While the June 5 “regular business” portion of the BOE meeting was arguably the shortest in recent memory, it also went the latest—slipping past midnight and potentially violating OPMA by extending into the early hours of Friday morning.

The evening began with a lovely reception honoring Educators of the Year, retirees, and student representatives. But immediately after, the Board entered a closed executive session that lasted nearly two hours. The public meeting was supposed to begin at 9:30 p.m. with a hard stop at midnight.

Neither happened.

The reception itself was warm and celebratory, but several attendees commented on how “dark” and “sad” the GL Library/IMC felt as a venue. The energy of the evening clashed with the setting. Worse, it was disappointing—though sadly not surprising—to learn that the Hughes Spring Concert had been scheduled at the same time. That scheduling conflict meant a significant absence during the recognition of two long-serving administrators: Mrs. Jessica Nardi and Ms. Laurie Scott.

The meeting opened smoothly with committee reports, but a recurring theme quickly emerged: lack of oversight and communication. Members of the Finance and Facilities Committee revealed they hadn’t been briefed on proposed staff salary increases. Mr. Dillon rightly noted that any financial matters should run through Finance.

Thanks, Bill—we agree.

These committees aren’t just workhorses; they’re intended to be part of the district’s system of checks and balances, offering oversight and guidance on decisions that affect schools, staff, and students.

Ms. Terrero reported on what amounted to a secretive Recreation Commission meeting about turf. She claimed no “business” took place, as it was merely a vendor pitch. As Mr. Dillon bluntly put it: “We are no closer to a turf field.”

Around 11 p.m., Mrs. Bradford denied the only resident who wanted to speak during the first Citizens’ Hearing—refusing to allow general comments. While meetings need structure, we’re also human. Sometimes, doing the right thing in the moment matters more than following rigid protocol—especially when making an exception hurts no one. Ironically, Bradford had no problem breaking precedent at the last meeting when she allowed Mrs. Stanley to introduce a surprise resolution that no other BOE member had even seen.

Later, during discussion of two resolutions—one for a $1,000 Library Board Liaison stipend, and another for a $15,000 Social Media Consultant—Mr. Dillon questioned whether we couldn’t manage both in-house given how “top-heavy” our Administration already is. Mrs. Stanley responded by arguing the Library Liaison was needed to ensure the BH Library had the right books to support student assignments. That logic strained credibility. If it’s just a list, couldn’t supervisors email it directly to the library? A claim was made that asking supervisors to send this info could create union issues. Hard to believe—and I plan to follow up. In the end, the Board rejected the Library Liaison position, but passed the Social Media Consultant role, with Dillon emphasizing it should be revisited and likely reassigned.

No BOE meeting would be complete without some fireworks. During Old Business, Mr. Dillon advocated for clearer pathways for club sports—such as girls’ flag football and boys’ volleyball—to gain recognition as official BHPS sports. His comments underscored the need for policies that allow student-led athletic efforts to grow and gain institutional support.

Despite every policy on the agenda being up for a second reading, Dr. Foregger and Ms. Akiri had plenty to say. Mrs. Stanley, clearly frustrated, was reminded by District Counsel Mr. Dissler that discussion and revision are still permitted at this stage.

And then came a jaw-dropper: Dr. Foregger moved to fix a grammatical error in a policy. Mrs. Stanley, Ms. Terrero, and Mrs. Bradford all voted no. The error—a misplaced comma—actually changed the meaning of the policy. Thankfully, the correction passed in the end.

One final point of contention: a newly adopted policy added language on sportsmanship per NJSIAA guidelines. Board members debated whether the language was necessary, and whether it had any enforceable consequence. After extended back-and-forth, the policy—with added mention of “removal,” per NJSIAA—was adopted.

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