The Vote Surrounding Competent Town Administrator Remains Shrouded in Mystery…but not really
I will start this article by thanking Mr. Varnerin for responding to an email I sent to the Town Council last week concerning the decision not to reappoint Liza as Town Administrator. After almost two years of BOE members openly admitting they don’t read parent emails or having the personal experience of hearing BOE members accusing parents of bad actions...
Tisha’s Comments To The BOE on BTC
Several parents attended the 11/17/2022 BOE Meeting to express their concerns about the impact the District’s new model is having on their children’s learning experience. Tisha Mannino has shared her comments with BHCW for publication. At the end of Tisha’s article is a survey BHCW is offering Berkeley Heights parents as a means of informing the District on parental opinions...
Where We Go From Here
“The First Order wins by making people think they are alone. We’re not alone.” —Poe BHCW has, for over a year, provided a space for deep, fact based discussion about local government – especially our BOE. I have never been shy about expressing an opinion, but I have never done it at this level. BHCW was born out of the...
ANGIE DEVANNEY; THE BEST PERSON FOR THE JOB!
I met Angie in 2016, as I walked into my first PTO meeting at Mountain Park. During her time as President she ran organized, detail-oriented and engaging meetings. There was not a hurdle she did not surpass or a task that was “too much.” She made time for every person and addressed every comment, question and concern with care and...
Gale Bradford’s Educational Platform Statement
Candidate Response BOE Election 2022 BHCW emailed BOE Candidates requesting a platform statement based on a request from a resident in our discussion forum. We are pleased to provide you with Gale Bradford’s response: I believe the Berkeley Heights Board of Education needs an experienced professional educator as a member. I have been a special education teacher for 35 years...
Trees AND THE TOOLS TO SAVE THEM
There’s a Lot of Talk Around Trees in BH The problem In Berkeley Heights total tree coverage has been observed as declining since 1984 (per the Urban Ecosystem Analysis). Urban development, coupled with an outdated tree ordinance has made it difficult to keep our tree canopy consistent. The Emerald Ash Borer hasn’t helped. Mature tree removal without replacement hasn’t helped....
Filling in the Local Media Gap on the 09/22/2022 meeting
‘Contentious’ is arguably the best way to describe the 9/22/22 Board meeting. While local coverage of the meeting was detailed, it failed to mention some meeting highlights I felt was necessary for truly and wholly understanding the scope of the contention and all-around loss of control. Pamela Stanley’s prepared speech sought to accomplish one goal: attack parents for increased legal...
THE HOW MANY GENDERS GAME
I need you you take a deep breath here and hear me out. I’m writing this after sitting back and not reacting to what has been a two day series of events that has become quite predictable in our community as the private messages rolled into my inbox: “why is he in your Facebook group” or “why didn’t you like...
FOLLOW UP TO DISTRICT POLICY CHANGES – BOE MEETING 09/22/2022
-Shauna Williams Now that the dust has kinda sorta settled from the last BOE meeting let’s take a look at one of the specific issues that arose. Dr. Varley said that the policy changes are required by the state (or another outside agency?) and that they haven’t been updated in a decade or more. That leaves me with the following...
THE DISTRICT PUBLISHES OPRA REQUESTS ON WEBSITE
After shutting down comments on social media, stopping the practice of reading parent emails, changing the budget review process to a shorter time frame (and not providing the full budget for public review), attempting to silence BOE members on social media and trying to set a precedent that BOE Members providing an opinion on meeting minutes is unethical, the District...
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