Residents speak out on Johnson

Rockville Centre residents got their first chance to publicly voice their opinions on the resignation of Superintendent William Johnson at the Board of Education meeting on Jan. 18.

It was the first regular board meeting since the news of Johnson’s resignation next year became public in mid-December. There was a standing-room-only crowd in South Side High School’s conference room at the session’s start, and most of the seats were still occupied two hours later when the board members and the public spoke about his impending departure.

A handful of people sported cream-colored T-shirts that read “Keep RVC Schools Great! Keep Dr. J” on the front and back with Johnson’s picture in the middle. Johnson has worked for the district since 1979 and was named superintendent in June, 1986.

Johnson did not address his resignation during the “superintendent’s comments” portion of the meeting.

“The focus really needs to be on kids,” he said after the meeting. “That’s the way I spent my life, working to improve the lives of kids.”

The room grew quiet when Board of Education President Mark Masin read a statement on Johnson’s resignation.

“For the past three to four weeks, the members of the board have been asked questions from the community concerning the future retirement of Dr. Johnson from our school district,” he said. “On Nov. 2, at a public works session of the Board of Education, Dr. Johnson read the following statement: ‘On the personal actions report, the Board of Education acted to extend my contract until June 30, 2018, at which time I intend to retire from this district as its superintendent. It has been and will continue to be a privilege to serve this community and provide to its children an outstanding education. I would hope that we do not focus on my retirement, but rather on the unfinished work yet to be done.

“My retirement is a long way off, and tomorrow will be no different than the days that have preceded it. You have my unwavering commitment to provide the leadership needed to keep this district on the road to excellence, for every child that we serve and that commitment to do so until my last day of service as superintendent of schools.’”

Masin added that the board “agreed with Dr. Johnson to focus on the district’s business, rather than dwell on his future retirement in June of 2018.”

“We applaud Dr. Johnson’s unwavering commitment to the needs of our students and community reflected in his Nov. 2 statement,” Masin said. “We know that change is difficult, and change after 30 years can be overwhelming. We are a dynamic district, one that continues to push forward and is never satisfied with the status quo. Together with our administration, teachers, staff and, certainly, our parents, the board will seek out and find a new leader who will continue to build upon a strong foundation that has been fostered by Dr. Johnson and achieved under his direction.”

Whispers were heard among the crowd at the conclusion of the statement. Masin vowed transparency during the replacement search, which he said last month would begin sometime in the next five to six months.

“As we start to undergo this process, I want to assure and ensure that all parties that are involved will be involved in this decision-making process, and that includes administrators, teachers, parents, PTA and students, as well as the Board of Education,” he said.

Masin’s words did not ease the concerns of some in attendance. Resident Barry Hochhauser was the first to express his support of Johnson, citing his determination to help fund the robotics team as an example of why he should stay on as superintendent.

“I would suggest that the board consider when we get towards the time of searching, we can come back to Dr. Johnson and say, ‘How about another year?’ and then after that, ‘How about another year?’” he said.

Moments later, resident Jeff Greenfield, who verbally sparred with Masin in December about the content of a teachers’ union letter about Johnson’s status, again expressed his disgust at the board’s handling of the superintendent’s resignation.

“The way that you handled the acceptance of a resignation of a 30-year, exemplary, CEO superintendent of schools under the cover of darkness with no one from the public present, with no TVs on, is an injustice that should never be repeated,” Greenfield said.

Masin said he couldn’t control who comes or doesn’t come to public work sessions. Greenfield countered by saying that more people would have attended if they had known Johnson was stepping down.

“You tainted this gentleman,” Greenfield said before a shout of “That’s right!” from an audience member. “The whole way you did it raises more than we know here.”

The loudest applause of the night came when Greenfield challenged the board to do a revote on Johnson’s resignation. Masin responded, “I don’t believe, at this point, we will take that under advisement.”

Resident Jen Gilchrist-Fuentes, a 20-year public school teacher in New York City, cited Johnson as the reason her family moved to Rockville Centre. She said she planned to enroll her eldest child in the district in September.

“It is not sitting very well with me and other people in this community that we have an elected public school board that is not speaking in defense of public education,” she said.

Faith Varley, another resident, read a statement to the board that was also on behalf of the PTAs of the Floyd B. Wilson and Jennie E. Hewitt elementary schools, and the middle and high school. It credited the superintendent for building a high-performance district “due in large part to signature programs and policies that Dr. Johnson successfully initiated.” She also requested a transparent search process by the board.

Hewitt PTA President Tara Hackett said she did not have a problem with the board accepting Johnson’s resignation during a public work session, but was angry about how she was informed of the news.

“I personally found out through the Herald and I resented that,” she said. “I sat through presidents’ meetings, and I sit on different committees at the district level, and I am very vocal and very visible, and to have found out that way felt very wrong.”

Johnson appeared uncomfortable numerous times as people spoke. “I’m very embarrassed by it,” he said. “I don’t come to work for that purpose. I’m very gratified by it, but at the same time, the school is great because of all that everybody does together.”

Would he consider rescinding his resignation letter? “You’ll have to talk to the board about that,” Johnson said.