NORWOOD, N.J.—The Norwood Education Association will ask board of education members to re-vote May 29 on a controversial decision to pursue tenure charges against music teacher Courtney Bullen, saying the board did not offer her incremental due process.
“Tenure charges have never been filed at Norwood Public School,” said NEA president Catherine Stanzione. “As a staff, we are devastated by this action.”
A state Department of Education arbitrator is expected to review the Norwood Board of Education’s May 14 decision to fire Bullen, Stanzione said. The union says that after staff, parents and students made impassioned pleas for Bullen, the board moved directly to what Stanzione called a drastic step to strip Bullen of her license to teach.
“Not that this teacher is totally innocent, but our argument is you don’t go from ‘A’ to ‘Z.’ There’s a due process; that’s what tenure means,” said Stanzione, saying typically a teacher would be formally notified of grievances, and that was not the case in this situation.
Stanzione declined to specifically detail the board’s grievances. She said two out of seven board members were not present for the May 14 closed-session decision, so the NEA will appeal to the board to re-vote this Wednesday.
The board—bound by a confidentiality policy and case law—did not reply to a request to comment sent by Northern Valley Press to Superintendent Lisa Gross.
“Under the law, the board and the administration are not permitted to discuss any personnel matter in public,” said Gross. “All personnel decisions are the responsibility of the board, and the board takes this responsibility very seriously. Its decisions are arrived at after careful consideration of all the facts and in the best interest of the Norwood Public School District.”
Bullen did not reply to requests to comment sent through her personal website and the NEA.
“Ms. Bullen is thrilled to be serving the Norwood community in the arts department teaching band, orchestra, vocal and general music,” the Norwood Public School’s website states. “Ms. Bullen holds [a New Jersey] State standard teaching certificate and bachelor’s of music and fine arts with a concentration in music education K-12 from The College of New Jersey.”
An anonymous parent, who said Bullen positively impacted her child through her tutelage and work leading the school’s production of “Shrek” earlier this school year, said the action to strip Bullen of her teaching license is going too far.
“This is horrific. If they don’t want her there, fine,” the parent told Northern Valley Press. “But they can’t burn her at the stake, which is what is really going on.”
Stanzione said the process to strip Bullen of her license, which could take a year to be adjudicated, is outside the norm.
“They didn’t even offer her the opportunity to walk away, to quit Norwood and call it a day. She didn’t have the opportunity to resign,” said Stanzione. “That’s why it’s a little stunning. Tenure charges is the last stop on the train, so to speak.
“Let her resign and walk away with her license,” Stanzione said. “But they’re playing hard ball here. It’s shocking to the whole valley.”
Bullen has brought music and theater to the forefront, developing a curriculum and working to include all student populations, said Stanzione.
“The musical is such a meaningful opportunity for kids,” Stanzione said. “They grow very close to the people who run those musicals. The kids weren’t told what happened to her, which creates a lot of upset.”
The NEA hopes the board will reconsider its decision.
“In the history of Norwood, tenure charges have never been filed against a teacher and the NEA noted that the severity of this punishment is arbitrary and without merit,” the union told Northern Valley Press. “At the board meeting, Dr. Catherine Stanzione, the NEA president, presented the facts to the board and urged the board for a more reasonable decision. She noted that the actions taken against Courtney have had a significantly negative effect on the faculty, creating an atmosphere of uneasiness and fear in the school building.”