NEWARK -- Some teachers and administrators fear retribution for speaking out against the district, a court hearing for a suspended Wayne vice principal has revealed. Wednesday, an elementary school principal waiting to take the stand on behalf of Joseph Graceffo, who faces termination by the school board, testified that she received notice about a week ago from the board that "terms and conditions of [her] employment would be discussed." The statement, by Pines Lake Principal Mary Jane Tierney, elicited by Graceffo's defense attorney, seemed to imply that she was being discouraged from testifying at the administrative hearing. [continues 677 words]
A suspended Wayne vice principal, facing termination for failing to order a student to undergo drug testing, had a history of not enforcing the district's drug-testing policy, a school administrator testified Tuesday. Detailed testimony by Victoria Musetti, the district's student assistant specialist, proved to be the strongest yet against Joseph Graceffo, whom the district is attempting to fire at an Administrative Law hearing. Graceffo, of Wanaque, is accused of not heeding a Wayne Hills High School teacher's request for drug testing of 11th-grader Nicholas Lucatorto even though teachers said he smelled of marijuana smoke. Lucatorto died two weeks later from a heroin overdose at an overnight house party, a tragedy followed by an aggressive reinforcement of the school's drug-testing policy. [continues 780 words]
It was the exception, not the rule, for Wayne school administrators automatically to order urinalysis of students they suspected of using drugs. That norm, outlined by school nurses testifying in court on Monday, is contrary to the "zero tolerance" policy depicted by district officials who want to fire a high school vice principal for exercising discretion in one tragic case. At an administrative law hearing of charges against suspended Vice Principal Joseph Graceffo, a school nurse testified Monday that teachers and administrators, although suspecting drug use, often waited for the results of a cursory medical examination before requesting that a student be given a urinalysis. [continues 597 words]
A lot of Wayne Hills High School teachers no longer speak to their colleague Susan Ammerman. Some see it as a sign of loyalty to popular Vice Principal Joseph Graceffo, who faces dismissal after he disagreed with Ammerman over whether a 17-year-old student had been smoking marijuana in January. Graceffo decided not to order a drug test. The student, Nicholas Lucatorto, died two weeks later from a heroin overdose at a house party. Ammerman, a district physical education teacher for 22 years, took the stand Friday at a tenure hearing at which the district is seeking to fire Graceffo. [continues 575 words]
This much is clear: Suspended Vice Principal Joseph Graceffo did not order 11th-grader Nicholas Lucatorto to be tested for drugs even though school policy dictated that was the proper course of action after teachers suspected the teen of smoking marijuana. But whether Graceffo acted differently from other school administrators in exercising discretion appears to be an issue at the heart of a state administrative court case in which Graceffo faces dismissal. A lawyer for the Wayne Hills High School vice principal filed a lawsuit Monday demanding that the district release detailed drug testing records over the last four years that could help reveal the true pattern of compliance. [continues 576 words]
One received 8 years and the other got 7 years on drug-related charges and for eluding police. Two men who were shot in their car by a state trooper after attempting to flee from him on Route I-95 in Ewing 2years ago were sentenced to prison yesterday in Mercer County Superior Court. Under a plea arrangement, Gary Anderson, 26, of North Miami, Fla., was sentenced to 8years and Richard Thomas, 27, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to seven years by Superior Court Judge Paul Koenig. The two pleaded guilty in early September to charges of eluding police and possession of drugs with intent to distribute.According to police, state trooper Sean O'Brien pulled over a car for making an unsafe lane change and having a defective light as it was traveling south on I-95 near Trenton on the night of Aug. 27, 1996. O'Brien asked the driver, Anderson, to get out of the car after he and Thomas said they had no identification. [continues 221 words]
