District declines to retain special services director
Hearing before school board to dispute the matter currently being scheduled
BY CHRIS GAETANO Staff Writer
Sources within Edison's school district have reported that Suzanne Hiatt, schools special services director, will not have her contract renewed for the following year, a move that she has disputed by requesting a hearing before the Board of Education to reverse the decision.

"I really believe my time in Edison has been good for this community, bringing practices into compliance and enabling the district to meet all its mandated obligations to children. When I look around in Edison, I think I'll be missed, if I lose my job. And I'll miss Edison, and that's really from my soul, so, that's how I feel about things," said Hiatt.

Administration officials, such as acting Superintendent John Dimuzio, were reluctant to talk about the specific reasons behind not renewing Hiatt's contract, since it is a personnel matter, which by law cannot be discussed with the public. School board Vice President Joseph Romano noted that board members are similarly constrained from discussing the matter and so could not comment at this time.

"The issue with Ms. Hiatt is personnel and I have no comment. .. Board members are not allowed to discuss that," said Romano.

According to Dimuzio, the district is currently communicating with the board members to determine an ideal date for her hearing, which will take place in a closedsession board meeting. In the meantime, though, he said the district has begun searching for a replacement, including posting ads, and will begin interviewing potential candidates.

"We will have someone in place," said Dimuzio.

Hiatt's duties involve coordinating the child study teams, individual education plans, and preschool programs, as well as being the Section 504 - involving students with disabilities - officer for the district.

Should Hiatt's contract not be renewed, this will be the second shift in the district's administrative personnel this past school year. During a late-night closed-session meeting in November, the Board of Education narrowly voted 4-3 to place then-Superintendent Carol Toth on paid administrative leave, placing Dimuzio, then director of personnel, immediately in her place. Unless she finds other employment, she will be collecting her $173,000 annual salary until her contract expires in 2010.

The timing of the decision, one year after her contract was renewed, as well as what was perceived as the board's secrecy in reaching its decision, greatly angered parents who demanded an explanation at the board meeting the following month. Board President David Dickinson, however, said the board was legally and ethically constrained from discussing such things, much to the residents' chagrin.

A hearing on that matter with the state Office of Administrative Law will be heard on June 6 by Judge John Tassini. The June 6 hearing is tentatively set to take place at 9 a.m. in the OAL's Trenton office in the Quakerbridge Plaza, Building 7, in Mercerville.