From 2022 to Censure: The Full Breakdown of the Berkeley Heights BOE Ethics Case Final Administrative Ruling

A multiyear ethics case involving the Berkeley Heights Board of Education reached its final administrative appeals option and concluded with the New Jersey Commissioner of Education upholding the findings of the School Ethics Commission and rejecting the appeal filed by the involved former and current BOE members.

2022: When It All Began

In May 2022, Berkeley Heights BOE members Pamela Stanley, Robert Cianciulli, Angela Penna, Michael D’Aquila, Joy Young and Jordan Hyman voted to direct the Board’s legal counsel to draft formal ethics charges against another sitting Board member, Sai Bhargavi Akiri.

One month later, the BOE majority voted to authorize Pamela Stanley to officially file the complaint on behalf of the Board.

Another critical point involved a motion introduced by Dr. Tom Foregger to remove the provision authorizing the use of Board counsel. Had the motion passed, Stanley would have been required to retain her own attorney if she wanted to pursue the complaint. Stanley and the Board majority voted against the motion, leaving the district responsible for the legal expenses.

Throughout this period, residents, NJ21st and BOE members Foregger and Akiri warned that these actions violated School Ethics Commission guidelines.

Amazingly, BOE counsel at the time, Cleary Giacobbe Alfieri Jacobs, LLC, never publicly challenged the actions of the BOE majority and, in fact, defended them in various forums.

Ethics Complaints

Following these actions, three separate complaints were filed with the New Jersey School Ethics Commission by Berkeley Heights residents, alleging that the BOE majority violated multiple sections of the School Ethics Act and Code of Ethics for School Board Members.

In the first two complaints, the SEC permitted all the allegations to proceed. In the third complaint, the majority of the allegations were permitted to proceed. These were preliminary determinations, not final findings that the violations had occurred.

The SEC also rejected the Board attorney’s claim that the complaints were frivolous.

The cases were eventually consolidated and transmitted to the Office of Administrative Law as a contested matter. Following cross-motions for summary decision and oral argument, the Administrative Law Judge issued an initial decision without conducting a full evidentiary hearing.

OAL and SEC Findings

In late 2024, the Administrative Law Judge granted summary decision against Stanley, Cianciulli and the other involved BOE members, concluding that they violated multiple provisions of the School Ethics Act and Code of Ethics for School Board Members.

While the Administrative Law Judge initially recommended the penalty of a formal reprimand, the School Ethics Commission reviewed the case in early 2025 and voted to increase the recommended sanction to censure, a harsher and more public rebuke. The Commission cited the public nature of the Board members’ actions and their use of Board counsel to pursue legal proceedings against another sitting Board member through a process the Board was not authorized to initiate.

Commissioner’s Decision

Stanley, Cianciulli and the other involved BOE members appealed the decision and challenged the SEC’s recommendation to increase the penalty. The matter then moved to the Commissioner of Education’s Office.

In March 2025, NJ21st Editor John Migueis submitted an amicus brief supporting the SEC’s findings and the increased penalty against Cianciulli, Stanley and the other involved BOE members. On April 14, 2025, the Commissioner granted NJ21st leave to participate as amicus curiae.

Today, New Jersey Commissioner of Education Dr. Lily Laux issued the final decision affirming the School Ethics Commission’s findings and determining that the penalty of censure will stand.

In response to our inquiry, attorney Walter Luers, who represented the complainants, stated:

Statement from Attorney Walter Luers

“We’re pleased that the Commissioner of Education found that the School Ethics Commission’s decision was supported by sufficient credible evidence, including the modification of the recommended penalty from reprimand to censure. We hope that this matter, which has been pending for four years, will finally be concluded.”

The Berkeley Heights Board of Education will be required to read and adopt the School Ethics Commission’s formal resolution of censure at its next regularly scheduled public meeting after the resolution is provided to the Board.

This was the final administrative option left to the involved BOE Members, they can still appeal to the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, within 45 days of the decision’s July 22, 2026 mailing date.

Commissioner’s Full Decision

Disclosures:

NJ21st Editor Shauna Williams was one of the residents who filed an ethics complaint against Robert Cianciulli, Pamela Stanley and the other involved BOE members.

NJ21st Editor John Migueis submitted an amicus brief supporting the SEC’s findings.

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