The Von E. Mauger School mom stepped to the microphone. In a respectful, calm voice, she asked the Middlesex Board of Education and its superintendent about issues affecting her child’s education.
Curriculum disruptions, disrespectful teachers and the questionable actions of one particular science teacher, were among her concerns. Summing it up at the board’s Nov. 18 Committee of the Whole meeting, the mom called her child’s school environment “blatant chaos.”
Blatant chaos? In four decades of Central Jersey journalism, I’ve probably covered several hundred school board meetings and heard the gamut of academic concerns. They’ve ranged from lack of communication to “my child isn’t learning” and all else in between.
Blatant chaos is a lot more serious than the typical parental worries. That characterization didn’t come from a parent who is frequently at board sessions questioning every move.
In response, the superintendent offered to set up a meeting for the mom with Mauger’s principal. The mom wanted to know the “game plan” for addressing these issues. Hopefully, the mother got that meeting and her desired answers.
But what about the rest of the community?
More than half of a Middlesex homeowner’s property tax bill goes to the local schools. In my case, nearly $6,000 goes to the K-12 district in a year. There have always been concerns whether it is well spent. Three weeks after hearing that rational mom give Mauger a failing grade, I feel like asking for a tax refund.
Some might say that’s an overreaction. Not so fast. I’ve found that there are a growing number in the community who are thinking the same thing.
Like me, they don’t currently have children or grandchildren in the Middlesex school system. Many of them are not exposed to the community’s Facebook wars. But from somewhere, somehow, by somebody, they’ve been convinced the borough’s school system is broken.
Consider these people the school board’s quiet, bill-paying constituents. I encounter them after Sunday Mass, during trips to local businesses, or on walks through my extended neighborhood. The conversation usually starts like this – “What is going on with our local schools? I hear there are a lot of problems.”
Is the district really a mess? Are the critics focusing only on the negatives? I’m confident that no one among the bill-payers I’ve met is pleased about 7% eighth grade science proficiency during last spring’s Student Learning Assessments. Mauger being ranked in the 16th percentile by the state Department of Education is another worry.
Don’t think that we’re here to pick on Mauger. Concerns get voiced about other schools, too. I’m amazed how many people know the name Rich Gianchiglia and about his reassignment even though they’ve never met him.
The principal switch has contributed to community doubts about Hazelwood School and the district overall. Recently, Inside – Middlesex obtained copies of emails sent between parents and administration. Parents were concerned about the proximity of adult workers to students at recess, while outdoor construction went on at Hazelwood. The superintendent assured them background checks on the workers had been done.
Apprehension has taken root at Hazelwood during the past year due to other incidents that parents perceive as safety lapses.
Is this true, an exaggeration or something in between? Gasoline was thrown on the fire by one phone exchange. The current principal apparently got upset that a parent took her concerns to the board. That parent wrote about a phone call with the principal.
“I was only able to speak briefly, no more than a few sentences, before she launched into a lengthy and intense response,” the parent told the board. “Her conduct and behavior during the call was so inappropriate that I felt compelled to end the conversation abruptly.”
The parent added that she’d “never experienced such a hostile environment” during her child’s time at the school. Again, the bill-payers without school children are left to question what’s going on.
To restore community confidence in the school system will require addressing problems in a meaningful way. Easier said than done. Taxpayers are tired of unfulfilled promises voiced during board election campaigns. It wasn’t that many years ago that several candidates ran as a team pledging “quality results.”
“Blatant chaos” doesn’t sound like “quality results.” Neither does one school ranked in the lowest 1/5th statewide and others that can’t crack the top 50%.
There need to be honest, public discussions by the board and its administrators, without getting into personnel assessments and educational jargon double-talk. Highlighting accomplishments would also help. The district rightly celebrates the success of Middlesex High School’s athletic teams. What about similar public recognition for MHS grads who go on to top-level colleges based on their academic record?
It’s been surprising to learn of the top shelf universities that some 2025 grads are now attending. It’s not surprising that they got accepted. It’s surprising that the board and its administrators don’t promote it more to the bill-paying public. You wonder if academic-achievers have to almost excuse themselves for being smart.
The new year will bring a few new board members, and offers an opportunity for district leadership to consider new approaches to problems. There are going to be people with differing viewpoints around the board table in 2026. Everyone needs to listen, digest what the other person has to say, and figure out solutions.
It might be a bit unfair to pin poor standardized test scores solely on the board and its administrators. How many Middlesex parents fail to impress the importance of education on their kids? Maybe it’s easier to let them endlessly surf their phones and play video games, than pester them to do homework.
The community can’t go on like this in terms of its schools. Turmoil is taking a toll. The school district has been on a seeming merry-go-round of drama and controversy and needs to step off.
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