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Residents urge Hillside board to restore parent participation in superintendent and principal searches
Summary
Public commenters pressed the board to bring parents back into superintendent and principal search processes and calendar decisions; the board said surveys were used in searches and staff said they would consider expanding outreach.
Several residents used the public-comment period to press the Hillside Public School District Board of Education to increase parent involvement in district decisions.
Resident Sherina Del Ross said parents were ‘‘eliminated’’ from recent superintendent, principal and calendar processes and urged the board to reinstate parent participation — not as voters but as contributors of opinion. ‘‘Bring it back because it’s about our kids,’’ Del Ross said, asking the board to survey parents and include them in future discussions.
The presiding officer replied that the district had used public surveys during the superintendent search and that the board would consider expanding outreach in future processes. No policy change or formal vote to alter search procedures was taken at the meeting.
Other public commenters raised related questions about clarity and data. Resident Angela Lawler asked whether the district’s multilingual cohort progression is connected to the number of students who earned the seal of biliteracy. Resident Phil Wilson questioned how percentage figures cited in the presentation were calculated and requested the raw student counts behind the cited proficiency percentages; Dr. Perez said the ACCESS WIDA reports supply those percentages and offered to follow up with raw numbers.
The board closed public comment and moved on to committee reports and an eventual executive session. The meeting did not adopt new policies on parent involvement during the session.
