Prospect Park NJ students, teachers protest decision not to rehire security officer
PROSPECT PARK NJ June 26 2019 — A time traditionally reserved for celebrating was instead spent demonstrating at the borough’s only public school.
Students and staff checked off the last days of the school calendar with picket signs in their hands, as some paraded and shouted in protest over a move by the Board of Education to sever ties with a beloved security officer to save money.
The controversial decision, approved by a vote of 4-1 at the school board’s most recent meeting, effectively abolished the job of Robert Hennessy, 51, a retired police lieutenant from Ramsey.
“For three years, I worked as hard as I could,” Hennessy said Monday, minutes after children were let out for the summer. “I certainly would like to come back.”
Hennessy did not have tenure, and he did not receive health care benefits, as the K-8 school’s full-time security resource official. He was paid an annual salary of $40,000.
Pension records show that Hennessy, who retired in March 2012, also receives $8,008 per month from the state Police and Firemen’s Retirement System.
Last Tuesday, the school board opted not to reappoint Hennessy for the next school year.
On the following day, and for the next three school days, the Teachers’ Association of Prospect Park, known as TAPP, staged protests to voice discontent with that decision.
Demonstrations took place before and after school, each one lasting about 20 minutes. Students participated in some of the protests, marching in lockstep around the school and holding signs of support for Hennessy above their heads.
“He has a very calming presence in the school,” Ruth Illescas, a fourth-grade teacher, said during one of the protests on Friday.
Kara Walls, another fourth-grade teacher, said: “It’s like having the winning lottery ticket and, then, giving it back.”
Most teachers were concerned for students’ safety.
“From talking to my colleagues, no one has ever felt as safe as they have when he was here,” said Francesca Pasquale, an eighth-grade teacher and TAPP co-president.
School board President Mohammed Hussain said safety is the board’s top priority. Reached by phone on Monday, he referred to comments he posted to his Facebook page on Friday.
“As a taxpayer,” Hussain wrote, “efficiency of the school system is of great importance to me, and I must be mindful of all costs associated with operating the district.”
Under an agreement with the borough, the Police Department provides a security officer to the school, which is directly across the street.
Detective Amar Singer, who fills that role, in addition to being the school’s D.A.R.E. officer, declined to comment on Monday.
Trustee Frank Caraccio, who cast the only vote in favor of Hennessy’s reappointment, said the school needs two officers. Singer, who answers to the police chief, could be pulled from his security detail, leaving the school without any protection, he said.
“It’s a mistake,” Caraccio said. “It has always been my position that two is better than one.”
An online petition was signed by 132 people, as of Monday, to urge the school board to rehire Hennessy. William Martínez, a concerned parent who launched the petition, said he will present it to the board at its next meeting, on Aug. 13.
NorthJersey.com
