In Lawrence, New York, the school district's guidance director who was denied tenure filed a lawsuit charging that his dismissal stems from the ongoing tension between Orthodox Jews who took control of the Lawrence school board in 2006 and the community's non-Orthodox residents. (See prior posting.) According to Sunday's Newsday, Jay Silverstein (a Duke-educated psychologist) says he was advised by his superintendent that he would be more likely to get tenure if he became friendlier with board members and with a fellow administrator who was said to be Orthodox and influential. Silverstein, who plans to run for the school board in May, is Jewish, but non-practicing. Co-workers praise Silverstein's job performance, but school board president Murray Forman called Silverstein's action "another frivolous lawsuit." [Thanks to Joel Katz (Relig. & State In Israel) for the lead.]
