Transgender Teen " would be treated with the respect and inclusive opportunities that all students deserve“ If She Decides to Attend Thorne MS

 Photo by Asbury Park Press/Facebook.

The drama surrounding transgender teen Rachel Pepe being allowed to attend Thorne Middle School in Middletown as the person she feels she is, has attracted some national press; Yahoo News has picked up her story today after it was first reported over the weekend by the Asbury Park Press.

The initial report of this story shocked me, I couldn't believe how insensitive and callous school officials were when informed that a student who was known as Brian Pepe by my son and his friends, felt that he no longer could identified himself as a boy and wished to be know as Rachel.

I am happy though that School Superintendent Dr. William George, has decided to embrace the situation as opposed to sticking his head in the sand, hoping that it will go away by issuing a press release earlier today addressing the situation which stated, “ ...administration and staff members pride themselves on character education and welcome diversity. This student is welcome at Thorne, and if she chooses to attend Thorne, she would be treated with the respect and inclusive opportunities that all students deserve.“

A community has an obligation to provide a safe and instructive learning environment for all its students regardless of gender identity. If Middletown's school system doesn't wish to accommodate this student or other students like her, then they are obligated to look into alternative educational opportunities for for such students. I'm glad to hear though that Dr. George and school system is willing to work with this student rather that push her away.

It's times like these that we find out exactly what type of community Middletown is.

Middletown School Superintendent Moving On??

Here is a little tidbit, which should be taken with a grain of salt. It was passed on to me today and I believe it bares passing on to you. I've heard from two different individuals, both reliable and who wish to remain nameless, that Middletown School Superintendent, Dr. William George will be leaving the school system in the near future.

One individual told me that  Dr. George handed in his resignation and is interviewing for Keansburg's superintendent's position, while the other person mentioned that he was leaving to take the position of School Superintendent for Monmouth County.

According to the person who heard Dr. George may be heading off towards Keansburg, they stated that George has denied this and said any rumors  circulating that insinuates he is leaving Middletown for greener pastures are not true. He plans on staying put and is trying to put an end to the rumors. However, many other reliable sources have said that the rumors are true according to my source.

As I stated above, this information should be taken with a grain of salt at the moment. Dr. George's job status and/or alleged  resignation, until confirmed by him or announced at a Board of Education(BOE) meeting, is a private personnel issue and wouldn't be discussed, on the record at least, by any member of the Board of Education, so asking for a comment from the BOE would be pointless at this time. And since Dr. George seems to be denying the rumor himself, I wouldn't expect to hear differently if I called his office, so we'll have to wait and see.

But as they say, where's there's smoke, there's usually fire.

New Video: Interview at High School South with Dr. George on the Referendum

A new video was posted online yesterday at the Middletown Board of Education website featuring Middletown School Superintendent, Dr. William George. This video was produced by the students of Middletown High School South TV Production club.

There isn't much new information in this video. However, Dr. George addresses two rumors circulating about the referendum:

1. Does the district have discretion on what the referendum funds can be used for.
2. Will the referendum, if approved, lead to a redistricting of the school system.

According to Dr. George neither rumor is true. The funds from the referendum can only be used for and will only be used for the upgrading of building facilities around he district.

High School South TV Production club interviews Dr. George about the upcoming Voter Referendum

Educating Myself On The March 11th Middletown BOE Voter Referendum - You Should Too

Next Tuesday is an important date to keep in mind because it's on March 11th that the Middletown Board of Education(BOE) will be holding a voter referendum for the approval of a $19.3 million bond issuance that would fund much needed school facility upgrades.  The BOE announced in late January that they had received $12.9 million in state ROD grants and needed to match it with additional funds totaling $32 million (hence the $19.3 bond) in order to receive the whole amount of from the state.

The BOE has since held 2 public information sessions on this referendum, neither of which I was able to attend. Instead, I've read a number of comments posted online, both pro and con, left here on my blog, Middletown Patch, the Asbury Park Press and elsewhere in an attempt to educate myself on the issue.

Below you'll find 3 videos that I found on the BOE website; 1 from the 2/19/14 meeting at Thompson Middle School, 1 of an interview School Superintendent Dr. William George did with a student of Middletown High School North discussing the referendum and the 3rd is from the 1/28/14 meeting of the Middletown Board of Education where the presentation was first introduced. There is also a link to the actual PowerPoint presentation used in the videos. At this point, after reading all the comments and watching these videos, I'm still not sure what to think.

Are the schools of Middletown in need of some major upgrades and repairs? Yes, they are. Has the BOE been negligent over the years for allowing the conditions of the schools to get this bad? In my opinion, yes. Absolutely. In the 1/28/14 video below,  Dr. George gushed about how proud and special he felt that Middletown received the most Regular Operation Districts (ROD) grant money for facility upgrades from the state, than any other school district in Monmouth County. To me that's nothing to be proud of and bolsters my assertion of negligence for letting the schools fall into such disrepair.

 Does all this work need to be done immediately, all at once? I'm not sure.  I understand the "want" in order to take advantage of all the state monies available, but $19 million is a lot of cash to ask from residents who are only just beginning to feel better about themselves and the economy after so many in town were effected by the "great recession". There are still a lot homes in the area under foreclosure and many who are still under employed. Can they afford this referendum at this time? I don't know.

I'm still on the fence on this, I still have a son in the school system and I have a number of family and friends that also still have children in the system, so I want what's best for them. But I just can't get over the history of failed leadership and past school construction projects that have gone terribly wrong here in Middletown under current and previous BOE administrations. Maybe some of you reading this can  help make up my mind.

Come Tuesday however, when I step inside the of voting booth, I'm sure I'll be holding my nose no matter how I decide to cast my vote.


February 19th Referendum Presentation by Dr. George and Amy Gallagher, Hosted by the Thompson Middle School PFA

Uploaded on Feb 19, 2014
On Wednesday, February 19th, Superintendent Bill George and Business Administrator Amy Gallagher presented information on the March 11th voter referendum.



Interview with Dr. George on the Referendum by Cindy Fernandez, High School North Student

Uploaded on Feb 19, 2014
Middletown H.S. North student Cindy Fernandez interviews Dr. William George on the March 11 voter referendum




Presentation on the Referendum at the January 28, 2013 Board of Education Meeting

Spiezle Architectural Group, Inc. and Wilentz, Goldman and Spitzer P.A. provided a presentation to the Board of Education at the January 27th and 28th board meetings.



Here is the PowerPoint presentation from these meetings that is posted on the Middletown Board of Education website.