Policy 7230: A Necessary Correction to BHPSNJ’s Athletics Spending and Privacy Gaps

John’s Notes on the 01/22/2026 BHPSNJ BOE Meeting

BHPSNJ is set to vote on revisions to Policy 7230 (Gifts, Grants, and Donations) during tonight’s BOE Meeting. The changes include clarification on when Board approval is required and tightened expectations for fundraising activities involving students.

Context

Parents and BOE Members have been raising questions over a collection of fundraising and donation-related practices that developed over time and were largely in place prior to the current administration.

Concerns center on the amount of outside money flowing into athletics, how students were being recruited into fundraising efforts, how donated funds were being used and what oversight existed, especially when we consider the amount of money the District already pours into athletics. 

We received several emails and texts from multiple families tied to Governor Livingston athletics. One fundraising pitch forwarded to us described donations being used for new warm-ups totaling “almost $4,000,” additional gear and merchandise and expenses tied to team-building activities, including an end-of-year banquet and “gifts for our graduating seniors.”

We also received another email describing a campaign run through a third-party that asked each team member to provide a list of “contacts and cell numbers,” for the purpose of sending these contacts texts linking to a team donation page. The message also indicated that a vendor would attend practice to collect contact sheets, and that there would be “a prize for the team member that raises the most money.”

This led us to email the District with concerns about the student-driven collection of personal contact information being handed to a third-party fundraising company and asked about contracts that govern vendor relationships, data collection, access to this data, how long it’s retained and whether the District reviews or approves these campaigns before they launch. We also expressed concerns about the amount of money athletics is receiving from the District given the aggressive fundraising approach and whether other priorities were being neglected. [full email sent to BHPSNJ BOE]

District Response

In her response to NJ21st’s email last week, the School Business Administrator framed the issue as a governance concern, writing, “This is about optics, consistency, and good governance,” and adding, “There is a lack of clarity and consistency.” She noted the District is responding in part because “Expectations around transparency, accountability, and communication have evolved.”

Nicholson also described how donations may currently be handled, stating, “Donations can happen two ways,” either “to the District (which requires Board approval)” or “to students (hats, shirts, etc.).” She added, “We have been working to have them communicate with the administration,” and said “The Policy Committee is working to address this,” including “how donations are communicated, solicited, accepted, tracked, and applied.” [link to BA’s full response]

Budget Implications

The numbers being thrown around in the fundraising campaigns we’ve reviewed were large and it leads to a natural question. If athletics has the luxury of fundraising this much money for “nice to haves” then why not redirect public dollars to items more directly tied to academics? Public school athletics is there to help students experience team work and develop character – it does not exist to create an “NBA” or “NHL” experience. nj21st recently highlighted the extent to which athletics spending was cutting into instructional dollars – in ways that are in a completely different universe than other similar Districts.

Just last year the District leased a valuable piece of land for one dollar for Athletics – and the Township took it’s time to pay that.

This type of aggressive fund raising also raises questions on the impact on organizations like the PTO and BHEF who tend to raise monies for projects and activities that benefit larger groups of students and schools as a whole.

This policy is a good first step, however residents will likely expect the Board of Education to raise some hard questions in this years budget meeting as per pupil costs continue to increase, proficiency declines or remains stagnant, enrollment continues to drop while Athletics and Police spending appears unaffected by these- realities.

What Would Change?

If adopted, the revised policy would reaffirm that the Board may accept gifts “by resolution duly passed at a public meeting,” with an exception allowing the Superintendent to accept gifts under $1,000 on the Board’s behalf.

It would also make clear that all fundraising activities involving students must be communicated in advance to the Superintendent’s office, that students “shall never be required or mandated to solicit donations,” and that parents and guardians must be notified before fundraising activities involving students.

Laura’s Notes on the 01/22/2026 BOE Meeting Agenda

Shauna’s Notes on the 01/22/2026 BOE Meeting Agenda