By Walter Elliott
IRVINGTON – Township officials and the reporter of a statewide radio station have been debating over conditions in Irvington High School since earlier this month.
Exchanges between Irvington Public Schools and WXRK New Jersey 101.5 FM, June 6-12 have included photos taken by both anonymous teachers and administrators, documents from the N.J. Department of Health and Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health and three Irvington Police Division arrest reports.
The general public first learned of the dispute when WXRK aired and posted a report from David Matthau and News Director Eric Scott from its Ewing studios June 6. Its website headlined the article: “Horror Inside NJ High School: Shocking Fights, Riots, Rats, Plague Crumbling School.”
A video and 34 photos – both screenshots and video stills from cell phones “taken from the past year” – were the article’s basis. They were submitted by a person who said is an IHS teacher.
“Our day at Irvington High School is basically trying to make sure no one gets hurt,” said the teacher. “This is something that’s being constantly covered up. The children are suffering.”
Most of the photos show mold on walls, live and dead rats, litter in hallways and classrooms and a dislodged toilet. Several depicted fights in hallways or classrooms. They seem to be taken in both the 1926 core building and its 1960s-built southeastern wing.
Matthau also published part of a response from Irvington Public Schools Superintendent Dr. April Vauss. Vauss’ response started with her being perturbed that Matthau’s source would turn to him on the outside instead of making complaints within channels.
“It’s quite disturbing that I’m now responding to an anonymous complaint when there are processes and procedures in place to deal with such matters,” said Vauss to Matthau, “i.e. reporting to principal, to union representatives, etc. It’s concerning to me, out of the 70-plus teachers, this’ an anonymous complaint that should affect the entire school and just not one teacher.”
WXRK’s source said that teachers have brought up their complaints to officials “but the constant answer is, ‘We’re working on it.’ “
Both Irvington Education Association President Michael Bycock and a New Jersey Education spokesman said that they have been responding to the complaints.
“There’s no question that more work needs to be done,” Bycock told Matthau. “The fact of the matter is, without significantly more aid from the state, meaningful progress remains elusive.”
“The NJEA and our Irvington local have been working tirelessly to address the issues,” said the state spokesman. “It’s concerning to hear ‘nothing has happened’ because that’s simply not true. Nonetheless, much work needs to be done.”
Irvington Public Schools had received about $138 in state aid last school year as a result of the NJ Supreme Court “Abbott vs. Burke” rulings for a “thorough and efficient education.” IPS is among the 31 “Abbot” or “needy” public school districts statewide.
NJ101.5 had submitted an OPRA request for five years of IPD reports regarding the high school.
“The records show,” said Matthau, “that officers have responded to more school incidents since the return to in-class learning than before the pandemic.”
IHS is across Clinton Avenue from D. Bilal Beasley Civic Square. The one block long square is where Irvington’s police and fire headquarters, municipal building and court and Irvington Public Library are.
It should also be noted that IPS has a security guard staff and at least one IPS School Resource Officer in the high school.
Township authorities’ response came before June 5’s nightfall.
IPS Facility Supervisor Zorana Figuerora gave RLS Media a set of photographs, taken earlier that Monday, of cleaned or cleared classrooms and hallways, a functioning toilet and emptied garage dumpsters.
RLS’ Richard L. Smith also received full copies of Matthau’s query letter to Dr. Vauss and the superintendent’s response.
Dr. Vauss, in her full response to Matthau, said that her district had been working “hand in hand” with PEOSH and the IEA.
“As of May 11, we’ve satisfied all concerns within the building, which is why I’m perplexed by the assertions about the conditions of the building,” said Dr. Vauss. “I’d hope that your source is not using your reporting as a way to attack the building administration.”
Dr. Vauss also said she would welcome Matthau’s prospectively sending “what photos and videos pertaining to the high school at your earliest convenience for validation.”
The RLS article lead was of “Irvington Township and state officials” finding the NJ101.5 article “unfounded and misleading.”
The radio station’s report was based on an anonymous educator as its only source. “However, according to reliable sources including NJDOH and PEOSH, some claims in the article have been debunked.”
“IHS recently underwent a thorough evaluation conducted by NJDOH and PEOSH, assessing the school’s safety standards, environmental conditions and compliance with regulations,” said the Smith article. “The school received a satisfactory rating, debunking the allegations made in the NJ101.5 report.”
The RLS article continued with the DOH officials’ declaring that “the school administration had addressed several minor issues that had been previously identified. The DOH’s Environmental and Occupational Health Assessment Program Project Manager also cleared the school of any violations.”
RLS’ Smith noted that the photos in Matthau’s article did not indicate dates, times or exact places where they were taken.
Smith also quoted Mayor Anthony “Tony” Vauss regarding NJ101.5’s OPRA request on IPD’s police reports on the high school. The information indicating riots, violence and dangerous conditions as misleading and unfounded.”
“There have been no riots in or around the school,” said Mayor Vauss.
The RLS article included a lengthy career narrative of Dr. April Vauss. The Indianapolis native and Richmond, Ind. ‘s Earlham College history and world language major was first hired by IPS as math teacher in 2002. Her first administration job was as Mt. Vernon School assistant principal in 2011.
Dr. Vauss received her doctorate in superintendency in 2017. She and Mayor Vauss got married in 2018.
Smith’s article ended with, “The IPS Legal Department is contemplating legal action.”
Matthau filed a June 12 update entitled, “It’s a War Zone” – More Teachers Speak After Officials Lash Out at NJ 101.5 Report.” Its lead paragraph is: “State inspectors found health and safety violations at IHS that weren’t addressed until late in the school year after the district was ordered to do so by the State DOH.”
The June 12 update noted that local officials had criticized the June 5 report, which was based on the whistleblowing teacher and the DOH Consumer, Environmental and Health Service’s May 11 letter that “certain violations have been abated.”
Matythau also noted IPS Board Attorney Ronald C. Hunt’s calling out the first WXRK report as having “contained unfair and potentially slanderous descriptions of IPS and Dr. April Vauss. Your article contained numerous misstatements, erroneous facts and photographs that are undated and without location.”
Hunt, Esq. had been Orange Public Schools’ attorney.
“But district officials declined to provide NJ 101.5 with documents detailing those violations and repairs,” continued Matthau. “Instead, they provided photos of empty hallways and classrooms as proof that all is well.”
Matthau posted a copy of the May 11 DOH letter stating that IPS had been cleared of violations found in the high school in January. He also posted copies of three IPD arrest reports where many adult individuals had been charged with “rioting” one late Spring 2022 day on IHS property.
The June 12 update added reports of other anonymous teachers of IHS basement flooding and deteriorating conditions in one of the district’s middle schools.
Untenured teachers do not speak up, declared the update, “for fear of losing their jobs.”
