
Firm of Cleary, Giacobbe, Alfieri, & Jacobs Spends 20 Minutes Trying to Protect their Jobs
Revisiting the 01/04/2024 Berkeley Height Board of Education Reorganization Meeting Subscribe to Our YouTube Channel

01/18/2024 BOE Meeting Part I- Laura’s Notes
A Board that Finally Deliberates in Public! I echo JP’s public comments in commending Mr. Hyman for his ability to effectively and respectfully preside over the 1/18/24 meeting. He controlled the meeting and followed proper procedures. He stopped members when it was needed and he kept the meeting moving along. The entire meeting was refreshing! It was a long meeting,...

Recommendation for Berkeley Heights Board of Education President – Dipti Khanna
The following is an email received from Daniel Brown, Berkeley Heights Resident and Parent, to the County Superintendent Daryl Palmieri in Support of Ms. Khanna for BOE President. Mr. Palmieri’s email address is [email protected] Dear Mr. Palmieri, I am writing to you as a concerned resident of Berkeley Heights and a dedicated advocate for the educational welfare of our community,...

Minutia Matters- Especially Audits
Why is the BHPSNJ Audit Still Not Available? A recent article on how the Berkeley Heights Superintendent got a raise, in a procedurally incorrect manner and which obscured the action, violating District and State policy along the way, created some much-needed conversation around how the Board of Education operates. I had started looking into audits, based on a different comment...

Everyone is Learning From Berkeley Height’s Mistakes…Except for Berkeley Heights
Quick Note on Tomorrow’s Meeting Back in 2021, as BHCW was sort of getting started, I wrote the following in a Tap-Into Op-ed regarding the District’s de-facto settlement with the Union County Prosecutors office on an OPMA violation: I’m looking to dissuade future BOE’s and Superintendents from trampling over the rights of parents and children by making what this BOE and...

Laura’s Notes: 01/18/2024 Berkeley Heights BOE Meeting Agenda
ELECTIONS The election of the Board President and Vice President will be attempted once again. At the 1/4/24 meeting, no President or Vice President was elected as the Board was tied in a 4-4 split. We were told the vote would be moved to an appointment by the County Superintendent. Several members presented the idea of compromise, which means that...

Update to the Controversy Surrounding Dr. Varley’s Salary Increase
Answers Lead to More Questions I am still waiting for a response from the Board on what should be simple questions about the Superintendent’s Salary Increase. The Board did approve the 2% raise with a vote on June 5th 2023- so let me set the record straight on that issue. So to answer the question I asked in a prior article: Did...

BOE Member Gale Bradford Questioned On Letter of Support Involving Volunteer Organizations, Elected Officials and Others
Community Member Shares their Email to the Berkeley Heights Board of Education We received several emails and other communication from officers and members of volunteer organizations that support our schools who expressed upset with BOE Member Gale Bradford’s insertion of their organization in a letter of support for Ms. Penna’s Bid for President. We also received similar communication from educators...

Did Dr. Varley Get a Raise Without a Board Vote?
And why weren’t Berkeley Heights Residents Aware of it? Update on 01/14/2023: The BOE DID Vote on this Increase but there is more to the Story. It appears Dr. Varley got a 2% raise without a vote by the Board of Education. To walk through this, we need to first walk through her contract. If you recall, Dr. Varley...

“Pay The Teachers!”
It was an interesting weekend. Since the controversial Reorganization Meeting, BOE Member Pamela Stanley made several posts on social media outlets with this simple line, claiming that four BOE Members voted down payroll. This connects to a chain of events started by Dr. Varley almost immediately after the meeting that created a great deal of confusion and concern among members of...