Post by fiberisgoodforyou on Aug 21, 2008 6:47:12 GMT -5
I am surprised there has been little talk of this story on this board!
Board member wants school district repaid
ENGLISHTOWN — A Freehold Regional High School District school board member said she would seek the resignation or removal of the superintendent and an assistant superintendent if they don't pay back the district for tuition reimbursement and raises given for doctoral degrees obtained from an "online, unaccredited diploma mill."
Katie Goon, the Marlboro representative to Freehold Regional, also demanded that Superintendent H. James Wasser and Assistant Superintendent Donna Evangelista stop using the title "doctor." Goon made these remarks in a statement to the Asbury Park Press on Wednesday.
Goon insisted that Wasser and Evangelista pursue doctoral degrees from a recognized institution on their own time, without the aid of the district.
Wasser, Evangelista and retired Assistant Superintendent Frank J. Tanzini received $2,500 raises based on doctoral degrees obtained from Breyer State University, and the district paid $8,700 in tuition to Breyer State.
Breyer State was kicked out of Alabama by officials there in June. The diploma-mill issue has spawned state investigations and statewide controversy.
Goon, the first board member to openly criticize Wasser, wrote that the administrators' actions have caused Freehold Regional to "become the subject of ridicule."
Freehold Borough representative Bunny Hammer said Wednesday that district school boards past and present should be held responsible for allowing these payments to be made.
The past board members "did not have foresight," Hammer said, in allowing contract language that did not specify that administrators graduate only from accredited institutions.
The current board, the board attorney and "(Wasser), for taking advantage of the situation," should be held accountable, Hammer said.
"The board has not done its job," and has allowed district money to fund questionable degrees, she said.
The board needs to set a strict policy, she said.
State Education Commissioner Lucille Davy said Wednesday that she felt strongly that the practice of using unaccredited degrees for monetary gain is wrong.
But she declined to express an opinion when asked if school boards should demand that administrators return the money given for tuition or salary increases.
"There are legal implications because there are contracts that folks have entered into," she said. "So I don't think that's an appropriate question for me to give an opinion on. Because it's a legal issue."
The board's Freehold Township representative, Michael Caiazza, also addressed the matter Wednesday. Caiazza said he is focusing his energy on what he can do to help the situation by tightening board policy and procedure.
The board will address the recommendations of the state Department of Education's Office of Fiscal Accountability and Compliance at Monday's board meeting, Caiazza said.
That office urged the board to change its policies.
The Asbury Park Press has reported that separate investigations are being conducted by the state Commission on Higher Education and the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.
Repeated calls to the commission this week remain unreturned. Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Peter E. Warshaw Jr. declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.
The commission is investigating whether the Freehold Regional administrators' use of doctoral titles violates a statute regarding the use of academic titles.
Carl Viola, who drafted the statutes in 1986 and contacted the Asbury Park Press on Wednesday, disagreed with Freehold Regional attorney Lawrence Schwartz, who said at the July 28 board meeting that Wasser is "fully within his rights" to use these titles.
Schwartz argued that the statutes apply when the individual works for a post-secondary institution.
Viola said the statutes apply to anyone in New Jersey.
When the statutes were first passed, letters were sent to those known to have degrees unrecognized by the state, informing them of the law and a $1,000 civil penalty should they continue to use academic titles or designations, Viola said.
A psychologist with a private practice was told to take a tile off his building that stated he had an advanced degree because the degree was not state-recognized, Viola said.
Viola said the title doctor and the letters Ed.D., for example, fall under this category.
Viola, president of Educational Consultants in New Jersey, was assistant director of the Department of Higher Education's office of independent institutions, licensing and credentials.
The intent of the statute is twofold, he said.
People have "the right to expect" that any institution in the state is credible and that anyone using academic titles has received degrees from institutions that are equally credible.
The law states that, to be state-recognized, an out-of-state institution must be fully licensed in its own state and be either regionally accredited or seeking accreditation by a recognized agency, Viola said.
On Tuesday, state Senate President Richard J. Codey, D-Essex, condemned the actions of Wasser, Evangelista and Tanzini. He urged swift action by the Attorney General and commissioner of education, and pledged to introduce legislation this fall to allow districts to reimburse and give salary advances to teachers, principals, and administrators only if the degree is received at a state-recognized institution.
"This amounts to a serious abuse of taxpayer dollars. Anyone, particularly someone in the education field, should understand the importance of obtaining a degree from an accredited university," Codey said.
Staff writer Alan Guenther contributed to this report.
Joshua Riley: (732) 308-7751 or jriley@app.com
Board member wants school district repaid
ENGLISHTOWN — A Freehold Regional High School District school board member said she would seek the resignation or removal of the superintendent and an assistant superintendent if they don't pay back the district for tuition reimbursement and raises given for doctoral degrees obtained from an "online, unaccredited diploma mill."
Katie Goon, the Marlboro representative to Freehold Regional, also demanded that Superintendent H. James Wasser and Assistant Superintendent Donna Evangelista stop using the title "doctor." Goon made these remarks in a statement to the Asbury Park Press on Wednesday.
Goon insisted that Wasser and Evangelista pursue doctoral degrees from a recognized institution on their own time, without the aid of the district.
Wasser, Evangelista and retired Assistant Superintendent Frank J. Tanzini received $2,500 raises based on doctoral degrees obtained from Breyer State University, and the district paid $8,700 in tuition to Breyer State.
Breyer State was kicked out of Alabama by officials there in June. The diploma-mill issue has spawned state investigations and statewide controversy.
Goon, the first board member to openly criticize Wasser, wrote that the administrators' actions have caused Freehold Regional to "become the subject of ridicule."
Freehold Borough representative Bunny Hammer said Wednesday that district school boards past and present should be held responsible for allowing these payments to be made.
The past board members "did not have foresight," Hammer said, in allowing contract language that did not specify that administrators graduate only from accredited institutions.
The current board, the board attorney and "(Wasser), for taking advantage of the situation," should be held accountable, Hammer said.
"The board has not done its job," and has allowed district money to fund questionable degrees, she said.
The board needs to set a strict policy, she said.
State Education Commissioner Lucille Davy said Wednesday that she felt strongly that the practice of using unaccredited degrees for monetary gain is wrong.
But she declined to express an opinion when asked if school boards should demand that administrators return the money given for tuition or salary increases.
"There are legal implications because there are contracts that folks have entered into," she said. "So I don't think that's an appropriate question for me to give an opinion on. Because it's a legal issue."
The board's Freehold Township representative, Michael Caiazza, also addressed the matter Wednesday. Caiazza said he is focusing his energy on what he can do to help the situation by tightening board policy and procedure.
The board will address the recommendations of the state Department of Education's Office of Fiscal Accountability and Compliance at Monday's board meeting, Caiazza said.
That office urged the board to change its policies.
The Asbury Park Press has reported that separate investigations are being conducted by the state Commission on Higher Education and the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.
Repeated calls to the commission this week remain unreturned. Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Peter E. Warshaw Jr. declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.
The commission is investigating whether the Freehold Regional administrators' use of doctoral titles violates a statute regarding the use of academic titles.
Carl Viola, who drafted the statutes in 1986 and contacted the Asbury Park Press on Wednesday, disagreed with Freehold Regional attorney Lawrence Schwartz, who said at the July 28 board meeting that Wasser is "fully within his rights" to use these titles.
Schwartz argued that the statutes apply when the individual works for a post-secondary institution.
Viola said the statutes apply to anyone in New Jersey.
When the statutes were first passed, letters were sent to those known to have degrees unrecognized by the state, informing them of the law and a $1,000 civil penalty should they continue to use academic titles or designations, Viola said.
A psychologist with a private practice was told to take a tile off his building that stated he had an advanced degree because the degree was not state-recognized, Viola said.
Viola said the title doctor and the letters Ed.D., for example, fall under this category.
Viola, president of Educational Consultants in New Jersey, was assistant director of the Department of Higher Education's office of independent institutions, licensing and credentials.
The intent of the statute is twofold, he said.
People have "the right to expect" that any institution in the state is credible and that anyone using academic titles has received degrees from institutions that are equally credible.
The law states that, to be state-recognized, an out-of-state institution must be fully licensed in its own state and be either regionally accredited or seeking accreditation by a recognized agency, Viola said.
On Tuesday, state Senate President Richard J. Codey, D-Essex, condemned the actions of Wasser, Evangelista and Tanzini. He urged swift action by the Attorney General and commissioner of education, and pledged to introduce legislation this fall to allow districts to reimburse and give salary advances to teachers, principals, and administrators only if the degree is received at a state-recognized institution.
"This amounts to a serious abuse of taxpayer dollars. Anyone, particularly someone in the education field, should understand the importance of obtaining a degree from an accredited university," Codey said.
Staff writer Alan Guenther contributed to this report.
Joshua Riley: (732) 308-7751 or jriley@app.com
