Melissa Varley’s Spin on the BOE Reorganization Meeting Highlights How This All Got Started
In the email below, sent to BHPS Staff, Dr. Varley ignores the machinations of her own office in setting up last night’s meeting for failure. She ignores the fact that if ANY member of the Penna bloc (a phrase that I don’t like, but is all too fitting) were honestly interested in working toward solutions, a consensus could have been reached last night....
01/04/2024 BOE Agenda: Laura’s Notes
BOE Not Voting on New Attorney, New Business Removed, Citizens Hearing Removed, Curriculum Re-Adoption The primary purpose of this Board of Education (BOE) meeting is for the reorganization of the Board of Education. New members Natasha Joly and Sai Bhargavi Akiri will officially be sworn in, and all members of the BOE will take the Oath of Office. Two Board...
BHCW 12/10/2023 Newsletter
What’s Important to Know About Berkeley Heights This Week… This week, BHCW informed residents of where Mayor Devanney stood in relation to OPRA and shared an email in which she encouraged state legislators to protect critical aspects of this vital law. BHCW exposed a highly suspect RFP and warned the BOE and Community of the potential for more violations on...
Illis/Machado Take Council, Joly/Akiri take BOE
It appears, based on the tickets we’ve seen, there was a “behind the scenes” write in campaign to take votes away from Sai (two names consistently came up). It doesn’t appear to amount to much at all so far but I guess just enough to give her a lower count and maybe float a behind the scenes network strategy for...
Endorsement for Natasha Joly
This year, for BOE, I am supporting Natasha Joly. She is a fantastic human being as she has an ability to bring opposition together in a productive way. This is a need on our BOE. When Natasha speaks at BOE meetings (and in personal conversation) she is concise in her language and authoritative without being aggressive. Her candor gives us...
BHCW NightWatch Episode 23: Berkeley Heights BOE Candidates Natasha Joly and Sai Bhargavi Akiri
Sai and Natasha talk about what they are hearing on the campaign trail, priorities while in office, the 11/02/2023 Meeting, and more.. There are two candidates running for two seats on the Berkeley Heights BOE Visit Our 2023 Berkeley Heights Candidates Page to Read More From the Candidates
Board Goals – A Chance to Make a Positive Change
Shauna’s Notes on the 11/02/2023 Berkeley Heights BOE Meeting At a special meeting on November 2nd, the Berkeley Heights Board of Education met to set goals for themselves as a governing body. Attending were all board members except Joy Young, the interim Business Administrator, and New Jersey School Board Association (NJSBA) representative Patricia Rees. After an opening presentation by Ms....
Sai’s Remarks During Public Comment Portion of 10/12/2023 BOE Meeting
Questions about the District’s Legal Representation Remain Unanswered While we may be growing tired of hearing about Dr. Varley’s nepotism issue, we are still with no answers a year later. In this clip, Ms. Akiri again asks questions on the cost of Dr. Varley’s case and whether she will be expected to reimburse the District for her legal fees, given...
Why I am supporting Joly and Akiri
-John Sincaglia There was a time when the Berkeley Heights School District performed well when measured against comparable nearby districts while at the same time maintaining a cost per pupil that was lower than most or all of its counterparts. While any school district can always do better, the operation and performance of the Berkeley Heights schools was viewed in...
The 48 Hour Rule
Is this new policy simply another mechanism designed to restrict BOE Members who want change from expressing an opinion? This change to BOE Policy 0164 requires that any new business be brought to the Board’s attention at least 48 hours before being brought up at a public meeting. According to Board President Angela Penna, it was advanced to help ensure...
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