The Courtesy Busing Vote & Where We Can Go From Here
Berkeley Heights Still Has Time to Fix This The transportation discussion within the BHPS District is multifaceted and, at the same time, all-over-the-place. There are underlying issues and some serious concerns on both sides of the spectrum that need to be addressed and properly understood. Concerns of safety are legitimate; no one in their right mind would argue that safety shouldn’t be at the forefront of discussions surrounding...
“Slim Empirical Arguments”, “Pulling out the Rug” and “State Aid”
Level-Setting the Community Discussion on the Transportation Policy I encourage every parent to get involved, regardless of how they feel about the transportation policy or any policy for that matter. It is important for different voices on all sides to present their arguments – even if it is an opinion -opinions are important – they offer a perspective or a...
Child Safety is Being used as a Shield to Push through a Disturbing Policy Precedent
And Another Great Example as to Why OPRA is so Important… Before October 2023, the NJ Department of Education published the DRTRS summary report that anyone could access. Unfortunately, after multiple Berkeley Heights residents raised questions on the discrepancy in the number of Courtesy busing students reported to the state department of education and by the district last year, the...
Former BOE Member Robert Cianculli Misrepresents BHCW’s Position ….Again
Former BOE Member Robert Cianculli Misrepresents BHCW’s Position on The Transportation Policy Here is a post from former BOE Member Robert Cianculli: First, BHCW is a local website where anyone can state their positions. Mr. Cianculli is welcome to submit his articles supporting Ms. Stanley’s policy. Secondly, what those who have written are opposed to is a Transportation policy...
John’s Notes on the 04/15/2024 BHPSNJ BOE Meeting
Attorney RFP Passes while Zoom Access for Families Gets Shut Down by Two BOE Reps Who Promised they Would Work to Make it Happen…. Last night, during the special meeting, the BOE re-opened the RFP process for attorneys. Ms. Stanley’s argument against it ranged from “it will increase costs” (which is not true – the BOE can negotiate a per-diem...
Zoom Participation Added to 04/15/2024 BOE Special Meeting
The Special Notice for the 04/15/2024 BOE Meeting has been updated to include a discussion of allowing community participation in meetings through Zoom. Ms. Joly and Ms. Akiri have been the most vocal advocates of this change, and this is consistent with Mr. Nixon’s and Ms. Bradford’s pledge to improve transparency and family involvement in the District. During COVID, families...
BHPSNJ Announces Special Board Meeting for 04/15/2024
Interim Superintendents To Be Interviewed and Attorney RFP’s To Be Discussed on 4/15/2024 BHPSNJ announced a special BOE Meeting on 04/15/2024 to interview Interim Superintendents. We hope that candidates will also present to the public. Interim Superintendents are typically retired, so there should be no concern about their employers finding out about seeking a new position. One resident asked us...
4/10/24 Board Meeting Recap, Series On Superintendent Search Firms
The first in a Series on Superintendent Search Firms that Presented during the 04/10/2024 Berkeley Heights BOE Meeting McPherson & Jacobsen Fee for services are $18,500 BHPS team will be comprised of Dr. Ralph Ferrie (former BHPS middle school Principal) not present) and Dr. Karen D’Avino (who presented an overview on the firm). Dr. D’Avino did tell the group that...
Dipti Khanna -Fourth BHPSNJ BOE Member to Question Proposed Transportation Policy
Still No Data or Rational on the Secretive Policy Committee Chair’s Proposal Dipti Khanna has replied to BHCW’s questions about the Policy Committee’s transportation policy and the process surrounding its development. As indicated in prior articles, BHCW emailed the BOE the following questions: Are there plans to share the rubric and data driving the scoring that led to the hazardous...
2022-2023 7-District Dashboard District Wide Comparisons- Better But Not Good Enough
Background In 2022, BHCW, residents and three BOE Members (Khanna, Joly, Akiri) raised concerns about 2018-2019 Berkeley Heights Math, Science, and ELA proficiencies. In 2023, BHCW published extensively on the 2021-2022 results, demonstrating significant drops in all three areas. During this time, BHCW developed a 7-district dashboard of comparable schools that had Berkeley Heights last in ELA, Math, and Science...
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