Move to switch Asbury Park school board attorneys blocked Administrator files harassment complaint
ASBURY PARK With his godfather and newly appointed board member John Morton representing the fifth vote needed to assume power on the city school board, member Remond Palmer made a move Wednesday night to switch board attorneys. But Palmer met up with a more powerful force, the state fiscal monitor assigned to the district to oversee all finances, hiring and firing. That official, Bruce Rodman, overturned the board vote making the switch Thursday morning. At the end of the same school board meeting Wednesday, a close Palmer associate, Darryl Hammary, made a comment which school board administrator Corey Lowell said had threatened her. Hammary had requested to use school facilities for an extended period this spring and summer for a basketball clinic, but was turned down. On Thursday morning, Lowell went to police and signed a harassment complaint against Hammary. "The body of the complaint says Hammary said: "I'll get you. You'll be sorry' " and then he used an expletive, police Capt. Anthony Salerno said Thursday. Lowell said in her complaint that Hammary also made harassing statements to other school officials, Salerno said. Hammary could not be reached for comment Thursday. He helped Palmer and two running mates get on the school board a year ago and is a campaign manager of four candidates, including Morton, in next month's elections. Palmer moved to bring on different attorneys after first asking if the board was going to appeal the fiscal monitor's decision last week to close the Barack Obama Elementary School. Rodman had cited the district's declining enrollment, but also the fact that the board had not backed a second option to set up pre-kindergarten through third-grade learning centers at the Obama and Thurgood Marshall Elementary schools and use a third elementary school for all fourth- and fifth-graders in the district. The proposal by Superintendent Denise Lowe would have kept all three buildings open, but it could not get the support of Palmer's camp. (Page 2 of 2) Palmer made a motion to switch board attorneys immediately from the current firm of Kenney Gross Kovats & Parton, Red Bank, to Schwartz Simon Edelstein Celso, Morristown. Geneva Smallwood seconded the motion. Member Gregory Brewington said the switch was counterproductive and that the present lawyer "has done a great job since day one." Palmer, Smallwood, Morton, Joseph Raines and Kevin Michel voted to make the switch. Board president Gregory Hopson and members Gregory Brewington, Connie Breech and Garrett Giberson opposed the move. Rodman notified board members Thursday that he had overturned the vote, saying it was in violation of a board bylaw that affirms the use of a fair and open process in the selection of legal counsel. The board attorney contract is up after the April election and Rodman said that while the district had initiated the process to select counsel for the next year, the board had not yet reviewed it. "Mr. Palmer wants to blame the attorney because the Obama school was closed when it was the neglect of board members' duties," Giberson said Thursday. Giberson said Palmer, Raines and Smallwood had not come to a meeting last week to vote on the superintendent's plan to make use of all three elementary schools, and that the two others supporting Palmer Morton and Michel had abstained from voting that night. Palmer on Wednesday night also attempted to get approval for Hammary's request to use the middle school gymnasium for the basketball clinic during certain hours on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays the rest of March, April, May and June, and on weekdays during July and August, with all fees for the board's costs waived. Palmer has previously been identified as a founder with Hammary and his brother, Teko, of the Charity Kings the group making the request to use the school facilities. Palmer declined to comment when asked after the meeting if he was in conflict in trying to persuade the board to help an organization to which he is tied. On still another issue, the five board members now in the majority all abstained on a vote to seek federal school improvement grants that could bring $2 million a year for both the high school and middle school over three years. The state monitor reserved his right to override the vote. The application to the state Department of Education is due March 31. http://www.app.com/article/20110324/NJNEWS15/103240342/1282/NJTOWNS2602/Move-switch-Asbury-Park-school-board-attorneys-blocked ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/join (Yahoo! 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