So Much Agenda, So Little Detail – In a near-unanimous vote — with Ms. Akiri rightfully dissenting — BHPSNJ moved forward with 19 projects as part of the next step in the referendum process. There was no detail available to the public on scope or cost, and it remains unclear when the Board itself received that information. Adding to the frustration, several policies were missing from the agenda packet until just hours before the meeting, raising concerns about whether this is the District’s new strategy for minimizing public scrutiny.
On the upside, committee updates are becoming slightly more comprehensive. The District has parted ways with its last OPRA-specialized attorney, there’s a new Business Administrator, and at least some board members are now talking about the need for a better process — even as they continue approving major decisions at top speed.

Town Council Meeting Covers All the Things- The Township also held a jam-packed meeting the same night, voting on a salary increase for the CFO, License Plate Readers, Affordable Housing and The Sewage Plant.

A Flicker of Light- One bright spot: the District finally acknowledged its legal obligation to share public records and provided a bit more detail on school-level budgets in response to our OPRA request. It’s not everything we asked for, but it reinforces a precedent for transparency.

Grades and Grade Bands – Our educator published a new analysis of academic proficiency metrics, this time comparing traditional “dashboard” schools across grade bands. We also released an important update on the GPA controversy we covered a few months back, based on new information obtained through OPRA.

And Then There Was Shauna…Shauna and Laura staged a mutiny and forced NJ21st to start publishing one article a month on their favorite local homes – Shauna covered the first installment of the feature.