Renaissance School Closed Monday

There is a meeting about this issue scheduled for 11AM today at the BOE - wish I could attend but I don't think the boss would appreciate me taking a day off after only 1 week at my new job ...! Any chance one of our Baristas could attend and post a summary later this afternoon?

Funny that you ask that the baristas attend as they can't even report correctly on letter that they have received.

From the BOE letter
"On Thursday we discovered that some of this plaster may have been disturbed during the off-hours construction. We immediately halted the installation scheduled for Thursday afternoon/evening and the district?s asbestos consultant, Detail Associates, tested and cleaned the school. "

Bad claims from the BOE, here's timeline.

The BOE asks for new Fire Doors.

Immaculate Conception orders the fire doors, notifies the BOE that they will be installed and hires an contractor.

In the meantime the BOE has an assessment doen for asbestos. They don't bother to tell Immaculate Conception that traces have been found in the plaster on the third floor.

The BOE sits back and waits.

Immaculate Conception's contractor begins the installation of the doors.

The BOE makes a lot of hoopla and shuts the project down blaming Immaculate Conception.

The BOE is trying to make the point that the new $45,000,000 is needed and that Renaissance must be moved.

We see through you BOE!!

(All this, 5 weeks before Summer break when the school would be closed.)

I've gotten calls from many working parents who cannot attend the meeting at 11 AM because of work commitments. There will be a PTA meeting on Wed. night (location to come!) that working parents can attend. So if you are a stay at home parent or have a flexible schedule, you get to find out the info. and express your concerns today. Working parents,you have to wait until Wed. Hmm.

If working parents are concerned enough about the issue they will take a vacation/sick day from work and maybe work next Monday instead. But then they'd have nothing to bitch about so that won't work.

Insider, that's a very interesting scenario. Makes me a bit uncomfy too. This sounds like IC was doing what it was supposed to as landlord. And while it sure seems logical to have done the work in the summer - but, perhaps the Fire Official came in and said, do it NOW - maybe it was a code violation?

for me personally, I hope they never build the new school because I like the fact that the kids go out for things during the school day. How awesome that they walk to the soccer dome, Sharron Miller's, and the YMCA! sure they complain, it's cold, it's snowing, yada yada. Get out and walk! This has been the most physical activity daughter has gotten (during a school day) in her entire Mtc district career. I would be sad if my younger son ends up stuck in Rand school all day and Renaissance turns into a 'traditional' school.

(climibing down from soapbox now.)

I agree with you 100 percent Kay. The strength of Renaissance School is the teachers and students. In a town that cares way too much about appearances this school operates in a run-down building. They get out and about and use the town's resources and get exercise and get a great education. Maybe they could rent the soccer dome or someplace. The kids won't care where they are because they actually like Renaissance School wherever it is. The parents just want their kids in a safe place, which is something the current BOE seems completely and totally incapable of providing.

Mets2008 - not everyone has a job that will allow them to create their own schedule. And the meeting time was announced with about eleven hours notice.

Yeah, and if they scheduled the first meeting for Wed. night with another day of school closed tomorrow they'd be excoriated for waiting for three days. I could hardly imagine the outrage. That's unfortunately why school administrators eventually have to shut the parents off in this town -- no matter what you do you're always wrong.

Just got a call. Renaissance will be closed tomorrow also.

You must have chewed some nails and wingnuts with your cornflakes this morning, mets, because you're even more disgruntled than usual. I hate to disturb your delicate web of preconceptions, but in this particular case the people in charge were pretty seriously derelict.

Who are you, BOE insider? If you're truly a BOE insider, why are you pointing fingers at the BOE? Or are you not really what you claim to be?

The BOE should have had this meeting broadcast on Channel 34 and played back in the evening.

Yes, and they should have done it as a musical.

And just to be consistent with prior Channel 34 programming, a musical with no sound.

Aggh!!! wonder if this means that the extra day off this Friday will now go bye-bye!

with apologies to lyricists everywhere:

Come on along and listen to
The lullaby of Montclair.
The hip hooray and bally hoo,
The lullaby of Montclair.
The rumble of construction drills,
The white death cloud of asbestos.
The daffy-dills from Board of Ed
Who won't bring up any bad news

When a Montclair baby says "Good night,"
It's early in the morning.
Rennaissance babies don't live too long:
Good night, baby,
Good night, lung cancer's on its way.
Sleep tight, baby,
Sleep tight, let's call it a day,
Listen to the lullaby of Rennaissance.

Walleroo,

To say that the BOE was derelict on this one would be a GROSS understatement. Permitting construction to take place at a location in the school where it would be plain to anyone that asbestos was going to be disturbed, and then acting surprised or trying to lay it off on the church. Give me a break. My favorite piece of advice today is that backpack that were exposed to asbestos should probably be discarded. Yep, that one's that been sitting on the floor of your living room all weekend. Yeah, you better throw that away. Well, gee, that probably would have been nice to tell people FOUR FREAKIN' DAYS AGO, YOU DUMMIES.

So what the HECK were we arguing about, dammit!