Spring 2024 NJSLA Scores: How Did the 7-District Dashboard Perform?
Berkeley Heights has some strengths, some weaknesses; moved forward to middle-of-pack with neighboring districts NJ.com recently published an article on the release of spring 2024 New Jersey State Learning Assessment (NJSLA) results. According to the article, math and ELA scores ranged from 650 to 850, with a score of 750, equating to students meeting grade level expectations and a score...
Concerns About the 11/18/2024 Town Council Meeting and the “New Civility”
A resolution authorizing the township to seek bids for improvements to Deerpath, previously pulled from the last Town Council meeting, has returned to the agenda for this weeks council meeting. This development comes on the heels of the controversial approval of a $450,000 resolution connected to the Westside Drainage Project. Before Ms. Akiri addressed the council at the last meeting,...
Follow Up to Controversial Berkeley Heights $450,000 Old Farm/Orchard/Mercier Resolution
The township has uploaded the video of the November 12, 2024, meeting to its website. The video provides further discussion on the $450,000 Old Orchard/Mercier resolution, a topic covered two weeks ago. This resolution, which includes repaving the neighborhood and adding curbing, has sparked frustration among some residents. Critics point out that a $100,000 engineering study and a letter from...
The “Work Together” Group’s Approach to Committee Appointments and the Berkeley Heights BOE
With elections over, and a new Board of Education to be sworn in at the beginning of the year, we should take a look at what happened last year at this time. It would be nice to think we could avoid some of the same mistakes, but based on the November 14th meeting it appears we’re in for another rough...
NJ21st 11/26/2024 Newsletter
What’s Important to Know About Our Local & State Government This Week…. This week’s newsletter kicks off with an investigative look into the flow of campaign dollars in Berkeley Heights. We uncover a web of PACs funded by businesses and special interest groups, making it challenging to gauge the extent of pay-to-play practices at the municipal level. Next, we recap...
The Story of Politics, Money and Berkeley Heights in Twelve Images
This week, we shared snapshots on our socials highlighting the campaign contributions made by vendors alongside the payments they received from the town for their services. We encourage residents to start paying closer attention to this critical information, especially in light of New Jersey’s recent rollback of campaign finance reforms, which takes transparency back to the dark ages. These special interests...
Laura’s Notes on the 11/14/2024 Berkeley Heights BOE Meeting
The meeting covered numerous topics, with significant discussions and public input. Here’s a breakdown of the essential points: Guidance Program Presentation Dr. Ashley Janosko delivered a comprehensive presentation on the guidance program at BHPS. While the presentation emphasized support for college-bound students, concerns remain about equitable resources for students pursuing alternative career paths. Many feel that career readiness deserves...
Today’s Berkeley Heights Special Town Council Meeting Raises More Questions
A resolution concerning Deerpath Lane, which appears similar to a contentious $450,000 proposal voted through at the last meeting, appears on the agenda for today’s unusually scheduled Town Council meeting at 5:45 p.m. This timing, combined with lingering concerns from the prior meeting, has left residents and stakeholders asking even more questions. The previous meeting highlighted significant unresolved issues surrounding...
NJ21st 11/17/2024 Newsletter
What’s Important to Know About Our Local & State Government This Week…. This week’s newsletter opens with an in-depth analysis of the recently released 2025 US News & World Report rankings for elementary and middle schools. Notably, these rankings appear to be based on 2021-2022 proficiency scores, as indicated in the report. Next, we delve into a contentious discussion from the latest Town Council Meeting. Concerns...
Discussion on $450,000 Resolution Raises Oversight and Project Alignment Concerns
11/12/2024 Berkeley Heights Town Council Meeting In the clip below, Mr. Donnelly highlighted that the project under Resolution #2 approved by the Council last night, would involve repaving an area resurfaced only a year ago without addressing the primary drainage issues this project was originally intended to resolve. Additionally, it appears – in this discussion – that other council members...
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