The 08/10/2023 Bill List – Another Concerning Snapshot
More questions about how District Funds are Being Used Arise….. -Sai Akiri, 2023 Candidate for Berkeley Heights Board of Education BHCW submitted the following OPRA request on 08/07/2023: Please provide under OPRA and common law right to know the following documents: Bill list for August 10, 2023 Board meeting Treasurer report for June and July 2023 Cash report for June...
What it Would Look Like if We Put Students First
Words are cheap; lawyers and high-level administrators … not so much. -Ekin Najarian Yesterday Ms. Stanley went on a social media parade on behalf of the BOE majority, pretending to recruit new BOE members. As per usual, Ms. Stanley did not use a disclaimer that the thoughts, opinions, and inherent attacks on residents sharing their own personal thoughts, were her...
Do the Rules Even Matter?
In the clip below, Ms. Akiri points to the BOE’s continued policy violations under Angela Penna and Joy Young. These violations include interfering with a resident’s right to free speech (Angela Penna has consistently interrupted residents improperly while speaking about issues that are strictly related to District business and BOE actions), the Budget process, social media policy, and the continued...
MKM Principal’s Resignation Letter to Dr. Varley and The Berkeley Heights Board of Education
Will they finally listen? BHCW has obtained the MKM principal’s resignation letter submitted to the BOE and Administration. It isn’t pretty: June 15, 2023 Dear Members of the Board and Dr. Varley, It is with a heavy heart that I am writing to inform you of my decision to retire from my position as school principal with the Berkeley Heights...
The Inclusion Delusion Continues
More evidence our Superintendent would rather double down on her delusions than collaborate with anyone but her small circle. During the budget process, after we saw teachers and Administrators speak out against the Superintendent’s plans to cut staff, BHCW put in an OPRA Request for emails. The subject of these emails pertained to Dr. Varley’s claims of collaborating with her...
Add Music to the List of Casualties Under Dr. Varley’s Reign of Error
Dr. Varley Continues to Build on Her Incredible Record of Harmful Decisions -Ekin Najarian Instead of using the opportunity of two open Assistant Superintendent Positions to prevent further cuts and teacher transfers, the District has decided to compromise our Music Program. Ms. Lim teaches Music at Woodruff and Mary Kay and is highly regarded by families in both schools, The...
Putting It All Together – Rankings, Ratings, Proficiency and Budget
Exploring a connection between proficiency, rankings and budget… I emailed the Berkeley Heights Board of Education and Superintendent the following summary (excuse typos): I would like to share with you the ratings and rankings themselves along with the Budget. I’ve written about this before and I’m pretty certain you’ve read what I’ve written, however, it didn’t seem like you had any recollection of...
Berkeley Heights having the highest per-pupil cost with the lowest rankings makes Sense
It’s probably not the number of buildings, and we are definitely not spending money on textbooks and supplies. In one of the Budget Meetings, one BOE member (condescendingly) brushed off the concerns about our high pupil cost, implying that it was a function of the number of buildings the Berkeley Heights School District had. She also brought up Westfield as...
Our District Is In Trouble & It’s Up to Our Community to Fix It
Berkeley Heights school district is on a downward spiral and needs drastic change. How do we get there… Step 1 – we need to change the makeup of the board. This is where the community can make their voices heard. The BOE has members with validated ethics complaints against them, and most members don’t question or challenge the administration. The...
2023 BHPSNJ Budget Pre-Meeting Wrap Up
Overview of Snap Shots and Where We Can Go From Here So I covered several areas that would be important to families, teachers, and principals to the best of my ability. The first item comes down to very big questions on the Benefits account that Sai brought to the public’s attention. We possess the documentation (through OPRA) other Districts used...
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