Union County Prosecutor investigations of the BOE: All the letters
On September 23rd BOE President Doug Reinstein read an opening remark in connection to multiple investigations by the Union County Prosecutor of the BOE’s actions in connection to reconfiguration. This item was not on the agenda and those he named in his remarks were not allowed to speak until the end of what was a very full meeting. This is...
Dr. Melissa Varley’s Contract Renewal: All the Articles
This is a collection of TapInto Articles on the controversy surrounding the BOE’s decision to consider extending Dr. Melissa Varley’s contract one year prior to expiration with a 20+% raise. Dr. Melissa Varley was responsible for the mass reconfiguration of Berkeley Heights schools and defended the position that parents should not have been involved in the planning twice publicly in...
OPRA: The Final Line OF Defense
During the 06/10/2021 meeting, Mr. Reinstein made it a point to highlight that over 20 OPRA requests came from one parent (https://bit.ly/3vJ3p9v). This event occurring nearly one year after the BOE (under his leadership) implemented the practice of listing OPRA requests received by the District on Board Meeting Agendas. Additionally, District staff who receive OPRA requests from parents cc Mr....
copy of complaint filed with the nj attorney general
Updated 06/02/2022 The following is a multi page complaint alleging numerous violations in connection with the Berkeley Heights BOE’s actions surrounding reconfiguration. This complaint was filed a day prior to the 06/10/2021 BOE meeting where the public was informed that the plan the BOE voted on was likely not to occur. During this meeting, the public was informed that the...
What HAPPENED to a “Phased Approach”?
In her 2018 Candidate Statement Ms. Angela Penna stated: “This topic has come up through the years, and in the latest presentation in March of this year, our professional team which included Mrs. Corley-Hand (MKM Principal) and Mrs. Gardner (Director of Special Services) laid out the educational case for full-day kindergarten. In their research, it was discovered that adding three...
All the Facebook: Social media announcements by the district CONNECTED TO BERKELEY HEIGHTS RECONFIGURATION CONTROVERSY (updated 06/25/2021)
Below are links to the Berkeley Heights Public Schools social media announcements in connection to reconfiguration. These links contain communication from the district on reconfiguration, parent and resident comments as well as meeting agendas. “AN UPDATE FROM THE BERKELEY HEIGHTS BOARD OF EDUCATION: BOE Responds to Baseless ‘Violations’Doug Reinstein, President – Board of Education, Michael D’Aquila, Vice President – Board...
All The Videos: Meetings connected to Berkeley Heights Reconfiguration Controversy (updated 06/11/2021)
This is a record of BOE meetings and Town Halls surrounding the BOE’s controversial decision to tie Reconfiguration and Redistricting with FDK after a secretive 9 week planning process. On March 18th, 2021 residents asked about the plans connected to FDK and were told they would need to wait until the April 8th meeting to find out more detail (timestamp...
All The Articles: Op-Eds on the Berkeley Heights School Reconfiguration Controversy (updated 06/28/2021)
I thought it would be helpful to create a one-stop shop of all the articles written by residents and school officials in connection to the reconfiguration and redistricting plan developed by Dr. Varely and voted on by Doug Reinstein, Michael D’Aquila, Christine Reilly and Angela Penna. This body of work represents one of the most thorough, collaborative, fact based, resident...
Involve Families in Law Enforcement Activities Within Our Schools
Originally Published In Another Local Media Outlet on March 7, 2020 A proposal for increasing family involvement and input into the law enforcement activities in Berkeley Heights Schools is an issue I have been raising for some time. I am going to avoid citing the substantial and growing amount of evidence that suggests these programs do more harm than good....
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