Aberdeen High School Principal Tom Szerensits sent the following letter home with students on Friday, April 29, 2011. The Dagger obtained a copy for publication.
Dear School Community:
This letter is to inform you that I will not be returning to Aberdeen High School next year as principal. I also need you to understand that this has not been my decision.
On April 20, 2011, Dr. Tomback called me into his office and stated that he felt Aberdeen High School needed to move in a new direction and that he would be bringing in a new principal to take my place. I was told that I would be re-assigned to a different position in Harford County, but not as a principal. In the course of ten minutes, I was not only dismissed, I was demoted. Obviously, I am having difficulty understanding the superintendent’s decision. His decision has very nearly crushed my spirit.
I love Aberdeen High School. I always have and I always will.I believe I have been an effective leader for Aberdeen High School, and when I see all of the successes your children have achieved and continue to achieve, I am convinced that I have always done the right thing in terms of representing Aberdeen High School. Knowing that I have never done anything unethical or negligent in terms of Aberdeen High School, I am having great difficultly in coming to terms with the superintendent’s decision.
I had mistakenly hoped that I would end my career as an Aberdeen Eagle. I simply can’t put into words my appreciation for how much support you have shown me and Aberdeen High School for the past nine years. You are an incredible school community.
Please know that I will not be leaving Aberdeen High School by my own choice. If I do choose to accept a re-assignment or to retire, Aberdeen High School will always remain close to my heart. I believe that I have served you effectively as the principal of Aberdeen High School. I know in my heart that everything I have ever done, I did in the belief that my decisions were in the best interests of the students of Aberdeen High.
It has been a deep honor to serve you as the principal of Aberdeen High School. I truly am as proud of your children as you are, and I am proud of what we have accomplished together. Eagle P.R.I.D.E.
Respectfully,
Mr. T. Szerensits
Well stated, Mr. S. Please know you will be missed.
Thank you for your service to our children.
Wow. As an AHS alumna and one who has benefited from the incredible teaching and mentoring skills of Mr. Szerensits, this is certainly disheartening. Everything I learned in his classroom I use today in my career. He helped me learn to express myself and was always supportive of independent and original thinking. The school system is making a mistake. Rather than this unceremonious dumping, Mr. Szerensits deserves the respect due someone who has devoted his life to educating young people and preparing them for life beyond the walls of AHS.
For what it’s worth – Thanks for everything, TS.
Thanks Mr Z for not only being a strong presence in our lives when we attended AHS, but also for the knowledge and teachings that you have passed onto our children. The school system is making a mistake and the students are losing an amazing mentor.
In support of a most excellent principal…
http://rallytosavetom.wordpress.com/
I will never understand the power trip that the superintendent is on and the Board members who allow him to continue.
Good luck to Tom S. I am so sorry that the supt. has chosen to disgrace you rather than reward and appreciate your years of service.
Karma’s a b*tch and I hope he’ll meet her soon.
The new super is anything but… Since he has taken office he has crushed the will of good teachers, scared off potential new ones, and done nothing to inspire the people working for this great community or the students who count on us for leadership.
get rid of tomback
There’s way too much political garbage being spewed these days. The folks at Aberdeen who really believe in Mr.S. need to support him and speak up publicly!
Dr. Tomback does not understand the workings of the HCPS system. Although it does have faults, I have always prided myself that I worked for a system that cared about its employees and students. Just keep in mind that Dr. Tomback provided himself a 10% pay increase last year (written into his contract). I believe he could have waived that increase in order to better identify with all others employed by HCPS that received 0. He appears to be very self serving. I hope the Board will eliminate him sooner than later.
Yea not only did teachers get 0 last year. but they lost money. in the estimates of 3 to 5 thousand dollars compared to the year before.
It is slated to happen again with around 5% additional contributions out of teachers pockets (if all the bills go through) so teachers next year will be making 6-10 thousand dollars less than 2 years ago, but expected to work harder?? is harford county a slave county now concerning harco gov’t employees? is tomback now a slave master again?
Sure feels that way. Better break out the lube cause tombacks a comin for ya. I hope Lady Karma kicks his arse back to BaltCo soon. If he would just respect the teachers in Harford and give us something it may get better but he may be facing a mutany if this BS continues. How can you give yourself a 10% raise for screwing up everything (what has he done to deserve that raise? nothing)and then still cut all teachers pay (or I am sorry not cut pay directly, but raise costs of things to equal a pay cut so the county doesnt pay out as much as before. Stop the tyranny!!
Nice comment ME. Unfortunately there is another reality out there to be thinking about. The people who work for small businesses, fewer than 50 employees, are feeling a bit of a pinch too. Just for reference purposes, these are the people who repair your car, mow your lawns, take away your trash, clean up your offices, etc. The employers have been shoved completely through the corner, not just into it. A reasonable health insurance plan for a small business employer, forced by law into Maryland Small Group insurance, is looking at rates exceeding $250.00 per month for a single employee. Family coverage is now over $1000.00 per month. Many of these employers can not even afford to carry 100% of the employee only cost and will put upwards of 50% onto the employee. That means the the single employee is paying at least $125 per month (if they’re lucky.) That translates to $28.85 per week. That same employer will offer to pay the first $125 of the family coverage equating to $201.92 PER WEEK! How much more tax would you like to take from this guy or gal in order to fund the pay raise you are talking about? When those of us in the private sector say that the well is dry, that the ATM is out of service, we are not just playing some tea bag game. There are hard working citizens in your neighborhood who can’t figure out how to live from paycheck to paycheck now.
The school system is wasting tons of money and the teachers are paying the cost. I have nothing to do with public education except to pay into the system and take nothing back. I believe that with my limited background, experience and education, that I could go into HCPS and find enough waste to fund significant pay raises and reduce the tax burden.
Dr. Tomback doesn’t care what the inner workings of HCPS are. He was brought in to do a hatchet job on the system, to get rid of everything that Jackie Hass created but the BoE or the County Council disagreed with, to try to replicate Baltimore County as much as possible, and to do it as quickly as he can before being given a nice golden parachute on his way out the door in a few years. No one expects him to be the long-term Superintendent.
The problem is that while he is here he likely will manage to turn Harford County Schools into a morale-crushing wasteland of ineffective leadership, ever-increasing mountains of standardized tests, and a teacher evaluation system that looks for ways to tear down teachers rather than ways to support them. How will our students get the quality education they deserve when the Superintendent creates a place where quality experienced teachers leave and quality new teachers consider HCPS an employer of last resort? What reason does a good teacher have to stay here?
Concerned Teacher,
You are right. The superintendent has already managed to turn Harford County into about 90% of what you mentioned. It will take HCPS many years to recover from his short stay. The disregard for the human factor is blatant. There’s a lot to be said for knowing your people and their strengths and caring enough about kids to put the right people in the right places. Instead, he just gets rid of anything that he doesn’t understand or that doesn’t fall into the Baltimore County mold.
Guess what?? Harford County never has been, never will be, nor wants to be a mini Baltimore County. That’s why its important for new leadership to take a minute to learn the community, history, people and strengths of a new place before systematically demolishing it.
You can thank the Board of Education for hiring him years ago. Mark Wolkow, Leonard Wheeler, and Alyson Krchnavy were all on the Board when he was hired. Mark Wolkow is leaving at the end of June and I suspect he is trying to distance himself from what he knows was a bad decision. There were several other candidates who were willing to move here or had worked here and they said Tomback living here wasn’t important. Furthermore, he hired a demoted Baltimore County administrator to be his Chief who also isn’t familiar with this County. Don’t be surprised if this County ends up with several of their buddies when they “remove” people from their positions.
How is that $10,000 is missing from Patterson Mill High School because of mismanagement of protocols regarding security but the principal there is no trouble at all and no money recovered. These 2 have worked for the school system for years and are being demoted why? Because of test scores in the school? I guess that is more of a reason to demonte someone than criminal activity taking place in a high school.
Disgusting…
Do you know that Harford County Pays his gas and milage on his car for him to drive to and from work daily.
Did you also know that in order to get rid of him, our BOE agreed to a $500,000+ payout if he is removed before his term is over?
where we have this cash hiding?
I actually heard a rumor that they are letting him go and not renewing his contract. This however is a rumor from someone who works in the system. I am sure that if that was true then it would have been out in the public and Aegis by now. However, we can still hope.
Mr.Szerensits was my English teacher back in 1984,1985. He was an excellent teacher and my kids had him as a principal in high school.
You were an awesome teacher and from what my kids conveyed to me you were also an awesome principal.
I do not like the politics that surround your dismissal and I am hoping only the best for you and your family.
You deserve so much better. Your students, every one of us, feel your pain and you will be greatly missed.
I am appalled and outraged at the ignorance Dr. Tomback continues to show. Having 2 boys go through the Harford County school system was not easy for me as a single mother. Mr. Szerensits was one of the few administrators that truly cared. My son came to really respect this man. Mr. Szerensits’ influence greatly helped to turn my son’s behavior around, and he gratuated with his class. My Son now is doing enrolled and doing great at HCC.
I don’t know what led to this decision, I only hope that for once, someone would put the children before the politics. The wrong man is being canned.
i dont think this is fair. really this is like all of a sudden that the super attendant would do this to us and make Mr.Szerenzits leave like this