Substance Abuse Chief Hired by Regional Board

The West Morris Regional High School Board of Education appointed a substance abuse awareness coordinator Monday even as two members questioned the need for the position.

Tamara Eslam was appointed to fill the slot at West Morris Mendham High School during the next school year at a proposed salary of $53,920. The position opened because of a retirement.

Board member Marcia Asdal of Chester Township asked why the position was needed and whether other schools in the district had one.

Special services director David Leigh said each school has such a coordinator to provide support for students who need help because of a wealth of issues and conditions that can affect their learning ability.

Asdal asked if there were data, such as drug arrest reports, to support the need for a substance abuse coordinator.

Board member James Button of Mendham Township questioned whether the school district has the responsibility to address such issues.

"Is it within our mission as educators?" Button asked. “I know there are a number of children affected, but not all are the responsibility of the district.”

Leigh said that in fact students affected by substance abuse and other conditions outside of school are, by law, the responsibility of the district, if the situation or condition is a impediment to the student‘s ability to learn.

Leigh said the effort is not confined to a single issue, but includes the wide-ranging area of emotional intelligence, mental health, a student’s ability to adapt, anxiety disorders and even eating disorders, for example.

The substance abuse coordinators counsel students and act as sounding board to seek way to target an issue for the student and their family. They also work with other school officials and the Municipal Alliance, a volunteer group that targets substance abuse, Leigh said.

When told the standards for the position were last drawn up in 1988, Asdal asked if the board’s personnel subcommittee could review them.

“Did we hire this person based on 1988 standards?” she asked.

Leigh said while the standards had been set in 1988, the district was assured through the interview and review process that all newer issues on the field were addressed.

Asdal said she sought a review of the standards because the board would need a method to “grade the position.”

Despite their objections, Asdal and Button joined the unanimous board I approving Eslam for the post.