BHPSNJ Response to Resident Concerns on Facilities, Data Breach, BOE President and Audit
In response to Mr. Leblond’s Letter to the District on Facilities, the Data Breach and BOE President: From Ms. Akiri: Thank you for reaching out, Mr.Leblond. I share your concerns regarding the PowerSchool data breach. I have contacted the district administration to request a detailed review of the specific information stored in PowerSchool for Berkeley Heights Public Schools (BHPSNJ). Obtaining...
Is It Time for the District to Re-Evaluate Its Services from a Politically Entangled Municipal Government?
The current Agenda for the next BOE Meeting includes an SLEO Contract Amendment. In Berkeley Heights, the District pays the full $37.45 per hour for each Special Law Enforcement Officer (SLEO), and now the township is asking the District to divert even more funds from classrooms to cover additional costs like sick time and overtime pay along with an increase...
Considerations for Selecting a BOE President
For the second year in a row, the Berkeley Heights Board of Education has been unable to agree on election of a member to serve as BOE President. Last year County Superintendent Daryl Palmieri chose Gale Bradford for the position. With the choice in his hands again this year, a look at the tenure of Mrs. Bradford over the year...
Controversial Ballot Bill Passes Assembly Committee – Working Families Party Mobilizes with Petition
The Assembly Select Committee on Ballot Design has fast-tracked a contentious bill, introduced in response to a federal court decision, that has drawn significant criticism from good government groups. Introduced just a day before the vote, the bill’s amended version was only read aloud just before the vote took place. Critics have raised concerns over the rushed process and the...
A Tale of Two BOE Meetings: Policy, Hypocrisy and Professionalism
Notes on the 12/12/2024 BOE Meeting Let’s take a trip down BOE memory lane to gain some much-needed perspective on the hypocrisy surrounding the outburst by incoming Berkeley Heights BOE member Terrero during the December 12, 2024, Board of Education (BOE) meeting. Reflecting on the December 15, 2023, BOE Meeting One year ago, at the December 15, 2023, BOE meeting,...
Political Machines Strike Again: New Bill Protects Party Control Over Fair Elections
The New Jersey Working Families Party has raised alarms over a new bill aimed at addressing the state’s long-standing ballot design issues. Instead of solving the problem, this legislation entrenches party control, creating even bigger challenges for voters and candidates alike. Recent events paint a troubling picture: after gutting campaign finance laws and undermining the Open Public Records Act, both...
The Flow of Gray Money into NJ Counties: All The Articles
Over the past two weeks, we have explored contributions to county-level political action committees through a series of in-depth articles. Below, you’ll find the complete series: Click Here
Insights Into Contributions Made by Individuals to Political Action and County Committees in NJ (2019-2023)
81% of contributors to County Level PAC’s and Political Committees disclosed their employer, with 5% identifying as self-employed. Contributions from those listing an employer accounted for 76% of the total funds donated to non-individual county political entities. Major Contributors: The top 50 donors with employer disclosures contributed close to $3 million to county PACs or political committees. Among these,...
NJ Business Contributions to County Political Action and Party Committees: 2019 through 2023
Between 2019 and 2023, businesses donated nearly $1 million to County PACs and Political Committees. The data below and prior articles on this topic do not include donations to individual candidates or contributions to state and national political campaigns. The top five contributing business sectors, ranked by total dollars donated, are: Engineering (primarily related to property development and civil engineering)...
Continuing the Gray Money Chase
A Look at Top Non-Individual Contributors and Recipients – NJ County PACs and Committees (2019–2023) Our first article on campaign spending used Berkeley Heights, NJ, as a case study to illustrate the challenges residents across New Jersey face in understanding how campaign contributions influence their local governments. In our second article, we expanded the focus to a county-by-county analysis of...
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