PARSIPPANY — The below statement was submitted to Parsippany Focus from the Parsippany-Troy Hills Education Association (PTHEA) to share with the public.
With the new school year about to start, the certificated staff of the Parsippany Troy-Hills School District hoped that we would have more answers, be more ready, and feel fewer anxieties. Throughout the summer, Dr. Sargent ignored the comments, suggestions, and worries of experienced educators serving on district restart committees, giving only lip service to the Governor’s expectation that reopening plans would be mutually developed by all stakeholders. Our confidence eroded after a number of poor decisions, including:
• The choice to ignore, all summer long, the evidence that this district wasn’t prepared for a full-day reopening, and then, only at the very last minute, announce the decision to switch to a half-day, leaving parents, teachers, and students caught completely by surprise while providing no additional guidance as to the changes that would now be needed;
• An unimaginative mandate that forces all teachers to approach instruction in the exact same manner, which suppresses the creativity and professional judgment of the only people in the district with experience in remote instruction;
• Her rejection of the Association’s request for teachers to continue working remotely if they are forced to quarantine;
• An eagerness to settle for the absolute minimum HVAC safety requirements;
• Her blanket refusals to provide accommodations to immunocompromised staff;
• A refusal to consider the purchase of plexiglass dividers or masks for students; and
• Her oft-repeated willingness to leave critical district level concerns to the assorted decisions of the 14 building Principals.
Dr. Sargent’s wishful thinking, her tendency to defer key decisions, her brushoff of legitimate fears, and her disinclination to reexamine policy weaknesses, have left the students and staff in a precarious position. As Superintendents have been placed in charge of reopening plans, the unwise, unsafe, and uncreative decisions fall entirely on her.
Due to these reasons, the membership of the PTHEA has voted 3 to 1 that they have “no confidence in Dr. Barbara Sargent.” We did not take this vote lightly and people will perceive it differently, but it should be noted that the PTHEA has never called for such a vote in our history despite concerning actions by prior Superintendents. At this point with the stakes so high, however, Dr. Sargent’s behavior, actions, and inactions have created a situation in which over 75% of the certificated professionals of this district have no confidence in her ability to properly and effectively serve the students and staff of Parsippany-Troy Hills.
Submitted by
Alexandra Partington
2nd Vice President of Public Relations PTHEA
