superintendent. Forgit has been the Deputy Superintendent for the past 10 years. A Newburgh native educated in Newburgh schools, Forgit recently received an Award for Excellence in Administration from the Mid-Hudson School Study Council (MHSSC).
Forgit, in his first meeting, reviewed the opening plans for the new school year, originally scheduled to begin on September 1, but later revised to begin September 9. (See related story) The plans are to have regular hand washing, regular cleaning and disinfecting, not waiting until the end of the day to have routine cleaning through the day in high frequency areas, making sure everyone understands what an isolation and quarantine is as it’s critical to prevent the spread. Staff who are not vaccinated will be tested weekly. In terms of cost for testing the thought is that there will be little to no cost. Merv-13 filters for air circulation were also installed and physical distancing of 3 feet will be the norm and 6 feet if possible. Gov Kathy Hochul has mandated mask wearing for everyone in school buildings, including vaccinated students and teachers.
The entire board process came under scrutiny when the public was invited to speak on non-agenda items. Ryan LaMar of New Windsor cited a lack of transparency and communication from the school board and administration. It included emails sent to the district without response, and communication that was reduced to sound bites.
Over the past ten years I’ve noticed a decline in the transparency of the district.
“I want to believe that all of you are on this board for the right reason,” LaMar said.
“However, when I see the few questions that are asked, given half an answer, when I see lines of questioning shut down entirely, when I hear no actual evidence of improvement in our district or real planning. When I hear no teacher voices and there are rushed last-minute presentations…I truly question whether the board is upholding its responsibility of oversight. We are a school district. …we are not a bullet point on someone’s resume.”