By KEITH GRANT
Parents of students are vigorously opposing a decision to oust Lido Elementary School Principal Rosalie Schwartz, who was informed this week that she will not be recommended for tenure.
About 100 parents packed the Tuesday night meeting of the Board of Education after learning of Schwartz's expected fate. The parents had obtained from Schwartz copies of a letter from Superintendent of Schools Ronald Friedman that informed the principal that he would not be recommending her for tenure, effectively ending her three-year stint at Lido.
Without Dr. Friedman's recommendation, the school board is powerless to tenure Schwartz, who was the school's third principal in six years. Nearly two dozen parents pleaded with Friedman Tuesday night to reconsider his decision.
"Lido has not been able to keep a principal, and now we have one who wants to stay and we're getting rid of her," said Cheri Nolan, president of the Lido School Parent-Teacher Association.
When parent Nancy Bloomberg expressed frustration that her child "can't understand why the principal is in trouble," Friedman explained that he was not allowed to talk about the decision.
"We cannot comment on personnel matters," he said. "I know it's frustrating. When you hear things, you want to know more. But under the law, we cannot comment."
Board President Steven Weitz told the crowd that one of the more difficult tasks that Friedman was saddled with when he took the job less than two years ago was to evaluate the district's candidates up for tenure.
"It's a difficult situation for any superintendent, especially a new one," Weitz said. The decision, though, would remain Friedman's.
"Absent the recommendation of the superintendent, the board cannot grant tenure," Weitz said.
That didn't stop parents from stepping up to the microphone for over an hour, with some pointing an accusing finger at the school's teachers. Vicki Last, a PTA member for 16 years, compared the situation to that of Helen Cheliotes, the former Long Beach High School principal and currently the district's assistant superintendent for curriculum.
Cheliotes, she said, "was removed because she was tough. She took the bull by the horns. Unfortunately a majority of teachers didn't care for that and out went Helen." Charging that teachers, not principals, have long been running the buildings, Last stressed that the district "needs principals with backbone."
Jeff Elias, president of the Teachers Association, later responded that the decision was not appropriate for a public discussion. However, Wendy Klein, chairperson of the middle-school science department, joined with the parents in publicly backing Schwartz.
"Dr. Schwartz has only the utmost respect of the teachers," Klein said. "She has worked to move Lido into the forefront of education. This is a principal that deserves tenure and hopefully the superintendent will reconsider."
Reached Wednesday morning, Schwartz said the only complaint she has received during her time at Lido has related to dealings with teachers, yet she has no regrets about how she has handled those situations.
"This is an institution. It's supposed to be a professional operation."
At times emotional, Schwartz indicated that leaving Lido was just about the last thing she wanted to do.
"I feel a connection here. I've put my heart into this building and I want to stay." Regarding the letter from Friedman that Schwartz turned over to the public, she said she did so knowing it could have severe effects on her ability to be hired by another district.
"I've invested too much of myself here for the children," she said. "I don't want to crawl away." Schwartz was especially frustrated by the fact that Lido students have frequently achieved the highest test marks in the district under her watch, yet she is powerless to fight Friedman's decision.
"He can do whatever he wants. I'm at his mercy." Even if she had any recourse, Schwartz said she does not want to devote time to fighting when she should be working with children.
"I want to do my job," she said. "I just want to be with the kids and do the job."
Most parents simply heaped praise upon the job she has done and what they see as a particularly active role she has taken with students.
John White of Project Challenge said, "I love to come [to Lido School] at three in the afternoon because of all the activities going on. I've never seen so much after-school activity as at Lido. Even after school, her presence is felt."
Kathy Musk, Lido PTA executive vice president, said that Schwartz "has been at every function that it's possible for her to go to."
"I understand that there are certain political things Dr. Friedman has to do to make the school system work," she added, "but we, as parents, have really appreciated her work."
Other parents praised everything from Schwartz's attendance at PTA meetings to personally making sure kids get on the right buses after school. Pleas were repeated for board members to step in and do something. "Even Congress can overturn the president," one parent noted, while another told Friedman that a failure to reconsider his decision would be a failure for the children.
When one speaker asked all of the room's supporters of Schwartz to stand, more than three-quarters of attendees rose and applauded. Among those was Schwartz's son Adam, who flew in from London to address the board.
"She was very happy with being here," Adam Schwartz said of his mother. "She really feels a sense of community here." The one thing his mother was guilty of, he said, "is demanding the best."
He went on to accuse district officials of attempting to press his mother into signing a resignation in exchange for her tenure and a recommendation toward her pursuit of work in another school district.
After the meeting, Friedman would not comment on those allegations, or whether any such deal had been offered to Schwartz. He did say, though, that any pressure from teachers was not a factor in his decision.
"The parents spoke well and certainly from the heart, and provided a lot of good information," Friedman said. "But there was some misinformation, too." He would not elaborate.
Although Friedman showed a willingness to listen to the parents, he would not say whether their collective voice would affect his decision.
"What's popular isn't always right, and what's right isn't always popular," he said.
While he echoed parents' concern about the turnover in the principal's office at Lido, Friedman expressed confidence quality successors would be found for both Schwartz and Fred Brand, retiring principal of the middle school.
The official announcement of Schwartz's tenure status will come at the board's March 13 meeting. There will be no board vote. The superintendent will merely inform the board of his decision not to recommend Schwartz for tenure. According to Education Law, Schwartz is entitled to seek a written statement giving the reasons for Friedman's action.
