NJ21st 04/19/2025 Newsletter

This week’s newsletter begins with the Berkeley Heights Public Schools (BHPSNJ) presentation on SAT and ACT scores, highlighting significant contradictions with state-reported data. While the new Superintendent has promised transparency and improvements, familiar issues persist: delayed and obstructed access to budget details, refusal to fund critical services such as tutoring, continued prioritization of the Mayor’s favored projects and security expenditures, and presentation of questionable statistics.
Next, we cover the Recreation Chair’s problematic invitation to the Town Council and Board of Education, potentially leading them into an Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) violation. Her subsequent puzzling response to BOE Member Joly about “letting go” raises further concerns, coming on the heels of a year-long campaign characterized by misinformation regarding the lease agreement, restricted student access to tennis courts, and coordinated interference during the BHPSNJ budget meeting.
We conclude with some exciting website updates, recognition from NJ Education Report—which republished our comparative analysis of New Jersey’s city and suburban school districts—and a recap of our three most popular articles from March.