Insights from a Board Members Wife – District 15 School Board Elections

In the past I have had the privilege to write articles on behalf of my husband, Rabbi Nahum Marcus when he was running for a seat on the Lawrence School Board. However, I find myself in a very unique position this time around. Although Nahum is seeking re-election to retain his seat that he has held for the past 6 years, the dynamics that surround this election are quite different than in previous elections. Allow me to explain. A few days ago an article appeared in the 5 Towns Jewish Times titled “Winners and losers”. As I was reading this article I began to feel quite incensed at how blatantly this article was evading the core issue pertaining to this election. The writer infers that there is much divisiveness within the Jewish community due to the fact that for the first time the incumbent, Nahum Marcus and Dov Herman first time candidate, are being respectively challenged by Michael Hatten and Tova Plaut, two who are members from the same orthodox community giving an opening to the public school sector to vie not just for 1 seat on the board but two. The writer cites that the opposition is divided and that we cannot allow this opportunity to slip away from us and can’t possibly understand why there are two sets of orthodox candidates running against each other. Well to be perfectly honest this writer feels that the author of that article knows much more than he is willing to admit. I however am more than willing to discuss the “proverbial” elephant that is in the room, which is being so blatantly and purposely ignored. First and foremost I feel that I must tread carefully and with much trepidation as the last thing and most important thing I don’t want to do is cause a Chillul Hashem within this community. However, with that being said I feel that there comes a time when we have a duty, and an obligation to discuss things so that the truth may prevail. The question that I’m sure most of you are asking is what would cause such divisiveness in this community and more importantly, why? To understand this and to get to the crux of the matter a little background history should be given to you so that you can better comprehend why we are presently finding ourselves in the current situation that we are in. Nahum has always been and always will be a very vocal and passionate proponent of the truth. About a year or so ago the number 6 school which had been closed for awhile finally was put up for sale. There were a number of schools, organizations and developers that were interested in the property. Problems arose when Nahum noticed that a lot of clandestine maneuvering regarding the bidding process was being done so as to give the upper hand to one bidder in particular over others who were just as interested in the property. When he realized what was going on he threatened to go public and demanded that all who were interested in the property be given fair and equal treatment. When certain factions of the board continued to do “closed door” dealings he felt he had no choice but to go public with things that he felt were unethical. He went to the papers and alleged that one organization was given certain bidding information while others were not. He contended, while he did not have proof or hard facts to support that these allegations were true, it just seemed too convenient or too darn lucky that a bid from one particular organization had superseded one that had already been put in place and that this particular bid was called in a mere 45 minutes before an executive session meeting. Well suffice it to say his comments went through the community like wildfire. Demands were made of Nahum from the board to retract his statements for it seemed that people believed what Nahum was alleging as 1 – he had no reason to lie and 2-he didn’t reap any benefits by going public with these allegations. When he refused to retract his statements the board filed a suit against him to have him removed from the board citing that he had a fiduciary responsibility to keep matters that were discussed in executive session private and not for public knowledge. An investigation into his allegations ensued. After months of investigating and $10,000 of taxpayer monies spent on this suit, the lawsuit was dropped once their own attorneys could not find enough evidence to pursue the investigation since they determined that there was not enough evidence that Nahum had committed any wrong doing since his actions didn’t positively benefit him in any way. However, they did issue him a warning that he as a board member must be wary of what can and cannot be divulged regarding issues being discussed in an executive session. Unfortunately this vindication did not prevent his fellow board members from treating him like a “persona-non-grata”. He was virtually shunned from all aspects of decision making and discussions that were on the agenda. All these decisions were being done so as to ensure that he would not be privy to information on items that were being discussed between his fellow board members. But ever the fighter and ever the optimist he continued to assist people in whatever they needed help in-however difficult that was. Things were very tenuous for him and he was not sure what was going to happen next. It was around that time that news was circulating that a developer by the name of Simone Development was interested in the #6 school property to build a medical facility. Nahum got wind of it and as luck would have it he aligned himself with the CC5Towns to ensure that the medical complex would not come to fruition. He was a very vocal opponent of the sale and even wrote an article as to why the sale would be detrimental to the community. He stated that the process by which the sale was done had been unscrupulous and unfair and further contended that Simone’s bid was not the highest bid that the board had received and that community considerations had to be taken into account thereby establishing that Simone Development a horrible choice for the community. The referendum to vote on the sale was being manipulated once again by certain board members in order to ensure that the sale would sail through. Once again, Nahum threatened to go public as every tactic was being used to curtail the Jewish vote. At the time there was only 1 voting place for the entire Jewish voting population, the date for the vote was 5 days before Passover and voting hours were only set up from 12-9. Thankfully after much pressure from Nahum and the CC5Towns another voting place was added and the voting times were increased. Fortunately the referendum didn’t pass and our community assets are still ours for the time being. The #6 school is still up for sale. We need to ensure that this property is sold to someone that will not detract, devalue or harm our community. So to answer the questions that I posed earlier – the real reason and the only reason that is causing the divisiveness in this community is because Nahum’s fellow board members are voraciously motivated in assuring that he never gets re-elected. Why? Because he had the temerity to put the truth and the needs of this community first. He put his position on the board in jeopardy so that the truth about the number 6 school would be known. While there is a fiduciary responsibility to the board Nahum feels there is a greater fiduciary responsibility to the people that elected him to represent them. As Nahum would say “there is no room on the board to be self indulgent or fulfill your own personal interests. Your obligation, your responsibility as a board member is to fulfill the interests of the community and its children first and foremost.” So the powers that be decided that its better to divide the community than have a 6 year incumbent return to his seat. That is why he is being challenged. The notion that Michael Hatten insists that he thought Nahum was not interested in seeking a third term is about as plausible as there being a bridge in Brooklyn for sale. As for Dov Hermans challenger, Tova Plaut, who was recruited and courted by the incumbent board members. Regrettably she was under the impression that she would be running unopposed for Dr. Blisko’s vacated seat. We have known her and her family for years personally and Nahum repeatedly assisted her when issues arose concerning her children. Unfortunately Nahum has been away in Israel for the last two crucial weeks due to his father’s serious illness. During his absence meetings have been set up with various factions of the community and with Josh Schein, head of the CC5Towns to discuss the “situation”. Various compromises have been offered by representatives of the board all of which conclude with a “compromise” that ends in the same result- Nahum not remaining in the equation as a candidate. This has been continuing adnauseum. The following compromises were offered: 1) The board would no longer support Tova Plaut, but rather they would support the CC5T candidate Dov Herman in exchange for the CC5T removing their support from my husband. The CC5T refused saying they are supporting an incumbent and their candidate Dov Herman who filed first for the vacated seat and only afterwards in the 11th hour did the board convince Tova Plaut to file for the same seat thus creating the very conflict they claim to protest and condem. 2) The board then offered to remove their support from both Tovah Plaut and Micheal Hatten. They would support Dov Herman and a write in candidate for my husband’s seat on the condition that the CC5T would no longer align themselves with Nahum. This offer once again was rejected by the CC5T saying they had no reason not to continue to support Nahum as he helped the community when it came time to stop the sale of the #6 school to Simone and has proven to be a valued independent board member in the last 6 years working on behalf of the community. The fact that an incumbent has a right to run to retain his seat is not even up for negotiation. The board refuses to work with him under any circumstance and will do just about anything to orchestrate his political demise. The last compromise or offer was actually brought to me to present to Nahum while he was in Israel. The “offer” was that if Nahum withdraws from the race, they will “create” a job for him heading up the special education department since he has obviously demonstrated even to them that he has proficiency is in the Special Ed arena. He will be given a salary, benefits and pension with an “iron clad contract” to boot so as to assure that this is not a bogus offer. I sat there listening to this thinking that this is wrong on so many levels that I didn’t even know where to begin. After listening to this “offer” I raised the following questions and statements trying very hard to keep the cynicism out of my voice: 1)as brilliant as I think Nahum is he would need to be certified. One can’t hold a position in that capacity without being certified.2) – where exactly is this money going to come from? There is no money in the budget for this – but a job will be created for Nahum and I’m sure the taxpayers will not be happy to foot the bill. 3) – as for the iron clad contract – there is no such thing – that’s an oxymoron. They will devise a way to find some clause, some loophole to nullify this so called “contract” and they would have gotten when they wanted – getting rid of Nahum and last but certainly not least -that this offer is an insult to everything that Nahum is about, everything he stands for. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I called Nahum and his reaction was utter disbelief. He responded by saying “do they honestly think they can bribe me to withdraw from the race? This is insulting to everything that I stand for and you can tell them to pull their “offer” off the table”. Needless to say the offer was obviously never considered. But these tactics are continuing. I was asked to speak on behalf of Nahum at the home of a friend of ours. The host of this event received a phone call from a board member who was quite annoyed that he was not asked for his approval or permission regarding the hosting of this event at his home. He felt that it was his duty to inform the host that he should be aware that Nahum isn’t as trustworthy or forthcoming as he would seem. He proceeded to tell him that Nahum misuses the Special Ed department to further service his own needs for our son Elly especially where it pertains to bussing. He alluded to the fact that his twin Joshua is on the bus with him merely out of convenience for us. I was incensed when I heard that. Elly has and always will be entitled to bussing because of his physical handicap. Since he has been in kindergarten he was allowed to have a private small bus with a matron. I decided that If possible it would be better for him psychologically if he could go on the regular bus with his brother and his friends. In addition to that it would also save the district about $50-$60,000 a year because the small busses incur two salaries – the driver and the matron. I worked it out with the district that I would put him on the regular bus in the mornings and his aid, would meet him and take him off and in the afternoons his aid would put him on and I would meet him and take him off. This went on till the eighth grade. When Elly was entering the ninth grade, he no longer had an aide and at his CSE meeting for his annual review the issue of bussing came up. I said I realize that Elly is entitled to bussing and that his brother Josh is not, but I know he is going to feel very self conscious about going on a small bus with a matron and he would probably be the only one on that special bus. I asked if there was some way Elly could go on the regular bus that was doing pickups going to his school and they said for liability they need someone with him as an extra precaution. I asked if his brother Joshua could go with him instead of a matron. They said they would look into the idea. Suffice it to say the district agreed and felt it was a good idea as it would be beneficial to both- the district which would save thousands of dollars and Elly got to be on a regular bus and didn’t have to feel any differently. To insinuate or to accuse our family of abusing Nahum’s position as a board member to give our son special treatment while we’re saving the district thousands of dollars was just beyond reprehensible. But this is just part and parcel of what they are trying to do. They are employing tactics which include threats, intimidation, harassment, compromises and job offers. What ever happened to the ideals of a free election process? What is it that they are so afraid of? Nahum has been told on numerous occasions from his “colleagues” on the board that he’s not going to win. Well if that is the case why all the effort and energy to have him withdraw? If they are so sure they are going to win, why not let the chips fall where they may and may the best man or woman win. These are the reasons why you have challengers and why you have divisiveness in the community. These people are not interested in preserving the unity in this community. They are not interested in how this is affecting the community. They care about one thing and one thing only – that Nahum’s independent presence and voice on the board is eliminated. Those who continue to participate in these machinations and smear tactics do only one thing: they bring shame to the truth, shame to the board and even worse shame to themselves and harm the entire community. To be perfectly honest, I am not thrilled that Nahum is running again especially since he has to endure and continues to endure extreme opposition from those who are determined to see him fail. However, Nahum is determined to see it through. He wants to ensure that there will be transparency when it comes to the number 6 school and that the community will be kept in the loop of the decisions that will eventually affect them. He wants to ensure that all the strides that were made regarding education and especially special education will continue to be enhanced. Budget cuts are inevitable and we all know the first thing that is cut, is Special Ed resources. With Nahum on the board he will continue to ensure that all children, private, public, special and regular will maintain the level of care and education that they need to thrive. He will continue to work with parents to assuage any difficulties they may be facing ranging anywhere from something simple as getting them bussing to ensuring that if there is a case of an unfortunately sick child who cannot attend classes, that proper home schooling will be provided. He has been and always will remain an accessible board member to listen to your grievances and direct you to the proper channels to get the help that you need whoever you are. I have been asked many times since the start of this election that if Nahum should win why would he put himself through the scrutiny and treatment by his fellow board members once again after all he has been through. His answer is a simple one: because it’s never wrong to do the right thing and now he is running alongside Dov Herman an independently qualified candidate who deserves your vote as another independent voice working on behalf of the community. It may have been easy to shun Nahum as one board member but it’s not as easy to shun two especially when they have the backing of the CC5Towns and the community’s vote. Together they can persevere and endure. Whether Nahum wins or loses his bid for re-election, I can honestly say that I am very proud in all that he has accomplished and even prouder that through his tenure he never once compromised his principles, never put his integrity on the line and he has always dealt with the people he came in contact with openness and honesty. Nahum has said to me on numerous occasions, that he’d rather lose with grace and dignity than win by deceit and dishonesty. So I hope that on May 21st your voice will keep this board human and that your collective good sense of judgment and extreme wisdom will re-elect Nahum and elect Dov Herman I can guarantee that Nahum will always be your staunchest ally and always only have your best interests at heart. He has done it before and there is no doubt in my mind that he will do it again. Devorah Marcus