Van Hook Petition

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vanhook13

As received from Lisa Hodulik

April 13, 2008

 

Dear Residents of Hasbrouck Heights,

 

I am very dismayed that I must write this letter, but I feel that I must clarify a situation that has been distorted for political reasons. Recently, you were sent a letter from Mr. Van Hook who is trying to gain a political edge by using slanderous accusations.

As you may or may not know, my goal as a board member has always been to ensure that our school district provides the best possible education within the constraints of our budget, while at the same time continuing to monitor sound budget spending. To this, I add that I have always believed that communication between parents and teachers is an integral part of the educational process.

When I ran for the board three years ago, I stated that I wanted to bring in a program that would give parents up to date access to their children’s classroom status i.e. homework, quiz/test grades and participation. I truly believed that having this program would ensure a more cohesive educational setting. Parents could no longer say that they did not know that their child was doing poorly in a subject. Students could not say that they did not know they had homework or that they were not told of an upcoming test.  Teachers would now have to make sure that all this information would be inputted in a timely manner. The RenWeb program was approved by our board in September and teachers were given training in October.  As the RenWeb program was implemented, there was a resistance to change and complaints of functionality from some of the teaching staff. As a member of the technology committee, I was instrumental in getting this project implemented and operational.  As a result of the complaints of the staff I felt I had fiduciary responsibilities to investigate the legitimacies of the issues.  The district granted me access to the system so that I might view the fields of entry. I was given a user name and password by the Technology Coordinator of our district. Keep in mind that this was the very beginning of the data migration in which only students’ names and home addresses were available. I NEVER SAW ANY GRADES or other personal student information in the system.  Also, I did not request an “all level” access to the system, it was only when union representative, Donna Mikulka, wrote her letter of complaint, and it was further investigated, that I became aware of being able to access all fields. It was obviously a mistake made by the district which was corrected later that day. The Superintendent of Schools was able to retrieve all records of my access to the system which showed the fields I had visited. I never at anytime saw any children’s grades and spent no more than 15 minutes investigating what RenWeb looked like. The HHEA never asked me, the superintendent, nor the board if I had viewed any inappropriate records or asked about another student’s grade before writing their letter. 

I can only presume getting at the truth was not their main concern and getting me off the board was. I can assure you that I have upheld all standards of ethical conduct as a board member and parent.  I would never ask for another student’s grade.  With four children of my own, I am only concerned about their grades. How would it benefit me to know the one grade, of one student, in one class, with one teacher, as accused?  There is no proof because it didn’t happen.  Yes, in the past, I have questioned teachers about the class average on exams. This information is available to any parent who asks to find out how his/her child did in comparison to the class.

            It is obvious that Mr. Van Hook is attempting to sabotage my credibility NOT ONLY AS A BOARD MEMBER BUT AS AN INDIVIDUAL. It’s interesting that this was not brought up by him at Candidate’s Night or at any public board meeting, but how could he?  He has not even attended a board meeting since he was voted out of office two years ago.  Instead, he waited until the last minute to send out his malicious letter knowing it was too late for a response to be made.  I sincerely hope that the voters of Hasbrouck Heights can see through this man’s dirty politics and select their candidates based on past performance. He was Board President when Mr. Luongo was given his 7.5% per year raise that we still have another year left to pay on his generous contract. Mr. Van Hook will be another yes vote to extend Mr. Luongo’s contract with another outrageous raise.

 

It just so happens that a decision on future contracts needs to be implemented in June of this year. Is this the type of person you want making decisions for your children and your money?  He doesn’t have children in the system…but he does have friends in administration.  Unlike Mr. Van Hook, my family owns a home in town and we are concerned about our current taxes. I also have our four boys all attending Hasbrouck Heights schools so I have a vested interest in what occurs in our school system.

            As most of you know, I have never been afraid to question the administration as to their decisions.  I can see clearly that they want me off the board so it could revert back to the “good old days” of prior years.  

            I hope this letter has helped to clarify the misrepresentations made by Mr. Van Hook against me.  In the end, whether I’m re-elected or not, what is most important to me is that the residents of this town know that I have at all times conducted myself with the utmost integrity.  I encourage you all to go out and vote.  Thank You.

 

Sincerely,

Lisa Hodulik

MomHod@aol.com