Principal Tells White House: Thanks but No

Embattled principal Joe Clark thanked the White House for its job offer Friday but said he would prefer to stay at Eastside High School in Paterson, N.J.

“Joe said he loves those kids too much to leave. He gently told me, ‘No,’ ” said Gary Bauer, President Reagan’s chief domestic policy adviser, who last week asked Clark to join his staff.

Bauer said that although Clark refused any full-time position, he agreed to become “an unpaid adviser” on such issues as children, education and blacks. “I’m glad to get his counsel,” Bauer said.

The Reagan Administration has praised Clark for running his inner-city school with an iron hand by roaming the halls with a bullhorn and trying to rid it of drugs.

Rebuked by Board

Clark, 48, one of the first black school administrators in Paterson, was rebuked by the school board for his unauthorized suspension of 66 students whom he called “leeches.” He also was brought to court for chaining school exits, in violation of the fire code, to keep out drug dealers.

Clark announced earlier this week that he planned to leave Eastside for a federal job, but later said he had changed his mind.

Bauer said Clark told him that he “wasn’t going to be run out of the school system” by the board.

Meanwhile, a businessman impressed by Clark’s style and results on Friday offered $1 million in college scholarships to students at Eastside High School--on the condition that Clark is not forced out.

“I think the guy is marvelous,” said Jack M. Berdy, chairman of On-Line Software International Inc. in Fort Lee, N.J. Berdy said he has been in contact with Eastside about his offer and that the school is interested.