Grossman calls out comments against him

NEW LONDON – Mark Grossman, treasurer for the New London Board of Education, expressed displeasure with some comments that other board members made about him during the recent WASB Board of Education Self-Evaluation the board recently took part in.
The results of the self-evaluation were shared with the board at its April 30 meeting. The comments were made anonymously.
At the meeting, New London Superintendent Scott Bleck reminded the members of the board that they completed the self-evaluation shortly after the first of the year.
“This is something the board has done annually since my time here, which has been a valuable tool to self-reflect and bring forward the status of where we are,” Bleck said. “The feedback is really intended for us as a group.”
Chris Martinson, who had previously served as board president, told the board what the self-evaluation should be used for evaluation of the board, adding that it should not be used to attack other board members.

“It is easy to use the comments section to take things out on one another if we’re frustrated, and I can understand that,” Martinson said. “But you have to take those with a grain of salt because we all get frustrated at points where we disagree and we all say things that we regret later.”
Board President John Heideman said that overall, positive board interaction scored the highest in the eight years that he has been on the board.
“I’m very happy with that,” Heideman said.
Grossman agreed with Heideman, stating he scored the board the highest he has since the board has done the self-evaluation.
“But to my surprise, I was taken back by the pointed comments that were made about me,” Grossman said. “So, I’m here tonight to discuss those things with you.”
Grossman said one of the comments accused him of attending teachers’ meetings.
“In the seven years I have been on this board, I have never, ever been in an administrative meeting with a group of teachers,” Grossman said.
Grossman acknowledged that he is in the school buildings on a “somewhat regular basis.” He said he’s in the elementary school building to read to elementary school students. He’s also in the middle school to help prepare eighth graders to attend the junior achievement job fair. A couple of years ago, Grossman said he was at the middle school every Tuesday to have lunch with a student who needed more positive interaction with an adult male. Grossman said he’s also at the high school doing different interviews with students.
“So, whoever made that comment, where that source came from, it’s totally, totally false,” Grossman said. “Now, if you got some good information to counteract that, I’d like to hear it right now. I’m guessing it’s just hearsay.”
Grossman also brought up comments about him arguing against the majority of the board.
“This is a democratic process that we do here every two weeks, and everybody has the ability to present their opinion,” Grossman said.
He added that he has always adhered to the majority vote of the board.
“A lot of these comments I think came from the conversations we’ve been having the last few months in regards to the special committee,” Grossman said.
Another comment that Grossman said upset him was one that stated he breaks policies and rules.
“If I’m doing that, the board president’s responsibility is to make me aware of that, and Chris (Martinson) and I in our conversations,(that) never came up,” Grossman said. “You also have the ability, if I’m breaking a board policy, to go ahead and put me up for censorship. So, if you still believe that that’s what’s going on, go ahead. But I don’t believe that I have broken any policies or broken any rules.”
The comment that Grossman said bothered him the most was the accusation that he lied.
“That’s a direct and derogatory insult on me,” Grossman said. “I don’t lie. I never have. I don’t lie. You better have some good proof of when I’ve lied. I don’t appreciate this at all. I’ve worked pretty hard at being a part of this group. It’s no secret that I’m kind of the odd man out, but I’m still here, and I’m going to continue to be here. I agree with Chris (Martinson), this is not the place for this. If you have an issue with me, call me up, we’ll get together, we’ll have a conversation. I’m here for one reason, to improve the education of the students in this district. It’s the only reason I ran for school board seven years ago. I had no agenda. I wanted to see this district continue to improve.”
After Grossman’s comments, he received applause from some of the attendees at the meeting.
After Grossman’s comments, Martinson said he didn’t make any of the comments Grossman referred to, but that he would take the blame for some of the comments. He said he should have been quicker during meetings when he was president, to recognize infringements on the board’s norms.