Aberdeen Principal Tom Szerensits has been transferred to become an assistant principal at Bel Air High School and Joppatowne Principal Macon Tucker has been transferred to the same position at Patterson Mill High School, Superintendent Robert Tomback announced at the Harford County Board of Education’s meeting Monday.
Szerensits and Tucker were told late last month by Tomback that they would not return as principals of their current schools following the end of this school year.
The transfers of Szerensits and Tucker were made at the discretion of the superintendent, and were not subject to a board vote. The two men will have the options of accepting the transfer, quitting or retiring if eligible. Neither was present at the board meeting Monday, and their intentions were not immediately known.
Aberdeen High School students skipped class May 9 and staged a protest in support of Szerensits at the school which closed a portion of Paradise Road for a short time.
In a letter sent home with Aberdeen High students April 29, Szerensits said he was told by Tomback that he would be reassigned elsewhere in the school system, but would not be a principal.
“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,” Szerensits wrote in the letter. “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.”
Check back with The Dagger for more updates to this breaking story.
Bel Air High School would be excited it Tom came back. The current administration leaves ALOT to be desired. They are young and inexperienced. If only Mr Komondor and Ms Harris had some concept of what the BAHS community was about. Instead, he wants to change it into Joppatowne….that would be a change for the worse!
I was at the board meeting tonight. Here’s what happened… the board blocked all promotions by a 4-3 vote to table the motion. They also questioned the transfers (like Szerensits and Tucker) that Tomback put in place. It seems to me that all moves are at a stand still right now, until the board reconvenes. Seems the Board of Ed doesn’t see things the way Tomback does.
Actually, there were no promotions announced. The motion to table was in reference to approval of the list of people who were put in pools of candidates for specific positions (i.e. Elementary AP, MS Principal, Elementary Mentor, and so forth). People who are placed in pools might or might not be actually promoted into that job. It depends on openings. There are many cases where pools disband and there are still people in them, waiting to be placed. Those people have to reapply and reinterview for those positions. (Or at least that is the way it has been done in the past).
After the motion to accept candidates to the pools was tabled (with the 4-3 vote), Mr. Wolkow then asked Dr. Wheeler if he planned to table the motion to accept Dr. Tomback’s list of promotions. Dr. Wheeler answered that it was his intent to call for the same action in regard to promotions, at which time Mr. Wolkow thought it best that Dr. Tomback hold that list for a future time. (To give the BOE time to look through and ‘study’ the list).
At that point, Dr. Tomback read a list of transfers (in the administrative ranks) which actually hinge on the promotions that were not announced or approved by the board. It was in the reading of that list that the placements of Mr. Szerensits and Mr. Tucker were announced (among quite a few others).
It was quite a mess.
It is about time the Board of Education said no to Tomback. The look on Tomback and Wolkow’s face was priceless. The fact that the President of the Board of Education did not know what could and could not be held up for a vote is pathetic. I guess the line in the sand has been drawn…perhaps a few brave board member have finally seen the light and will continue to say no to the bully-like behavior and systematic Baltimorification of HCPS. Way to go!
Who voted to block the moves and investigate further? My guess Tom Evans, Mark Wolkow and Allyson K. were the 3 in favor.
The four BOE members who voted to table acceptance of the candidates appointed to the pools were Dr. Wheeler, Mr. Frisch, Mr Grambo, and Mr. Osman.
Besides the votes there were also some very interesting comments made by Wheeler and Frisch during board member comments at the beginning of the meeting. Read between the lines type comments. People should have been listening carefully.
Please tell us more……..and those comments were?????
Their comments were very pointed… a especially liked the analogy to Albert Bell
I am not surprised Wolkow and company want to maintain the status quo. They are more interested in protecting their reputation and the facade that everything is okay at HCPS when it is obvious that it is far from it. I applaud the Board members who are doing their job and demanding more information and timely reports about such important issues.
I am sorry to hear that Mr Osman will not stay on as a board member – he brings a much needed different perspective to the table – I hope the new members coming on board will have the gumption to take a stand as well to do what is right for HCPS and not just go along with the Supt to keep him happy – I will not be surprised to see another number of his BaltoCo cronies sitting in the Tower in BA.
So let me see if I have this right. Patterson Mill is plagued by vandalism and $10,000 stolen because the person in charge wasn’t providing any oversight and all kinds of people have access to money. Tomback doesn’t see anything wrong with that AND send a principal who feels isn’t doing his job to that school with another one who isn’t doing his.
I feel really sorry for the students, parents and teachers. The morale is already really bad. How disusting. Yet again, it looks like Fallston is untouched though. Dr. Tomback should be ashamed for just continuing to dump on Patterson Mill.
Why would you send the ‘fired’ principal from bottom-of-the barrel Joppatowne High School to another high school that is having problems of its own? It’s disheartening to see that JHS, once designated a Blue Ribbon School, has been allowed to slide down into the low-performing in all areas that it is now. This principal hasn’t done his job here, obviously. And it’s no wonder there have been no rallies in support of him, because most likely a large number of the students don’t even live in Joppatowne and they and their families have no vested interest in how JHS performs. Good luck, PMHS.
Lets remember that this same board hired Tomback. What I don’t like is now we have school system that has no idea of what is going on. We have 2 schools Joppatowne and Aberdeen High that have no idea who will be in charge next year.
Either fire Tomback, or sit down and talk it out. Moral is low, and if things don’t turn aound don’t expect moral too.
Actually the only members of the current board to hire Tomback are Wolkow, Wheeler, and Krchnavy. Come July Wolkow will be gone and considering Wheelers’ actions last night that could mean he is no longer supporting Tomback. I think it is fairly obvious that Osman, Frisch, and Grambo are not supportive.
If there is any question about where the school system is going that is the result of Tomback’s lack of leadership. The events of last night suggest that at least some of the board recognize this.
NA NA NA NA…. NA NA NA NA.. HEY HEY HEY.. GOOD BYE!
UPDATE:
Transfers of Demoted Principals Szerensits and Tucker Put on Hold by Superintendent Tomback
http://www.daggerpress.com/2011/05/24/transfers-of-demoted-principals-szerensits-and-tucker-put-on-hold-by-superintendent-tomback/
RM, If you live in the Bel Air area, that means you know the area. I think the Principal lives in the area. I understand his children don’t go to BAHS but he knows the area. I believe he did handle the hazing scandal at BAHS and we all know that was just “nuts”.
GIBBY- yes Joppatowne has the lowest income per capita in the school district, the largest special education population, some of the lowest MSA scores for for reading from its feeder schools and the most mobile population in the county but really the Aegis and other papers do little to promote the school. Lets look at at the graduating class from 2 years ago. They had a student attend West Point, Princeton and another student get into the Univ. of Maryland Engineering Program, which is second in the nation. All of the students did not have to pay a cent to attend college. How many other schools have had that success with a graduating class? But JHS received no press for this. They sent a student to the General Assembly and that student was the only student who was cut from the Aegis article. The Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Program gets little press from the local media. Maybe they should have a Meth Lab like Fallston, gang attacks and Shock Trauma helicopters flying students away like CMW, kids running over other kids like PMHS or crazy sex scandals like North Harford, CMW and Fallston to stop being the bottom of the barrel. Gosh I really hope they can emulate the good schools.
I would really like to know what anyone has against Greg Komondor and Erica Harris. “Young and inexperienced”…not having a concept of the BAHS community? (as noted above- he does live in the community) and the accusation of trying to change Bel Air into Joppatowne? Where is the evidence of your statements? Examples please. From someone who knows both administrators, I would say that both are doing a fine job. Unless there is something that I am not aware of…