Board at Warren Tech dismisses teachers

FRANKLIN TWP. | The Warren County Technical School board dismissed two teachers who had been involved in planning the school's new hospitality, tourism and culinary arts program because they lack the proper teaching credentials, school officials said.

The school board decided Wednesday to dismiss a handful of instructors at the end of the school year, including teachers Pedro Fortun and Joe Delesky. The new program is expected to kick off in September.

Fortun, who is untenured, was not renewed as a business management teacher because he had not received his state certification, Warren Tech Chief School Administrator Robert Glowacky said.

Delesky's position as culinary arts instructor was eliminated, and Delesky is not certified for the new program, Glowacky said.

"As adults, the burden is on them to make sure their credentials are in order," Glowacky said Thursday. "I am not here to babysit or tell people what they need to do."

A Warren Tech graduate and a teacher since 1992, Delesky said Thursday he felt blindsided by the decision, saying he was never told his certification was in question.

Delesky said he helped promote the new program in media interviews and participated in developing the new curriculum with Fortun.

"This has been my home," Delesky said. "It's what I love."

Fortun did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Delesky is also vice president of the teachers union and participated in two years of negotiations that ended last year.

Several supporters turned out at Wednesday's meeting to speak on Delesky's behalf, according to various people in attendance.

Phillipsburg resident Adam Kita said Thursday he told the school board about the effect Delesky had on his son, who graduated last year and attends the Connecticut Culinary Institute.

"My son wouldn't be a chef today if it wasn't for Joe Delesky," Kita said Thursday. Delesky's dismissal "really made me sick to my stomach."

School board Vice President Harold Warne said Thursday the board's decision had nothing to do with Delesky's job performance. The culinary arts program was abolished in November and rolled in with the hospitality and tourism program, Warne said.

"If you're not certified, you can't teach," Warne said.

Glowacky said he'd consider rehiring Fortun and Delesky, but he can't do that until they fulfill the certification requirements.

Fortun could remain as a business teacher and assist with the hospitality program, but Glowacky said he plans to hire an instructor to run the new program.