Residents Show Support for Athletic Director at BOE Meeting

Despite protest letters, custom-made t-shirts, Facebook groups, and an unusually large turnout at Thursday night's Scotch Plains-Fanwood Board of Education meeting, the fate of high school assistant principal for athletics Rob Harmer remains uncertain.  

"At this point in time, no non-tenured employee has been notified whether they are recommended or not recommended for rehiring," schools superintendent Margaret Hayes said before an audience of about 100 Scotch Plains and Fanwood residents.

According to the district's hiring policy, all non-tenured staff – from teachers, to teaching aides, to custodians – must receive the superintendent's recommendation in order to be rehired.  

"The decision rests on my shoulders," she said.

Early last week, rumors swept Scotch Plains and Fanwood that Harmer, a long-time employee of the school district and coach of the high school's football team, would not be rehired as assistant principal for athletics, a job he has held for more than five years. In the days that followed, some local residents rallied together and sent letters and e-mails to board members. They designed t-shirts with "SPF STUDENTS SUPPORT ROB HARMER" inked on the back, and told one another about Thursday's meeting, which was moved to the multipurpose room at Evergreen Elementary School.  

The issue of Harmer's rehiring, however, was not on the agenda for Thursday. "Normally, we don't find out about hiring until mid-May," board member Donald Parisi said after the meeting. 

Instead, this week was the board's reorganization session. It administered the oath of office to three of the members elected last week – Amy Winkler, David Gorbunoff, and Rob O'Connor – and settled less glamorous logistical issues, such as reapproving the layout and content of the district's report cards, and confirming that TD Bank would remain the board's depository for its unemployment insurance trust fund and its medical plan account. 

"That normally completes the meeting," board president Trip Whitehouse said after the conclusion of the 16th and final item on the board's agenda, "but we know you did not come to see us approve report cards."

For the next 40 minutes, students, alumni, current and retired coaches, friends, athletics boosters, and parents walked to the podium at the front of the room to speak in support of Harmer.

"When I graduated high school, Mr. Harmer was one of four teachers or coaches to give me his telephone number," said Charles Baci, 23, a Scotch Plains resident and 2004 graduate of Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School. "I think the world of this guy. What he taught me on the football field translated so well into academics, and I hope my seven cousins get to have the same experience with Mr. Harmer." 

Doreen Binkiewicz, a Scotch Plains resident and parent of a student-athlete, spoke twice. "I don't know what an athletic director is supposed to be, but he's here a lot," she said, turning around briefly, her fists raised, to acknowledge applause from audience members. "He has a vested interest. I don't know why anybody would want to get rid of anybody with such an interest. ... I think the man has a degree of integrity and a degree of standing up for kids, a conviction that I haven't seen from a lot of people in this district." 

Some who spoke showed support for Harmer's character as an individual, while others emphasized all that he's done for the students and the school.

"In his tenure he's started two new sports, and on that you should base his performance," said Alan Rothman, a member of the SP-F Lacrosse Club. "How many sports does he need to bring to the high school?" 

Throughout the meeting, the tone remained casual and cordial. At no point did any of the attendees or board members raise their voices, and both board members and spectators applauded after each speaker. Only once did the meeting become tense, when Scotch Plains resident Maggie Yawger, emboldened by applause from the gallery, thumped on the podium, pointed at Hayes and Whitehouse, and asked, "When will you be voting on Mr. Harmer?"  

Hayes clarified that the board does not vote on any rehires until she presents a list of her recommended candidates for rehiring. The board cannot add any names to the list, she said, but it can approve or reject those already recommended. The deadline for her to notify non-tenured employees whether she recommended them is May 15.  

Hayes cautioned that "all non-tenured staff may not be recommended for renewal because of the budget defeat," referring to Scotch Plains and Fanwood residents' overwhelming rejection last Tuesday of each town's proposed budget for 2009-2010.  

She declined to provide any details about Harmer's particular case, reiterating that his and any other case would remain private until she made her recommendations.

Hayes did note that district employees have already received their performance evaluations from their immediate supervisors, and that those are very important in helping her make her decision.  

"Hiring and rehiring is personal," she said. "There's a whole other side I might be privy to. ... Any evaluation process is objective, it's fair, and it takes in a totality of information."  

Hayes also reminded those in attendance that there could be residents who have opinions that differ from theirs. She stated that she's already spoken to many parents, either in person or by phone, including those who were uncomfortable sharing their thoughts publicly at a board meeting.

Thursday's meeting adjourned shortly after 8:40 p.m., after which Harmer's supporters gathered in groups in the back of the room and in the hall. "I don't know what's going to happen, I don't know what we'd do without him," said Terence White, 17, a junior at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, and a captain of the school's ice hockey team. He wore the team's blue jersey to the meeting.  

 John Rachko, 49 and president of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Ice Hockey Association, stood nearby. "I thought it was great support, an outpouring of love from the community," he said. "I just wish we could get an answer tonight. It's not fair to hang him out like that."  

Harmer and his supporters, however, will have to wait a few more weeks.

Disclosure: Reporter Alan Neuhauser was a member of Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School's varsity swim team from 2001-2005.