Departing principal
alleges wrongdoing
Gibbons claims super
‘contrived’ memos
about performance
BY TARA PETERSEN
Staff Writer

Thomas Gibbons says he has nothing to hide. The former Parkview School principal was reportedly asked to resign by Milltown school officials Oct. 29, and has since tried to rescind his resignation to no avail. The borough Board of Education was unwilling to respond to attempts by Gibbons and community members to consider discussing or voting on Gibbons’ request to take his resignation back at the board’s Dec. 16 meeting.

Both Superintendent of Schools Anne Evangelista and board President Teri Shook, who acknowledged she presented Gibbons with the letter of resignation for him to sign, would only say that accepting his resignation was in the "best interest of the children."

Well over 100 parents attended last week’s meeting in support of Gibbons, and parents have also circulated a petition imploring the board to reconsider.

Gibbons said he fears that the controversy surrounding his departure has led many to question what he may have done to deserve such a forced exit, given that he was so highly regarded by many parents and students.

It is for this reason, Gibbons said, that he has chosen to come forward with an account of what took place prior to his October resignation, which is effective next week.

"I feel I owe the staff and community an explanation to help explain the story surrounding my leaving Milltown," Gibbons wrote in a letter to the Sentinel this week. "I do not want to leave it up to the talk radio conjecture … to fill in the unanswered question ‘What did he do?’ with inaccurate information."

Gibbons said Monday that Evangelista issued a series of memos that were placed in his personnel file between August and October — memos that he felt were "contrived" in an attempt to build a case against him before the board. He also claims that a board member later confirmed for him that the letters were contrived.

"The superintendent actually contrived the memos that were placed in my file to give the board a way to terminate my contract.," Gibbons said.

Gibbons also said that when checking the contents of his personnel file Dec. 16, he found that the memos in question had been removed.

"I have copies of memos marked ‘personnel file’ that are not in my file [anymore]," Gibbons said.

He said that only Evangelista or her appointed designee have access to the file.

Messages left for Evangelista at her office since Friday seeking comment for this story were not returned. The board member who allegedly told Gibbons that the memos were contrived also could not be reached for comment.

Gibbons, who came to Milltown in 2001 and would have been up for tenure at the end of this school year, said he understands that a non-tenured employee can be let go for any reason.

"If [Evangelista would] have sat across from me and said, ‘I’m not happy with your performance,’ I would have known I should pack my bags. I could accept that," Gibbons said. "What I’m upset about is the way it was handled. It’s despicable, immoral and unethical."

Gibbons also said that what was written in the memos amounted to little negative evidence against him.

"If you could see the things in the memos, you’d find that no reasonable person would ever imagine being let go for them," Gibbons said.

The Jamesburg resident said he believes the reason behind school officials’ actions stems from something that happened in the last school year. He said he does not know what it was and that it did not come up during his year-end evaluation with the superintendent in June, when his contract was recommended for renewal.

"I still have not been told what I did," Gibbons added. "It’s not related to any interactions with students, parents or teachers."

Gibbons also said he feels that a clash of personalities may have been the cause for the actions.

"We both have strong personalities, and she likes to cross her T’s and dot her I’s," Gibbons said. "I may not be the kind of person she can mold to her vision of what she’d like to see done."

Parents have banded together in support of Gibbons, and have written a letter to the board asking it to reconsider, according to parent Dawn Millburn.

"We sent a letter to each board member expressing our dissatisfaction with the way they handled the last meeting," Millburn said Monday. "We have not yet received a response.

"We feel they should correct the wrongdoing immediately," she added.

Millburn said that the board has "violated public trust and confidence."

"We’re asking the board to disprove the perception that the Board of Education is directed and run by Evangelista," she said.

According to Frank Belluscio, spokesman for the New Jersey State School Boards Association, the community action will likely not affect the board’s decision.

"The petition isn’t an official document. It is viewed as a technique the community is using to express displeasure," Belluscio said.

He also said that the board has every right to refrain from further discussion on the matter.

"I can understand the frustration of the parents," he said. "But the board made up its mind, and there is no reason for the board to discuss the matter."

Belluscio also said that by law the board should have given Gibbons what is known as a Rice notification, letting him know he would be a topic of discussion, and that Gibbons would then have an opportunity to have issues discussed publicly rather than in closed session.

Gibbons said he received a Rice notice for the Dec. 16 meeting indicating that his matter would be discussed in executive session, and that he requested the matter be discussed during the open public meeting.

However, Belluscio said that because Gibbons is no longer an employee, and that the matter is considered by the board to be closed, the board is under no obligation to discuss it.

According to state Department of Education representative Ron Rice, the state would not be involved until the district has first handled it.

"We view it as a local matter between the district and the employee. The burden is on Mr. Gibbons to deal directly with the district and its policies and procedures and see that to its logical end.

"If Mr. Gibbons and his attorney allege any violation of state law, he has a right to petition for appeal to the [state] commissioner [of education] for recourse," Rice said.

Gibbons said that he has spoken with a lawyer on the matter because he feels it was handled inappropriately, but that his goal is still to ultimately get his job back. He said he has not secured new employment.

"I’d love to work in Milltown," he said. "I am an honorable person. I can work with the board, and I can work with [Evangelista]. I just don’t know if she could work with me."