Hoboken BOE Fact Check- Dr. Petrosino’s 4/7/2009 BOE contract
Recently on Hoboken 411, Dr. Anthony Petrosino, hired by the previous Hoboken BOE to develop cirriculum for the Hoboken Schools under the direction of former Hoboken Superintendent Jack Raslowsky, was very critical of Interim Superintendent Peter Carter when Lorraine Cella resigned from the Hoboken High School to take a better job elsewhere in New Jersey as Assistant Superintendent.
I figured it was time to give a little background on Dr. Petronsino’s employment contract with the Hoboken BOE to give the readers an idea of why he would possibly be so fervent in defending the legacy of Jack Raslowsky. The contract is embedded below for your review but here as some highlights:
1) Dr. Petrosino’s primary attention should be devoted to the district but acknowledges that he is a fully tenured professor employed by the University of Texas and may be required to complete outside duties from time to time. One day working notice was specified in the contract to give notice when these situations were to arise.
2) Salary $144,900 per annum.
3) Benefits Medical, Prescription, Dental, Vision as per collective bargaining agreement.
4) 5 weeks vacation.
5) 15 sick days.
6) 3 personal days.
7) And finally the big loophole: Professional days in which to attend his obligations at the University of Texas. No limit of these days is specified and there is no provision in the contract to adjust salary if those days were to exceed a certain threshold.
This contract was signed 4/7/2009 by Frances Rhodes Kearns BOE President at the time exactly two weeks before the April 21, 2009 BOE election won by the Kid’s First slate of Minutillo, Sullivan, and Mcallister.
The contract also is one year in duration with a 120 day notification and auto renewal clause in which the Board can terminate with or without cause. I look at it as a 120 days worth of salary and benefits that have to be paid out by the Board when they want to go in a new direction, or in corporate parlance a mini poison pill.
The question that comes to me first is how many days did Dr. Petrosino spend working on Hoboken vs. the University of Texas? The second question that comes to mind is why was this contract signed so late in the year when the approval to hire had been done about 9 months before?
Reader Question: Is this a fair contract from the standpoint of the taxpayer or the School system? Share you thoughts in the comments section.
Read for yourself below:
How's about your query Pupie & Carmelo to comment, too? Are you sure he doesn't have a gig w/Goldman Sachs, courtesy of Corzine, too? "Professional Development," perhaps?
Ms.Bossy-Boots
January 22, 2010 at 6:45 PM
On so many levels , this is just wrong."The board recognizes he is a tenured professor EMPLOYED by Univesity of Texas"- You can't be serious. So the tax payers paid him 144k with benefits and he was "employed by the Univ. of TEXAS". How many days a week was he there? "Visits to other institutions and pay for the travel expenses"….did the taxpayers pay for him to fly back and forth to TX so he could work at Univ of TX?"Thoe Board shall py $3,500 to have a mentor as is required to secure his ADMIN. CERTIFICATE"??? So again, hiring non certificated staff. Then, having the tax payers pay for him to secure certification? Hey, here's a clue- hire someone who has is certificated.We pay his benefits, yet he has another job in TX. Did he get 2 health coverage programs? "UNLIMITED Professional days which he may DEVOTE to his DUTIES AT THE UNIV. of TEXAS"? So we pay him to devote time to the duties at the University of Texas? Really? Hoboken taxpayers should pay him to work at Univ of TX to help college students in TX? OMG! Did the board make it legally to steal time from our students and taxpayers?ALL 1 year contracts are for a term of 1 YEAR- NOT 1 year with auto renewal or notification of termination. NJDOE law specifically states that notification is for SUPTs NOT Assts. to the Supt or any other contracted employees.Contracts begin in July. "Petrosino was working without a contract for about 9 mos." Then, 2 weeks before the election Kearns signs this bogus contract- it ended in July- why bother. What the heck was Rhodes Kearns thinking when she signed this? Did they even bother to have the attorney look at this or was the attorney that bad? Way to protect the students and taxpayers.
janis
January 22, 2010 at 8:32 PM
Janis- Thanks for the clarification on the 1 year contract in terms of its legality with respect to NJDOE law. I am not a lawyer but found the auto renewal provisions and 120 noitification a bit odd so I just noted them. IS there a lawyer in the house? If a contract is written that is illegal by NJBOE law is it in fact invalid or at least invalid for the provisions that are illegal? Just for discussion.
Reformerus_Gianticus
January 22, 2010 at 9:35 PM
Great question.
janis
January 22, 2010 at 11:08 PM
What is the maximum length of a professional service contract?Professional service contracts can be awarded up to 12 months.All contracts shall cease to have effect at the end of the contracted period and shall not be extended by any mechanism or provision, unless in conformance with the "Public School Contracts Law," N.J.S.18A:18A-1 et seq., except that a contract may be extended by mutual agreement of the parties to the contract when a board of education has commenced rebidding prior to the time the contract expires or when the awarding of a contract is pending at the time the contract expir
janis
January 23, 2010 at 1:33 AM
Petrosino is just another low life who was dipping into our pockets for too long. His employer in Texas claimed that he was 'on a partial leave of absence' when questioned about his status??? Yet Mr. Petrosino was answering his phone in Texas last year, every time I called. I was curious about his employment in Texas, since I had to pay for his salary here in Hoboken.
hadenough
January 23, 2010 at 10:35 PM
Cool article, very informative. Keep up the good work.
Hoboken Dentist
July 18, 2010 at 10:44 AM