Custodian fired after allegations made by a Columbia High student
By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
MAPLEWOOD, NJ - A male custodian at Columbia High School was fired for allegedly asking a female student for her phone number, school officials said Monday.
More details were not made available. Superintendent of Schools Peter P. Horoschak did not return a phone call seeking comment.
The custodian had worked for Aramark, the company that provides custodial services at Columbia. An Aramark spokeswoman did not return a phone call seeking comment.
As for the student, she left the district for unrelated reasons, said David Frazer, president of the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education.
The revelation comes with the district preparing to privatize more services as a way to bring costs down. In one example, officials expect to save $132,000 by having a private firm provide security at the high school.
The decision will mean laying off the 10 security guards who work there. That’s angered students, who protested the move Friday.
Columbia students formed part of the throng that forced the Board of Education to move its meeting Monday into the high school auditorium. They made clear that their concerns on a host of issues continued to be ignored.
They have criticized, among other things, the dirty conditions of the school, the recent censorship of the student cable channel, a proposed change to an eight-period day and how a Black History Month assembly was handled last month.
“We are here to demand that you stop talking and take action,” said Danielle Levine, a Columbia student, to the Board of Education. “You keep disrespecting us, day in and day out.”
Tensions remain high in the district, with elections due in April. Aside from the students’ concerns, the teachers and the Board of Education have failed to reach a new contract.
To top off matters, the district has proposed laying off more than 90 employees.
“I assure you this has been difficult for us,” Frazer told the crowd Monday.
His talk failed to convince what was a tough audience.
At times, the scene inside the auditorium resembled a sports arena, with the Board of Education and the administrators clearly in the role of the road team.
The audience cheered and yelled in support of speakers friendly to their respective cause, with some criticism directed at the News-Record for its coverage last week of an incident at South Mountain Elementary School.
At one point, the talk became personal, as one student noted that Horoschak looked like Vice President Dick Cheney.
The South Orange-Maplewood Education Association criticized the decision to outsource the security staff at Columbia.
In a flier, the union issued what it termed a “security alert.”
“This is not the time to compromise our security due to proposed budget cuts,” the flier reads. “The Maplewood-South Orange School District wants to replace qualified security guards with rent-a-guards who are not required to undergo a criminal background check.”
Paula Bethea, president of the teachers union, called on the board to change its mind about the layoffs.
“I hope you will re-examine your priorities,” she said at Monday’s meeting.
The district, replying to the SOMEA flier, released a rebuttal from Karla Milanette, business administrator.
“Contrary to information being distributed in the district, our contract specifications and state laws require all personnel provided to school districts by private companies to undergo criminal history background checks,” she wrote.
These past two Board of Education meetings have seen overflow crowds. This one reached new heights, with the crowd packing the regular Board meeting room on Academy Street.
Officials decided to relocate the meeting to the high school. One estimate put the crowd at 450 people, a total that included the school mascot.
Staff Writer Philip Sean Curran can be reached at 973-76.-0700, ext. 110, or at newsrecordnj@yahoo.com.
More details were not made available. Superintendent of Schools Peter P. Horoschak did not return a phone call seeking comment.
The custodian had worked for Aramark, the company that provides custodial services at Columbia. An Aramark spokeswoman did not return a phone call seeking comment.
As for the student, she left the district for unrelated reasons, said David Frazer, president of the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education.
The revelation comes with the district preparing to privatize more services as a way to bring costs down. In one example, officials expect to save $132,000 by having a private firm provide security at the high school.
The decision will mean laying off the 10 security guards who work there. That’s angered students, who protested the move Friday.
Columbia students formed part of the throng that forced the Board of Education to move its meeting Monday into the high school auditorium. They made clear that their concerns on a host of issues continued to be ignored.
They have criticized, among other things, the dirty conditions of the school, the recent censorship of the student cable channel, a proposed change to an eight-period day and how a Black History Month assembly was handled last month.
“We are here to demand that you stop talking and take action,” said Danielle Levine, a Columbia student, to the Board of Education. “You keep disrespecting us, day in and day out.”
Tensions remain high in the district, with elections due in April. Aside from the students’ concerns, the teachers and the Board of Education have failed to reach a new contract.
To top off matters, the district has proposed laying off more than 90 employees.
“I assure you this has been difficult for us,” Frazer told the crowd Monday.
His talk failed to convince what was a tough audience.
At times, the scene inside the auditorium resembled a sports arena, with the Board of Education and the administrators clearly in the role of the road team.
The audience cheered and yelled in support of speakers friendly to their respective cause, with some criticism directed at the News-Record for its coverage last week of an incident at South Mountain Elementary School.
At one point, the talk became personal, as one student noted that Horoschak looked like Vice President Dick Cheney.
The South Orange-Maplewood Education Association criticized the decision to outsource the security staff at Columbia.
In a flier, the union issued what it termed a “security alert.”
“This is not the time to compromise our security due to proposed budget cuts,” the flier reads. “The Maplewood-South Orange School District wants to replace qualified security guards with rent-a-guards who are not required to undergo a criminal background check.”
Paula Bethea, president of the teachers union, called on the board to change its mind about the layoffs.
“I hope you will re-examine your priorities,” she said at Monday’s meeting.
The district, replying to the SOMEA flier, released a rebuttal from Karla Milanette, business administrator.
“Contrary to information being distributed in the district, our contract specifications and state laws require all personnel provided to school districts by private companies to undergo criminal history background checks,” she wrote.
These past two Board of Education meetings have seen overflow crowds. This one reached new heights, with the crowd packing the regular Board meeting room on Academy Street.
Officials decided to relocate the meeting to the high school. One estimate put the crowd at 450 people, a total that included the school mascot.
Staff Writer Philip Sean Curran can be reached at 973-76.-0700, ext. 110, or at newsrecordnj@yahoo.com.
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