Harry Hurley on the reprehensible conduct by certain members

of the Atlantic City Board of Education

Regarding Sara Levinson 

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

It's disgusting times such as this when you should be able to fire renegade Board of Education Members, who disserve the public in such an egregious manner. This is the  regrettable situation we find ourselves in today, at the hands of the Atlantic City Board of Education and the deplorable treatment they showed to a distinguished teacher applicant named Sara Levinson.

Sara Levinson was a highly qualified candidate for math teacher at the Sovereign Avenue School and had come fully recommended to the Board of Education, by multiple administrators, the Superintendent and the Board of Education's own Personnel Committee.

Sleezy Atlantic City Board of Education politics were at the root of sabotaging this wonderful candidate from coming on board to serve the students and parents of Atlantic City.

Sara Levinson possesses a double major, a 4.0 GPA, Dean's List student every semester of her college career ... and, she possesses the very difficult math certification.

Her services were in demand throughout the region ... but, she expressly wanted to serve in an inner-city school setting ... whereby she could personally give back and pay it forward ... because of all the life blessings that have been bestowed upon her.

For reasons that defy logic and gravity ... certain Atlantic City Board of Education Members made it their cause to derail Sara Levinson's nomination at every turn. They can try to fake out the public that this is not the case ... But, the truth has become self-evident.    

On multiple occasions, the Atlantic City Board of Education rejected her hiring for no good reason. Last week at a personnel committee meeting, Levinson's nomination barely made it through the meeting ... and, after much hyper-negative dialog ... her name was to be placed on the agenda for tonight's meeting. The  unprofessional rancor between Board Members at the Personnel Committee Meeting was a public disgrace.

Certain board members on the personnel committee handled themselves in a very negative and disgusting manner. 

"Hurley in the Morning" has learned and confirmed that the Atlantic City Board of Education will not have Sara Levinson to kick around any more. They have finally and (successfully) poisoned the well to the point where Sara Levinson has sent a letter to the Superintendent and the Board of Education asking for her name to be removed from tonight's Board meeting agenda for consideration. (I have obtained a copy of that letter from a Board Member and will share it in just a moment).

I hope the political bad actors responsible for this vicious and completely uncalled for circus stunt are happy, now.

Instead of having a fabulous, over-qualified new teacher, full of excitement and enthusiasm ... in her place, there will be a substitute teacher to start the school year.

I strongly believe that official School Board ethics charges should be filed against those members who committed this despicable act. 

They have disgraced their public office and disserved the citizens of Atlantic City, which they took an oath of office to serve.

They are everything that is wrong with the elected board of education process in our state. Atlantic City would be much better off with an appointed board ... chosen by Mayor Lorenzo Langford.

This particular board has been evolving into something that looks very much like the Craig Callaway era ... whereby inside dirty politics appears to be the disorder of the day.

The Atlantic City Board of Education bears watching. It is broken.