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
Three Clear Examples of Why Change is Needed – 01/18/2024 Berkeley Heights BOE Meeting
There are three points in time Berkeley Heights and Mountainside families can look at during the last meeting to understand why many in our community have very strong concerns about Ms. Penna becoming BOE President – aside from an apparent conflict of interest involving largely defunct ethics claims against another BOE Member (Ms. Akiri) and several SEC validated claims against...
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,...
Quick Note On the 01/18/2024 BOE Meeting- Jordan Hyman Gets it Done
While there is certainly a contingent that is going to try to spin last night’s meeting as “too long” or “chaotic” it’s important to note that if one considers all the important material the BOE had to vote on last night – several hours is an appropriate amount of time. This is NOT a rubber stamp BOE anymore. Those days...
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...
Legal Spending and Searchable Attachments for 01/18/2024 Berkeley Heights BOE Meeting
Tomorrow, the BOE will vote on whether to approve another ~$7,000 to the law firm of Cleary Giacobbe Alfieri Jacobs, LLC; total legal spending between four firms comes to ~$11,000 – based on our review. The agenda includes other legal costs as mentioned in yesterday’s article . There is a $1500 settlement on an OPRA case and a $44,000 settlement for some other matter that isn’t clear...
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...
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...
nj21st.com (with the exception of featured images and logo) is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
