the meeting last night which I attended was as much about football as to the qualifications of Mr. Dowling as a teacher. Why was Mr. Dowlings supporters allowed to talk about football. Mr. Dowling was not renewed as the football coach and it was not the BOE who made that decision, it Was Mr. Hrycenko the Superintendent, Mr. Bruno, the athletic Director who made that decision. The BOE never voted yes or no on this decision. Apparently there was enough discrepancy in his qualification to want some to question whether or not he should be retained.The fact that 99.8% of all teachers and 100% of all Administrators are rated Satisfactory (the highest rating) is a reason in my opinion to be very suspect to the process of granting tenure. The good old boys club in Brick is well and thriving and one must question why with all these superior teachers and Administrators our students are not getting a better overall education. I am encouraged by the fact that this BOE is asking questions rather than just rubber stamps what this short term Superintendent wants.

Mr. Hrycenko tried to shout down Mr. Talty who was asking different question of Mr. Dowling and had some comments, even to the point that we in the audience could hear Mr. Hrycenko directing the Board attorney to tell Mr Talty to stop or shut him down. Does not Mr. Talty and Mrs. Suter have the same right to express their opinions and ask question as us in the audience?

joseph, so this whole Dowling thing has nothing to do about football? A man who has taught for 22 years, has had tenure in multiple districts prior, who is recommended by all of his superiors, and is the ONLY one who has yet to be granted tenure by this BOE, this has nothing to do with football? You are not that niave are you? This has all to do with football and people will make up any lie or smear to attempt to get rid of Dowling. What comes around goes around and if this BOE denies Dowling there will be payback for those involved in doing this, mark my words.

Couldn't have said it better myself!!!

Right on! Who do these board members think they are? I don't know Mr. Dowling, but I am embarrassed of this BOE. I am embarrassed to send my kids to this district. Stop getting involved in Personnel matters, that is what the administrators are for. This whole saga makes me sick, with the Principal at Drum Pt to these teachers.

what a shame that the boe got there way and didnt give tenure to coach dowling. hoping that the future is brighter for him else where. coach dowling never had a chance he was treated like an outside from the get go from the leader of the school and all the followers of mrs. kight. and for those who ruined someone life over football, how do you sleep at night....remember karma

Good point Lil DragonMom, you are right how, how, after all of this time, doi you still need MORE time to vote? Wow, I guess they are not too concerned with screwing with people's lives.

Last time was Terebush Yes, Talty No, Suter No, Reid No, Campbell No, Cuppari absent, Kight absent. (4-1)

This vote shows Campbell changed his vote to yes, Reid did not attend and Suter is now abstaining.

As far as the conflict, the 2 BOE members who could not vote did not vote. They missed the April mtg and abstained at this mtg. With them not voting, that leaves 5 BOE members and there would be 4 yes votes needed.

Just as an FYI...in the event there were more BOE members that had conflict and needed to abstain, where there could be no quorum for the vote...there is a doctrine of necessity that would be put into place allowing them to vote. Policy 9325

Suter absteining... what a joke...
yet she voted the first time!!! Ridiculous!!!
Isn't she up for re-election in the fall!!!

Those that have a conflict... not only CANNOT vote...
but CANNOT participate!!! ie. Kight... file another ethics violation on her... she is a bozo.

JD you’re at it again, name calling and for ethics charges? As always I am sorry for participating in what will once more become your blog! It must be a great weight to know everything about everything! I will turn my computer off now sorry JD!

It's a clear ethics violation...
if you have a conflict... you cannot participate in the proceedings!!!
File an ethics complaint Dowling!!! She had one before!!

Again... misinformation mrgrumpass...
Dowling is not $10K less than super... lol... super is about 190K i believe!!!

As a former teacher that had to deal with kids "on the edge" I totally disagree with you Ms. Morrison. Kids are classified for a specific reason. Many of these kids are not happy in school. They bring that attitude with them daily. They may be frustrated, feel inadequate or just want to be in any other place but school. As an educator you try to tilt them the other way. Sometimes things are said in the heat of the moment and they cannot be taken back. Unless you have taught in that environment your "solution" does not hold water. We do whatever we can to NOT suspend an at risk student. Apparently 8 evaluators saw Mr. Dowling as a very competent teacher. In April a new Supervisor is hired and and her evaluation depicts an entirely different person. How about the title "hired gun"? All of Mr. Dowling's evaluators were there last night sans 1. Guess who wasn't there. DO WHAT IS RIGHT. Mr. Kull and especially Mr. Dan Duddy had it nailed! Let's get beyond the hate. Mr. Talty has a conflict of interest too. Mrs. Kight, I see you as someone who has suddenly realized the humane part of dealing with people you do not necessarily agree with. If Dan Duddy had become the new Dragon's Head Coach 10-15 years ago he would be now be revered as Coach Wolf was. Notice I said was. This mess began 3 years ago. The football issue was resolved! Allow Mr. Dowling to earn a living as a teacher and role model to kids that are at risk educationally. Thank-you

Lori...Thats nonsense! If you have children of your own, then you would know that, as you try to apply the same rules to each of your children, sometimes, you have to "modify" your means to get what you want for each individual child. "BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION" is an ESSENTIAL skill to be a successful TEACHER! ESPECIALLY!!!! for special ed students!!!! Also, children are so disrespectful today. They act as though the teachers need to earn THEIR respect as opposed to THEM respecting the teachers. Sorry to say, but that is something only a parent can hand down to the child.
I am not involved in football, or BTHS, and don't know Patrick Dowling. BUT I do know of the contraversy that surrounds the poor man. He never had a chance coming in. People in this town are so stuck on Mr. Wolf. Really? No disrespect to him, his legacy speaks for itself. But come on!! Give it up already. And, if any of you know anything about sports you would know that even the greatest of all coaches have losing seasons!! Many times, many consecutive seasons.
This BOE is nothing more than a lynch mob. They came in swinging and are proving that they are nothing more than a bunch of power tripping individuals who feel the need to control those around them. Maybe they have no control in their personal lives? Next election....vote them out! The epitomy of "BRICKTUCKY!

Nicely said Denny D.

ParentM, I do have 2 children attending Brick High School, one is classified in the LD math program with another teacher. DennyD, I am not a teacher but a parent with a child in the program and know what is expected of the students in his LD math class. I cannot comment specifically on his teaching skills, but I do have first hand experience with behavior requirements for program that he is part of. My comment was based on his statement. If my child was cursing him off I would want to know about it.

Ms.Morrison,
I respect your concern about wanting to know if your child was disrespectful toward his/her teacher. If it was a one shot deal, no biggie. If it was continual I agree that the parent should be notified. Teachers that work with Special kids, many times, are the only one that the kid opens up to. Having a rapport with kids is the greatest gift a teacher can have. You said you would want to know. That is admirable. Not every parent shares your concern. I cannot count the number of kids that "opened up" to me in my 39 year career. It seems to me that Mr. Dowling has a similar way to relate to kids. Before you can "teach" a kid at risk, they have to TRUST you. They have to BELIEVE that you BELIEVE in them. Are there some lowbrow things that come to pass? Certainly. By dealing with it one on one and not writing them up is how you gain their trust. Before anyone sees this as a weakness(not ratting them out) talk to the kids! Kids are very honest and blunt when you ask them about their teachers. It appears that Mr. Dowling has the ability to gain the trust of the kids, thus it enables him to be an effective teacher.

Denny D..You had your share of out of control kids and you were respected as being fare and taking no crap..With that said some of these kids today need direction because they don't get it at home and thank god there are teachers who try to teach these kids that respect goes a long way in life ,rather temper tantrums ???

Lori - DennyD said exactly what I would have said. Let the man (Mr. Dowling), do his job. I don't agree with tenure either but thats what we have, and he obviously has earned it! This BOE needs to step back.

The issue is whether Mr. Dowling is doing a good job of teaching Special Education students in mathematics. It is not how, what or why he was hired. Is he or isn't an effective TEACHER. That is what the issue is.

Agree... Denny D.

Ron Sutter is the VP. Susan Suter is the BOE member. No relation, Sutter has two Ts and Suter has one.

Mommyof3, this is the sad part of this whole Dowling thing. Dowling HAS held tenure in 3 seperate districts. He has moved districts as he has taken on new football jobs. he innuendo is he hasn't had tenure in 22 years. This is a lie and a smear against Dowling, but that is what people like Talty resort to lies and smears. Stop the non sense and do the right thing.

Ashamed: If that's the case, then our BOE is doing him a favor! Why should we pay him MORE money and grant tenure only to have him leave once he finds a heach coaching job?

Mommyof3, Mr Dowling already is a football coach again in Point Boro, but he's still still a teacher in Brick. So your point is the BOE firing Mr Dowling is actually doing him and his 6 kids a favor? Hmmmm, trying to process your logic here. I will say the ignorance of many in Brick people never ceases to amaze me.

The right thing is to recall this BOE - they have been dead aaginst Mr.Dowling from day one. It's time to to cross the bridge of who you know. Mr.Dowling is doing a fantastic job . Are there any negative job performances in his personal file ? I don't think so - Mr.Talty I have lost all respect in the way you are handling personal matters. It's time to start working for what best for Brick Township and for our future our children not your inflateted ego's.

mommyof3, please get your facts straight before you post on this blog....you obviously have no idea about mr dowlings long and successful teaching career, the many school districts he received tenure in or his choices to move districts for his career advancement and work/family balance. It is also obvious that u did not attend the boe meeting last night to hear his current coworkers, supervisors, administrators as well as supervisors from other districts speak with incredible passion and esteem about mr dowlings solid teaching skills, professional accomplishments or talent in relating to his special needs students.

Ashamed: Great that he got a job as a football coach for Point Boro! Then why is it he's still able to be a teacher in Brick? Doesn't he need to be a teacher in Point Boro then?? I do not know that's why I'm asking.

His teaching salary was $75K... that is what everyone is paid with his teaching experience... they don't start at the bottom rung again.
Then add his coaching stipends...

hmh,
The only issue here is whether he is a competent teacher. The teaching part of the overall salary is 80-90%.

Dowling's salary for this school year was $84,578.

Come on Ed,
You, I and everyone else knows what this whole situation was predicated on. Dan Duddy's dissertation was magnificent! Did you hear it?

I did, and I agree it was great! I just have a hard time understanding how Mr. Dowling wanted football to have nothing to do with it, yet most of the people who spoke on his behalf spoke of him as a football coach. The hearing was based on him as a teacher, not a football coach.

Not really. All of the evaluators spoke on his classroom proficiency. If he had never stepped on a football field in Brick Township he would have been given tenure. The nitpicking being done by Mrs. Suter is incredible. This is to justify her vote the first time around? I guess she went through all of the evaluations of all the other people who were looking at tenure this year. So far she is 0 for 3. My suggestion Mrs. Suter, is to look in the mirror. Being a member of a BOE can be a 1 year term or could last for decades. You are dealing with peoples' livlihood! This is not some sort of gotcha game. Do you know why the person that wrote those evaluations was not there last night? I'd like to know! You should like to know! You could have asked her directly exactly what she observed. She, conveniently, was not there.

I disagree! Mrs. Suter is one of the best board members in my opinion. She does a lot of work that goes unrecognized. And actually I do know why she wasn't there last night, and quite frankly I don't think that's anyone's bussiness.

you sound like a wahoo!

I agree that we need a fresh start for Dr. U! He is a very nice man and seems to be able to bring a lot to Brick Township. Whether the BOE made the right or wrong decision last night, we need to move on and focus on giving Dr. U the best for him to help Brick excel!

Ed, the BOE has not completed what happened last night, they still have several folks to vote and they need to end it positively. Denny is correct, they need to end this Dowling situation on positive note and then move towards starting new with Dr U, while not spending time trying to continue to pay back Walter H. Time to move forward. If Dowling doesn't get resolved the right way, I predict continued paybacks are likely to happen and before you know it the BOE is flipping again and trying to pay back what the other side did. Stop the non sense, for once and for all. Do the right thing with Dowling, do the right thing with the new Super and the old Super and let's try and move Brick forward for a change.

The only thing that is likely to happens is Mr. Dowling appealing to the Commishoner. The board has a 72 hour period to make their vote, and they decided to last night. Unless a something miraculous happens, don't expect another vote to occur.

Mr. LeFurge were you even there at the meeting?

yes i was

Mommyof3,
No one said all. Slow down. There were specific instances cited in Mr. Dowling's evaluations. Your statement,"parents need to parent their child", while spot on is not reality. "Teachers need to teach" They sure do. I can see your passion! When you are deaing with kids with learning disabilities or some other issues it can really beat you up. If you were not in the classroom with those kids for all those years you really cannot conclude wha did and did not happen. I empathize with you! I have a special needs son at home and was never in his classroom at Brick High School. I could only go by what I was told. To get back on task here, apparently Mr. Dowling is a very effective teacher in his discipline.

JB, beg to disagree, tenure is a horrible idea formulated by unions to protect their due paying members, plain and simple. If you are good at your job and deserve to be there, you will/should be retained, why should you be protected simply because of longevity? Results shhould be the only measuring stick. Tenure protects too many teachers that just mail it in knowing they are protected. As for the football connection, unfortunately due to the ugliness of the circumstances surrounding the hire and the poor records he produced after so much support from the superintendent it does not shock me they are trying to wipe the slate clean and move on.

Resident,
It's obvious you are not a teacher or don't have one in your family. Tenure is not a horrible idea and came about in the early days of the unions not to keep bad teachers working, but to prevent unfair practices by BOEs, Principles, Mayors and other people in power. Good teachers would be fired because someone in powers niece just graduated from college and needed a teaching position, back in the day, no problem if Uncle Politician was on the board or someone in power, he would just fire and replace with the niece/nephew newbie teacher. Sound familiar sort of like our own town hall shenanigans.

John Talty is that you?

Mrs. Suter, I commend you for your intelligence and hard work and taking the time to read through all those evaluations. Mr. Talty I also respect you for taking your time and spending it on the children of Brick as a BOE member. Your honesty and integrity show through everything you say.

What everyone does not know is that Mr. Dowling dooped us all. He is already employed in South Brunswick. That was all a show last night. So Dan Duddy, Denis, William Kleisslor, and the magnificent peeping Ed Cole, you were all used, How does it feel? Off to another school district we go with our 6 little munchkins in tow. And let's not forget Brunhilda Dowling who had to sit with Walter H at all the football games. Can you get Walter a job too Pat? He worked so hard for you.

Well put George!

you and george need to get a room

You have to keep a tenure system because of all the politics we are experiences in Brick right now. You can not leave the decision of who can get fired to the BOE. They have obviously proven that they will not make rational decisions, and instead will hold vendettas and hand out political favors. I agree that tenure is archaic and should be revamped, but getting rid of it and putting the decision in the hands of a corrupt BOE (most of which have never taught a day in their lives) is not the answer. ...... really the whole system of education in America needs to change!

If Mr. Dowling had a private hearing the same as the other two teachers, he could have properly addressed the issues that cannot be discussed at a public hearing. The other two teachers did receive tenure after the private meeting. Why did he want this to be done at a public meeting?

I agree that students need a education. For this to take place you need leadership that is honest , has integrity and the guts to go against the grain when necessary. This in my opinion has not occurred in the Dowling case. This was a man who came to Brick and was given a salary which was 2 steps higher (approx. $10,000) than he should have received. Why did Mr. Hrycenko give him this and not do it for other so called Highly Qualified teachers who were teaching the same subject?
It is my understanding that many of the BOE members had questions regarding those teachers and an administrator who were initially not granted tenure. Apparently Mr. Hrycenko refused to allow BOE members to ask those persons the questions that they wanted answered before casting a vote. After denying them a vote, the BOE got a chance to ask their questions and apparently based on the 2nd vote, their questions were answered to the BOE satisfaction.
In Regards to Mr. Dowling I was present and almost every speaker who spoke on Dowlings behalf spoke about football, and why it was important to vote for Dowling otherwise Coach Wolf legacy would be compromised??? After watching this spectacle one must come to the conclusion that this was a staged event designed to intimidate the BOE, which is some cases was the result. Let us keep in mind the Observation that was negative to Mr. Dowling was the last official evaluation done and I think showed he did not have good class management of the class.

I agree with you Brick resident82, I personally can't stand how the BOE is behaving! I didn't like it before when Wolf and Talty were being treated poorly ( in my opinion) it was all about the power to control the vote and they were treated as if they weren't part of the board. So the tables turned and the Brick Residents voted and gave the power to Talty and Kight. Unfortunately power seems to make grown adults act like bullies...Now we have the same exact thing going on with the BOE once again! When are the Brick Residents going to find people to hold these positions and do what is right for the CHILDREN for a change instead of the BOE acting like CHILDREN! It is very upsetting and all its doing is teaching our children that all it takes is to have the numbers. It is obvious what this whole thing is about, it has been going on for the last few years, just different sides taking turns being the bully!

The shame is on Hrychenko, he should have set his ego aside and listened to what the towns residents wanted. Dowling heard the uproar and took the job anyway, he could have stayed in his last, what, 3 district jobs, but took the gamble, no one forced him. I sat through a football banquet where Dowling spoke only of himself and barely mentioned the accolades of his players, I knew enough then.