
Business as Usual: Still No Budget and Waiting on the Promise of a Public Meeting
It’s business as usual, with the current school district budget for 2023-24 – A state secret that can’t be released to the public. -Sai Akiri Last year the business administrator Ms. Kot, superintendent Dr. Varley, along with Previous Board President Mr. D’Aquilla and then Vice President Penna, denied sharing the complete tentative budget with the entire Board until the budget vote....

BHCW Night Watch Episode 7: The Ejaculate Book, DEI, Sewage & Drainage.
In this Episode of BHCW Night Watch, we discuss the controversial Ejaculation book, DEI, the Berkeley Heights Sewage Plant problem, and Drainage issues.

OPRA: Your Right To Information
Why the Open Public Records Act is Important for Berkeley Heights Residents, How To Use OPRA and How We Can Help The purpose of local governing bodies is to represent the people, and to balance perspectives in coming to effective decisions surrounding our community and schools. The pandemic refocused the attention of millions from the hustle and bustle of everyday...

How Much More Should We Be Expected to Tolerate?
The ongoing saga of our BOE, Dr. Varley and Julie Kot is Harming Our District -Sai Akiri It has been almost two years since parents became aware of the mass transfers of teachers in preparation for redistricting and reconfiguration in 2021. Parents, the key stakeholders, were not informed until the nth minute, they were not offered a seat at the...

BHCW 02/26/2023 Newsletter
What’s Important to know about Berkeley Heights, NJ this week…. The School Budget Approval Process Is Approaching Fast -It is Time to Get Informed and Involved Attorney Walter Luers Discusses OPRA (Open Public Records Act) and OPMA (Open Public Meetings Act) in connection to the Berkeley Heights Public School District and the State of NJ. The School District’s War on...

The Screws Continue to Tighten
The District Takes Further Steps in Muting the Voices of Community Members Earlier this year community members discovered that the BOE made a decision to make a practice of violating it’s own policies every meeting by preventing residents from coming up a second time and a potential freedom of speech infraction by the BOE attorney when he informed a resident...

the Budget, Stupid.
Berkeley Heights, NJ Should Go Back to Having a Public Vote on The School Budget You are part of a group of investors that provide a Company 60 million dollars annually. You hire a new CEO and CFO, and within a few years, the Company’s legal bills increase 88%, the quality of your core services is reduced (math proficiencies declining, kids...

BHCW Night Watch Episode 6: Attorney Walter Luers on OPRA & OPMA, BHPS, and NJ
In this episode of Night Watch, Attorney Walter Luers discusses OPRA (Open Public Records Act) and OPMA (Open Public Meetings Act) in connection to the Berkeley Heights Public School District and the State of NJ. Unlike the Berkeley Height’s Public School Districts Attorney, he didn’t just sit there for 30 minutes staring at his phone. Learn more about Walter

How Many Administrators Can Fit on a Fiscal Cliff?
After writing about Ms. Kot’s interesting version of why we are nearing a “fiscal cliff,” (just as we are approaching Budget review and approval for the District), I thought it might be helpful to compare the Central Office Staff of New Providence and the Berkeley Heights (NP has approximately the same size district as we do – about 2,400 students...

BHCW 02/19/2023 Newsletter
What’s Important to know about Berkeley Heights, NJ this week…. Business Administrator Julie Kot Leaves Out Some Inconvenient Truths in Her Report & Dr. Varley Refuses to Answer Questions About Her Nepotism Investigation The District Continues to Burn Money and Resident Access to Public Information Episode 5 of Night Watch: John Sincaglia – the man, the myth, the legend –...