They Said That?
I will revisit the best little gems of insane foolishness brought to you by the brain trust of the Berkeley Heights Town Council and the Board of Education. “This isn’t about Liza” – LOL! We owe great thanks to Jeanne Kingsley (Council) for stating this multiple times, in response to the overwhelming number of residents advocating for Liza’s reappointment. At...
Unpopular Opinion on School Safety
I sent the following email to the BOE this morning and wanted to share it here as well. Good Afternoon, Schools are safe- the community-wide and national conversation on school safety is not based on any evidence. Lockdown drills do not have any evidence of doing anything but traumatize children. Adding police in schools doesn’t do anything to prevent school shootings; the...
Incident at CMS Continues to Prompt More Questions
If you have a child who attends CMS then you received a letter addressing the incident that occurred on Friday. And, unless you live under a rock, by now you have seen this letter and heard the shockwaves by parents in this community. As adults, it’s not easy to speak up and even we struggle with making the right choices. ...
Peeling the Spin: A Condensed Look at OPRA Requests
There are currently 118 individual screenshots of OPRA (Open Public Records Act) requests, from June 2022 to the present, on the district website. In an effort to parse this out and make it easier to get to the meat of the issue surrounding the appointment of a School Records Custodian, here is a breakdown. Of the 118 posted screenshots, five...
Our First Episode of BHCW Night Watch
We discuss:-The District’s Security Mess/Theatre-Newly obtained settlement agreement @ Dr. Varley’s Nepotism Case-The first two Berkeley Heights BOE Meetings of the Year
Tom Foregger Saves The Day Again
One of our concerns has been remedied for now as Tom guides the Board away from violating its own policies. Comments from residents on this clip of the District hiring yet ANOTHER person to help our Business Administrator do her job: “Not only is it a violation of policy, the district has not done it’s due diligence in investigating whether...
01/19/2023 BOE Meeting- What Parents Should Be Aware of Going In To This Meeting
There is a 15-page agenda with a 106-page attachment. BHCW reached out to the District last night as the policy revisions were STILL not publicly available until today. Buried in this mountain of paper parents should pay attention to the following: Resolution A: Approve the Annual Appointment of Stephen Hopkins as Records Custodian. This is a new appointment and a role...
Policy 0167 – Don’t Allow Them To Silence Your Voice
Sai Akiri Everyone attending a Berkeley Heights Board of Education meeting has fundamental rights, mainly the freedom of speech. Every resident or parent wanting to express their opinions, concerns, or questions is entitled to do so under the OPMA – Open public meetings act. There are two segments during the board meeting for residents to speak. The first is during...
Berkeley Heights School District Saddled with Current Attorney for Another Year
While it was clear at the end of 2022 that the Berkeley Heights Board of Education was not going to address calls to look into hiring a different law firm, it was still disappointing to see the firm of Cleary, Giacobbe, Alfieri, Jacobs, LLC renewed for another year with no hesitation or opposition. This law firm has given our district...
Parents Aren’t creating THE “Decorum Issues” at BOE Meetings…
In this six-minute clip, parents and residents can notice: (1) Ms. Penna consistently interrupting and talking over parents while taking up their 3-minute space while advocating for decorum. While she refuses to answer questions because “BOE Meetings are not a back and forth” she has no problem interrupting parents and taking up their time to speak. (2) The Attorney attempting...
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