Well it appears the BOE may have come to the realization that the Zman has ruffled one to many feathers. If in fact he is asked to leave, let us hope that the BOE learns from their mistakes and does an extensive background check on any potential replacements.

Can anyone believe anything the man says anymore? He has repeatedly lied throughout this whole thing. Any truth to the rumor that he took these days off because he had to see a plastic surgeon because his nose grew? What on earth is the BOE going to do? The entire two towns should be there on December 20.

The board can give him a crossing guard job to cross the kids on old hook road that he denied bussing because they were 200 ft short of the shortesr distance. But he would screw that up as well. I would love to help him pack his things as hes thrown out on his ass. He has a partner in crime there that should go with him .. i hope hes next.

I will be there for sure, I am loving this! He lied to every parent who came out to support coach Joe Yurko saying the board would vote in a few days, then as soon as all the parents left they voted him out! Who can believe anything he says? He is an embarassment to this district and a joke to all who work for him. I hope coach Yurko is enjoying this as much as I am!

Yes, he definitely has a partner in crime on team Z, one who is not on the BOE, he definitely has to go as well

Now I know what his true identity is and why he went to Florida during the worst storm in NJ history. He had a gig at Disneyworld playing the part of Pinnochio and he couldn't get out of it. Joe Malley, he doesn't need a job as a crossing guard, Disneyworld is waiting!

People have to stand up and get their @#$% together because the superintendent, boe, and their collaborators will only take from them and give nothing back. THe people of both towns in the school district better show up at the boe meeting on December 20.

I'm glad he finnally has revealed his true colors. His behavior has always been questionable and his character has always been distasteful. He finally got caught in another one of his many lies and should be FIRED IMMEDIATELY. He is an embarrassment to the BOE and the entire district. How dare he take school equipment for personal gain. And why did he recend his email to all teachers about a pre approved vacation. Because his was'nt pre approved. Thats why. He has lied for years about alot of things and has to go. The BOE must show some backbone and do the right thing and remove him now.

Misappropriating government equipment for personal use under the guise of an "emergency" is PRECISELY an act for which other public officials in other communities have been charged with Official Misconduct (a second-degree indictable crime). He took home taxpayer-owned equipment and derived a personal use or benefit from it. He did not obtain approval from the Board, as required in the policy behind which he hides, citing the need for "emergency communications." The generator powered his home, period... kept the heat on, kept the refrigerator running; it did not power his landline or Internet (both were down in his hometown of Rockaway), and his cell phone had nothing to do with the generator. Even if those things had been true, they would not justify taking home district-owned equipment. School superintendents in Paterson, Newark, Jersey City, and much larger districts than Westwood did not get to bring home a generator; they worked their butts off but woke up cold and without power like everyone else in town.

And as I wrote on the other article, if we are troubled by Zoeller's inappropriate comments to female Westwood students (swept under the rug last year, as referenced in the articles), the Board should REALLY investigate why Zoeller was forced out of Pompton Lakes High School (where he was a science teacher who faced an allegation referenced by Trudy on the other message board) and the Union County Vo-Tech Schools. While a high school principal in Union County, it is rumored that he was accused of sexual harassment by subordinates/teachers (but never sued or charged in formal disciplinary proceedings...he ended up marrying a guidance counselor from one of those schools, something actually married that hideous looking thing?) and was accused of inappropriate comments and vindictive acts of retaliation. Was he allowed to leave those jobs to find a new role out of town in lieu of facing an investigation? Why is he still working in an academic environment? Why was his past not vetted when the Board of Ed hired him here? And what's with his creepy Boy Scouts pictures?

Can't wait for that meeting, there are some people on the boe who should also be replaced because they are his suck-ups! Time to clean house big time!

As someone here has said, it is the Z+2 factor. It means that Zoeller has co-conspirators on the boe, Well the New Math that should be taught is Z+2 = 0.

Keep up the discussion, folks. Keep the pressure on. There is more dirt on this guy than just the generator thing.

If there is proof to any inappropriate comments, I would take this recommendation back.

I trust the BOE. The last few years have been fantastic for our schools, community and for our children. Yes I am upset Dr Zoeller felt it was within his right to take this equipment, I think we all know the ego associated with this man is greater than most. If the BOE thinks by removing Dr. Zoeller we will "go back" or lose momentum in our test scores, etc., I would vote to keep him with heavy sanctions. These sanctions should include items like this recent "time off", paying for lost food, etc and having to explain to every child in the district the difference between wrong and right. This is addition to the teachers and his staff. Having to deliver a sincere apology may be hard enough for a man of his ego.

I really believe in giving people a second chance, especially someone who has delivered results! Please, we are all upset by this horrible event but lets think about our children and their education. This should be our primary focus and allow the BOE to fix the regulations and sanctions around making sure this doesnt happen again. This man has put our schools on the map between new teachers, new technology, new playing surfaces, etc. Havent we all made mistakes? He's wrong, I get it but let him fix it and keep helping our children in this competitive world we live.

I trust the BOE will make the right decision. I dont envy the position.

Are you for real? These are our kids, you never get a second chance when it comes to inappropriate sexual behavior! Everyone is replaceable, and he should have been replaced or not hired at all or get a renewed contract after the earlier comments. The van and the generator is just the nail in the coffin.

If there is someone in the Administration that should take a bow for the higher test scores, it should be Rory McCourt. He's worked very hard with the principals and teachers to bring the scores up.

Before you sing the praises of Rory McCourt keep in mind he has been an essential part of Team Z from the very beginning. Everything that has happened, has happened on his watch. Although 2nd in command on paper, he is most likely the chief architect of everything that we are seeing played out on the BOE. He is a quiet advocate for the philosophy of social justice – creating policy and using the application of those policies to engineer a specific outcome. An outcome made without the voice of the people. Head games have rendering our current BOE majority unable and unwilling to represent the interests of the people they represent. Zoeller has merely been the front man, and an inept one at that, he is riddled with too many character flaws. Both gentlemen have sympathetic partners on the BOE who have been aggressive and successful in controlling the majority of their fellow board members except 2, leaving Team Z free to further their own private agendas using our dollars and our children.

In my opinion:
Zoeller- an advocate of “experiential education” where experiences are favored over traditional book learning, such as learning math thru cooking and learning science thru gardening. Essentially “dumbing down” our students and making them unable to compete locally and globally. This is a cheap and easy way to deal with underperforming students, ultimately giving teachers and administrators a pass. Learning is measured in an “alternate assessment” (read project) vs the traditional testing methods used by the rest of the world. Parents are told how great their kids are doing until graduation, when they go out in the real world, and then the bottom falls out.

McCourt - a man well versed in mind games, a closet advocate for the social justice movement, and also a proponent of “experiential education”.

Aggressive members of our BOE share these philosophies and are willing to overlook anything to further their agenda.

Does it bother anyone else that Team Z may have spent our tax $$ earmarked for education indulging thier paranoia, installing cameras and listening devices in our schools. An independant audit will tell us exactly where our money has gone the past 6 years. The BOE cannot oversee this, they are corrupt.

It does not matter if you agree w/my opinions or not. What matters is we were denied the opportunity to openly discuss the pros and cons of making such a move with our childrens futures, through the manipulation of the BOE. "Experiential learning" may have been a good idea in John Dewey's time (late 1800's) but it may not be such a great idea now.

Andromeda - I couldn't disagree with you more. Mr. McCourt is one of the finest men I've ever met. He's worked hard to bring our teaching practices inline with the critical thinking skills our children will need in the future. For example, they don't need to remember that Des Moines is the capital of Iowa. They can Google that now. They don't need to know facts and figures anymore as they are at our finger tips. What our children need to do is learn how to access the data and then analyze it.

What about Team Zoeller's mantra of zero tolerance? He suspended 30+- students last year for a food fight, made seniors miss graduation ceremony because of it but he can do what he wants without consequences. What life lesson are we teaching him if he gets away with not only the generator but the other allegations at his doorstep? Here is another example of poor usage of school funds and taxpayer dollars…..
In the wake of the hurricane and the loss of food and school days etc. instead of spending close to 1 million dollars to remodel the lower gym and locker room facilities they could have spent that money on a generator big enough to operate the whole school or at least the heat, kitchen offices etc. and emergency infrastructure to protect our school. Then Zoeller and his team could have made it to school to do their jobs to get the kids back to school and run the facility. They are lucky it wasn’t cold enough to burst any pipes or what if there was a fire! No sprinklers to operate because the power to operate the panel was out and the generator that could run that panel was at Zoellers’ house. No one has thought about that at all. The high school could have been a TOTAL loss!!!! You can blame Keith Rosado the newly appointed Business Administrator. He can’t run a classroom let alone a whole school! He needs to go leave with Zoeller

This is all so informative and interesting. Please everyone needs to come to the BOE meeting on December 20!!!

WTLifer, Clean house and start all over again. All of the administrators are Zoeller's creatures, though I believe some are capable. There are a lot of things that Zoeller did that have to be undone like the comments to the girls. Where is their testimony and why did the parents agree to move on? Rumor has it that they girls' testimony was destroyed. Why?

Keep only those who have the interests of the public at large at heart.

Do we know has Zoeller returned to his safe house, I mean office? Or is he still on "vacation"?

WWHS has always been academically mediocre. It was in the early to mid 70's when I attended and it is now, and will continue to be if all that matters is test scores. You should seek a Superintendent that is innovative and a team builder. There are so many exciting suburban school districts in the tri-state area that have superior programming and equally superior test scores. I say change your model.

Township Resident- Congratulations to your successful college bound student ! I agree with your comment " Accountability for academic performance of each student is the responsibility of that student, and do I dare say it, the responsibility of the parents also." I still believe that the Superintendent must be innovative and a team builder. Look at the current situation, the teachers are demoralized by the overall negative vib in the school caused by the current administration. That cannot make for a pleasant environment nor does it bring out the best teaching when one is in constant fear. As for innovation, I know WWHS has the honors and AP course work but it needs a different model that takes learning to a higher level than just getting A's and A+'s. This is where a superior Superintendent can bring in World Congress, Model UN, a Media Broadcast Channel, a semester abroad through school pairing, Resident Learning (bringing in scientists/mathematician from the private sector to parallel teach in the classroom), video conferencing, etc., etc. All I am saying WWHS could be made into a superior school if the Superintendent spent time on fostering and trying new learning models and leave such non-academic "stuff" such as renovating the lower gym and science labs to others. His/her focus should be on cutting edge education, not on a new baseball field. The Board of Education could really do something good here. Anyway, thanks for the response :)

Can anyone shed some light on the suspension of the special services director. something about a porn book he wrote? Did Zoeller and this board hire him or has he been in the school for some time? Any truth to this?

Addressing the academics if i may. I travel all over and meet many types of people. The fact of the matter is the parents are not as involved as others. Other nationalities push their children to do extra work. They don't allow their children to sit home and play video games. No different than an athlete, practice makes perfect. If anyone thinks their child is going to get all he or she needs to excel academically is 6 hours a day, aprox. 45 minutes per class is terribly wrong.

Where's the chatter on here? It looks like everyone has given up. That's what they want, for everything to die down. They will bring him back because it is too difficult to get rid of him. They are counting on the outrage to die down and that everyone will be out Christmas shopping on the 20th. This social media world we live in is based on what is trending now and the generator issue was a month and a half ago. Don't complain when he is back.

It was brought to my attention that there were (allegedly) 7 eigth grade students, who were left back last year. Seven is a lot for a district and absurd for one grade level. What kind of district let's this happen. More importantly, what kind of district lets all these kids slip through the cracks until 8th grade. Yes, the students and their parents should be held accountable however, where has the district been for these students. Obviously there are problems here.

Does anyone know if his suspension is with pay or without? @The Iron Hoarse- the chatter has died down because there has been no new information released, and those of us commenting have better things to do then rehash the same info already discussed ad nauseum. If you have new or pertinent info, by all means add it to the discussion.

Louise, most likely it makes no difference. But sometimes whether someone is suspended from their job with or without pay can signify the severity of the charge, kind of like the amount of bail posted for a crime. This is pure conjecture on my part, but I think if the BOE suspended him without pay, they may think his "mistake" is serious enough that they may consider getting rid of him (because really, there's not much difference, or not a big leap between being "suspended without pay" and "fired"). If they only suspended him with pay, it's more likely that they're trying to get him out of the line of fire and out of peoples' minds before Dec. 20. Again, pure speculation on my part.

@The Iron Hoarse- While the points you make aren't necessarily "new" news, in light of what happened during Sandy, those questions are even more relevant now. Especially since back then these questions make have easily been swept under the rug. That rug no longer exists. Also, it's only by asking these questions again may the residents that make up Westwood Regional get some real answers. Many of these residents had no idea what had happened at previous jobs Zoeller has held over the past 20 years until his "one-time lapse of judgement" occured. So all of your questions and many more bear repeating over and over until we finally do get answers to these questions that the WW Regional School district residents deserve.

There is a public BOE meeting tonight before the closed session...

@Sharon. You seem to know a lot about Dr. Zoeller and his previous employment. I'm wondering if this is very personal for you and question whether you have our children's best interest at heart. As a parent in the District, we need facts not folks "stirring it up" for personal revenge.

@Westwoodian. You're correct in that I knew Zoeller well during his years as a teacher at Butler High School and as Principal at the Union County Vo-Tech Magnet School. Any information I have posted is completely accurate; feel free to do your own research. I come from a long line of teachers and spent 10 years in education myself and many people who aren't in education don't really kow the effect an administrator, especially a Superintendent, can play in the classroom. A good Superintendent provides teachers with the trust and transparency that leads to good morale and the confidence to try new ways of teaching & supporting children to reach their maximum potential. Dictatorial Superintendents foster a climate of fear to control teachers. Anyone who's ever had that kind of boss in ANY field, not just education, know how miserable that kind of "leader" can make day-to-day life, and from what I've read, that's exactly what Zoeller is doing. I don't work at Westwood Regional, nor do I live in either town. All I am trying to do is provide information, NOT rumors and specuation, letting people know that the behavior he has been exhibiting is not new, nor is it a "one-time" lack of judgement, no more, no less. Like I said, I don't live in the district, so my information only holds as much weight as you choose to give it. These are YOUR children and YOUR teachers that are on the line here. I simply want the residents in your district to be able to make an informed decision.

With all due apologies to the great Adam Sandler, who inspired me.

"ZOELLER SCREWED YA"

The generator, the hurricane.
Oh, the insult and the pain.
Westwood in the dark as
Zoeller stole it from ya.
But he will be a thing of the past
If the Board makes a decision that'll last.
And you'll stand up and shout,
"Hallelujah! Hallelujah!"
Zoeller screwed ya.
But we're through ya.
'Cause we're Wesssstttttt wwwooooooddddd!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, Everybody! See you on the 20th.

@Westwoodian. You've stated that children no longer need to be taught facts since facts can be Googled. Everything I have stated about Zoeller is a fact; feel free to Google them. Yes, I knew Zoeller well during his years as teacher at Butler HS & as Principal at UCVTS Magnet School. I come from a long line of teachers & spent 10 yrs. myself in education, & there's nothing I hate more than an administrator that's a bully. Just as bullying destroys a child's self-confidence, bullying by an admin destroys a teacher's self-confidence & makes day-to-day work miserable, both of which directly affects a teacher's ability to be effective in teaching your children. Also, you've stated that it's more important that kids be taught to analyze facts than it is to teach them the facts, so let's put on our analytical hats. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, & all of the facts that I & others have stated show that the generator scandal was not a "one-time only" lapse of judgement on Zoeller's part; his career is peppered with "one-time only" lapses. I do not work for WWRS nor do I live in the district, so you can take the FACTUAL info I offer & do what you will with it, because ultimately, it is YOUR children that will be affected by the actions the BOE that YOU elected chooses to take. Take your own advice- start Goggling and analyzing before the meeting on Dec. 20.

With all due apologies to the great Adam Sandler, who inspired me.

"ZOELLER SCREWED YA"

The generator, the hurricane.
Oh, the insult and the pain.
Westwood in the dark as
Zoeller stole it from ya.
But he will be a thing of the past
If the Board makes a decision that'll last.
And you'll stand up and shout,
"Hallelujah! Hallelujah!"
Zoeller screwed ya.
But we're through ya.
'Cause we're Wesssstttttt wwwooooooddddd!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, Everybody! See you on the 20th.

"CERCO STUCK IT TO YA"

The scandal and innuendo
Porno by Andrew Intesso
Westwood in disbelief as Cerco stuck it to ya
But he got out of there pretty fast
A suspension that is sure to last
And you'll stand up and shout,
"Hallelujah! Hallelujah!"
Cerco stuck it to ya
But the ladies saw through ya
"Cause they're Wesssstttttt wwwooooooooddddd!

"WE'LL STICK IT TO YA"

C. Mountain, P. Liddy, and crew
On the 20th their decision is due
Westwood waiting for them to give it to ya
Let's hope they don't screw ya
But don't be the first to get there last
Come see what die will be cast
And be sure to stand up and shout,
"The wrong one and we'll stick it to ya!"
"Hallelujah! Hallelujah!"
We'll be sure to stick it to ya
'Cause we see through ya
We'll stick it to ya
Come election time!
Come election time!

@Louise- Thank you for the support.
I apologize for the redundency of my two comments. They were actually written 12 hours apart yesterday.

@sharon - in this case finding out the facts can be so difficult. So much is discussed behind closed BOE doors. I'm thankful that you spoke out and helped us understand some of the past incidents. I'll be there on the 20th and hope that our BOE will do the right thing.

Is anyone familiar enough with his or any Super's contract to know if it's possible to get out of a contract? Is there a morality clause or something like that? I'll have to Google it! :-)

No problem...

I have had many many personal experiences with both Zoeller and Cerco through different venues of our district. I have never had a pleasant one ever. Both of them should be fired for not only the current allegations but also their continued poor treatment and lack of respect for the parents, staff and children.

Linda, they were hired to be bullies! Bullies dominate people. The controlling members of the Board want control and want anyone who can give it to them.