FIRST REPORT: The Board of Education President Leanord Thomas has just announced his resignation. Thomas, who is a member of the BOE for about 8 years, made the announcement at this evening’s board meeting and cited personal reasons among other reasons for his sudden resignation. He was president for about one year. Tracy Tift, a former BOE member was named to replace Thomas for the next two months until the April elections.
Further details will be posted soon. TLS.
Sorry to hear he is an aweome person!!
Wow! Sorry to hear he had to resign. He will be missed in the district!
All the frum members including the new members voted for this so called replacement,with the excepion of Silver who abstained
I wonder y he resigned something must b going on.. I hope that the state takes over the schools. Our kids r not getting what they deserved. The next person that needs 2 go is Mrs. Yuli who (moderated).
He will be missed. He is really interested in the children of Lakewood and what is best for them.
the BOE meeting just wont be the same.
This should come as no surprise to anyone who has been watching the BOE circus
What kind of games are being played here? Why the rush to replace him? Why wasn’t there an open call for resumes? Tift is NOT the people’s choice, if I remember correctly, he lost in last year’s election? What is going on?
Observer:
Actually it was quite some circus when he WAS around!
Thanks TLS for the great news! Always there with the news as it happens.
Tracy Tift is going to replace him for exactly 2 months. After Mr. Ostreicher made themotion it would have been not right to vote against him. He is definetly better than Lenny and we all agree that we need a PS parent on the Board. Should Tift prove to be ineffective, the oilam will vote him out in April. Otherwise we may have not had a chance to see who he truly is.
After tonoght, the next meeting is on Feb 24th which is 56 days before the elections which means that no replacement can be made. This means it was either Tift or nobody. No time for resumes etc. Learn the rules before you comment.
what is your problem with Mrs Yuli? Is it because she runs a tight ship and doesnt take garbage from parents???
stop blaming the schools and blah blah blah,,,,,
if your kids dont have respect then they are going to have a tough time following rules.
if the school old timers teachers and directors dont like new people more experienced leaders then leave the school district. new people brings better inovative educational options and allows a chance for your kids to excel. If they dont then the blame is on the parents and the old staff that does not want to learn newer innovative ways of education. Stop blaming one person or departments for your failures.
Did you mean to send that as a text message to someone? You see, online we still spell words in full.
@ # 14 just because u support Mrs. Yuli & I don’t o well. U don’t hav 2 work with her n I do. Y don’t u come 2 the school 1 day cause u won’t even last a day with her. (moderated)
The schoolboard is a Mochary like the politics in this town ! Persistance overcomes Resistance and we alll know what happens when 1 group of people are more persistant than others.
Milton Bradley descibes it in a single word … MONOPOLY !!!
Tracy Tift is definitely a decent person. But the voters overwhelmingly retired him from the BOE just last year. There is no excuse for going back. And no excuse for not moving forward with new people with greater emphasis on fiscal responsibility. To his credit, Lenny Thomas understood that. That’s why he resigned.
Mr Thomas resigned today, the day the District’s new Business Administrator started. Mr Thomas voted against this appointment, and apparently resigned in protest. There is a fresh wind at the BOE. The old regime is crumbling. About time.
It really is a shame what is happening in the public schools. It is my understanding the board wants the high school principal out. They blame the principal for the school failing. She has only been there 2 years. What about the other 8 failing years. She hasn’t been given a chance to show results. The board and administration do not make it easy for any administrator especially when they tie their hands!
Mr thomas will be missed, he looked out for everyones benefit not just of those that make us lacH.
it’s a circus in the high school, i went there just after the last fight, there was absolutely NO control, kids running wild, teachers as well as security guards cursing at the kids!! What I saw that day was sad. Some teachers feel the need to get into kids faces, yell at them and push them to the point that they snap, then they get into trouble. 1 teacher is even a sunday school teacher and that’s how she treats them. Most don’t know these kids, what they’re about, where they come from and what they have to deal with outside of school. 1 principal that was awesome was Mr. Suarez they need to get him back, he took the time to get to know not only the kids, but their parents as well. Something deffinately needs to get done, fast, that school is like a ticking time bomb!
LHS Principal there for 2 years, so what! It’s been 2 years too many! Truth will prevail. What is done in the dark will surely come to the light.
The facts are out as to why he resigned and although there is no mention here .Here is what Mr Thomas himself stated , he was frustrated with how funds are being allocated for busing & other services for private schools while the not finding money for text books, technology and repairs to the public schools .This is a sad statement of how this board see’s its priorities and I can see why his frustration finally broght him to make a decsission to protest by leaving,however by dioing that he gave the board just what they wanted . In my oppinion the call from many to close the public schools and send Lakewood students to other districts is being fueled by how this board operates . Its a shame their is not a huge outcry from the parents of the public school students to make sure there children get what they deserve as far as education here in Lakewood. It certainly appears that is not what this board is concerned about
If the state takes over the schools, You think that its bad with the BOE in charge wait till you get the word that the state is controlling bussing and the schools…its not going to be pretty in Lakewood anymore..when that happens..Too bad everyone wants a piece of the action…Its a shame that people can not get along enough to work out problems. Maybe the private schools should get their own school boards and leave the public schools to the BOE
To number 14 please its a blog you can spell what you want the way you want.
Its time some of the resigned members spill the beans on what is really going on with all the back door deals.
While I understand my comments are not probably well recieved by many who visit this site, I do not understand why opposing honest viewpoint are held in “moderation’ while others seem to breeze right through . there is no dishonest , slanderous, derogitory things that would be a valid reason for not posting my comment just stated facts that Mr Thomas himself made ~ is there a problem posting both sides to the issue?
To # 25. Your comment was posted, but I do apologize for the extended wait. The longer comments usually take a bit longer to get approved being that the moderators will usually read through the shorter ones first. Hence, you may sometimes see comments which were submitted after yours, yet posted before yours.
Thank you, and feel free to email us with any further questions.
the reason why Lenny left was for personal reasons that must be respected. The APP reported a story that was not even close to the reason stated he was leaving the board.
Yes the board has made a large turn in the right direction but until we get outside influenace out of Lakewood the children who want to learn will suffer. This means adults with an agenda and gangs alike.
I truly hope adults who run schools stop coming to board meetings.
to # 24, your correct but there’s more to it. The public schools have wasted money year after year with no results. It’s a joke but people in Lakewood only complain whenh a bus is late, another joke.
We must all come together. The scoop does a great job pro and con.
to resident says says:
Are you saying his statement was a fabrication ?
and that he then could sue the paper for slander or do you just disagree with his view?
I am saying that he said one thing in public and another thing to the APP. The reason is obvious. In public he needed the Orthodox members to vote for Tracy so he said the truth. However, once he got what he wanted he went on a libel against the Orthodox to get as much mileage as possible. Let’s be frank here.
I can only state my opinion
to resident says says:
February 4, 2011 at 4:11 pm
I can only state my opinion
Thats what I thought just your oppinion which everyone has a right to state ,however He did make that statement to the paper and I would have to believe what his explanation of his resignation is over a third parties “oppinion”
Here is Mr Thomas’s exact quote
“In an interview prior to the school board session Thursday night, Thomas said he has been in a constant struggle with a majority of the board to demand text books, technology and repairs at the township’s public schools, all of which he sees cast aside to provide services to private school students.
Thomas spoke about his frustration working in a community divided along hard cultural, religious and racial lines.
“I have fought one portion of this community, whose entitlement spirit continues to overtake, and could eventually ruin, this district,” Thomas said. “
Mr. Leonard was the last person on the board who cared about the public schools and that is a shame. However, on the bright side if the public schools close I shouldn’t have to pay School taxes as in this country there is separation of church and state and it would be illegal for my tax money to go to private schools. As unfortunate as this situation is, maybe there is a bright side.
To Senior Resident says:
Your logic is skewd as public school students would have to be sent to other districts and still would require funding for their schooling and more than likely at greater expense than it is now!
It seems that nothing right it getting done in LHS. So I understand why he ( Lenoard Thomas ) would say that the funds aren’t in the public schools. In school, I cant even bring home a math text book to review before an exam. And people wonder why Lakewood High School is a failing school. We don’t get the proper materials in the first place. It’s sad that he resigned because he was maybe the only one who cared!
The facts speak for themselves, all the “opinions” here are just that and really are pointless, His statement stands and it a fact that he made it, not a fabrication of someone else. Those who would dismiss it have their heads burried in the sand and don’t want to hear the truth of what is taking place within the BOE decission with funding
it would be nice if Lenny told the App why he is really quitting. he cited personal reasons. Ask Lenny what he meant by personal reasons.
“ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”