Meeting With The Chief On Police Presence In Schools
Over the last few weeks, I have had several discussions with friends and neighbors on the issue of school safety – specifically police in schools. One of these discussions led to a meeting with the Chief of the Berkeley Heights Police Department, Jason Massimino, and two other parents who could not disagree with me more on this issue. There were...
Parents Aren’t creating THE “Decorum Issues” at BOE Meetings…
In this six-minute clip, parents and residents can notice: (1) Ms. Penna consistently interrupting and talking over parents while taking up their 3-minute space while advocating for decorum. While she refuses to answer questions because “BOE Meetings are not a back and forth” she has no problem interrupting parents and taking up their time to speak. (2) The Attorney attempting...
Renewed Parent Frustration and More Poor Decision-Making from District Administrators
Implementing new teaching methods can be a wonderful way to spark a student’s interest or create a better and more thorough understanding of material. It can just as easily lead to confusion, frustration and lessened motivation for learning, which is what we have seen over the past two to three years in our district with the move first to the...
Berkeley Heights Board Of Education President Michael D’Aquila tells resident to come back next month to finish question
I had the opportunity to watch the most recent Berkeley Heights Board of Education meeting and was both shocked and offended with the way our Board President treated a resident that runs the local Chinese school in town. According to the resident, the local non-profit Chinese school is stretched thin on its budget for the many services it provides to...
Retrospective on the October 20th BOE meeting
I attended the October 20th meeting in person. It was nice to see some of the other candidates as well. I want to share some observations and questions regarding what was discussed and on the proceeding itself. The presentation on the NJSLA results had some positives and some negatives. Based on the results, it seems that our kids are performing well...
A Statement from Candidate Hemann Regarding the Most Recent BOE Proceedings
In the past months, during which I decided to make a run for one of the open seats on the BOE, I have chosen – likely to the detriment of my “campaign” – to remain quiet, especially in the public sphere, on many of the topics washing across this page. I never wanted my candidacy to be centered on what...
Berkeley Heights BOE Candidate Natasha Joly Questions the Berkeley Heights BOE on Zoom Meetings
Last week Laura Kap published a timeline of facts that contradicted Mr. D’Aquila’s incredible claim that the equipment purchased by the District and the move to Governor Livingston were never intended to facilitate the ability of the public to speak at BOE meetings through zoom. Mr. D’Aquila’s claim was in response to Ms. Akiri’s question surrounding hybrid meetings in a...
THE DISTRICTS WAR ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CONTINUES: THE 2022 LWV BOE DEBATE
The League of Women Voters was born out of the American women’s suffrage movement. For over a century they have maintained an important role in the national discourse of American government by sponsoring debates, working to reform elections to benefit every American (HAVA), launching VOTE411 all while remaining non-partisan. The LWV has been critical in helping our small community learn...
BOARD ZOOM MEETINGS
The Spindoctors, I mean 6-member “we will never agree with or listen to Ms. Akiri or Dr. Foregger, even when they make sense or have done their homework” bloc (D’Aquila, Penna, Cianciulli, Stanley, Young and Hyman) of Board members, are at it again. This is simple, like elementary-level undersanding required, so let me spell out the facts for you; The...
Comments on Recent Data provided by the BH School District on Reconfiguration
Recently, the District presented an infographic that demonstrates that the vast majority of families impacted by the reconfiguration “Strongly Agreed” with the following statement: “The community benefitted from the school district’s reconfiguration to implement a universal full-day program.” What residents need to keep in mind that the survey only went to families who directly benefitted from FDK, which we all...
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