Goshen speakers urge board to reverse CJ Middle School reassignment, cite leadership and due-process concerns

At the Goshen Central School District Board of Education meeting on April 7, dozens of teachers, parents and staff used the public-comment period to urge the board to reverse the recent reassignment of the CJ Middle School building leader and to improve the district's handling and communication of disciplinary proceedings.

Paul Benz, a 27-year teacher who said he purchased a home in the district 26 years ago, told the board he has delivered a letter signed by “almost all the veteran teachers of CJ” and asked members to "recognize the mistake that has taken place in moving this administrator" and to "move her back to her rightful position as the CJ building leader." Benz said he would provide the board a copy of the letter without signatures because staff feared retaliation.

Amy Abate, an eighth-grade English teacher at CJ Middle School, said the leadership disruption has been "distressing and concerning to…