Latest OPRA Roundup: What We Learned (and Didn’t) from the Berkeley Heights School District
From time to time, NJ 21st requests all OPRAs sent to the Berkeley Heights School District. In the latest report there were four requests. (Sort of.) One OPRA request asked for all bids and/or bid tally for the Mountain Park drainage project from June 14, 2022. In response, the District provided the one bid that had been received, by GM...
Berkeley Heights Public School Budget Data Still Withheld, Police Invoices Missing
Last week, I published No Names, No Budgets: Transparency Continues to Erode Under Feltre, documenting how Berkeley Heights Public Schools continues to obstruct public records requests. Since then, the district has finally provided a document — but what they released makes the problem even clearer. The file they produced covers a small subset of the full $63 million 2025–26 budget...
Oversight, Not Excuses: BOE Member Speaks Out on OPRA Mismanagement
Prior to publishing “No Names, No Budgets: Transparency Continues to Erode Under Feltre,” NJ21st reached out to all members of the Berkeley Heights Board of Education for comment. To date, only Ms. Bhargavi responded. Her full statement is published below. Thank you for reaching out and expressing your concerns about the Berkeley Heights school district’s OPRA request process. I’ve seen...
No Names, No Budgets: Transparency Continues to Erode Under Feltre
When people ask for answers from their local government, they have a right to get them—clearly, directly, and without delay. That’s the whole idea behind New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA). But in Berkeley Heights, trying to get even basic information from the public school district has turned into an exercise in frustration: dodged questions, generic email replies, and...
What Happened After Shots Were Fired: The Fight Over Police Transparency in Jersey City
States Newsroom, the New Jersey Monitor, and attorney CJ Griffin challenge Jersey City in a potentially defining court battle over police transparency. During an August 2019 party, an off-duty Jersey City police officer—Lt. Michael Timmins—allegedly got drunk, got angry, and fired his gun after an argument with guests. No one was hurt. But that’s not really the story. Despite the...
BHPSNJ District Opens Search for Business Administrator Ahead of July Transition
On Friday, May 2, Applitrack—the platform used by Berkeley Heights Public Schools to manage job postings—listed an opening for the position of “Business Administrator/Board Secretary,” effective July 1, 2025. The listing follows recent Board of Education meetings during which some residents noted that the current Business Administrator’s contract was not among the recent renewals—making the posting anticipated by many. The...
New OPRA Tool Available from NJ21st
In light of recent changes to New Jersey’s OPRA law, we’ve made it easier for residents of the 21st District to request public records from their Municipalities, School Districts, County Government, and State Departments. These user-friendly online forms are fully compliant with the updated law. Every municipality—including Westfield, Scotch Plains, Summit, New Providence, Berkeley Heights, and Warren—is included. A copy...
More on the BHPSNJ Business Administrator’s Inaccurate OPRA Report to the Berkeley Heights BOE
The Following was an email sent by NJ 21st to the Berkeley Heights BOE on the Business Administrators Inaccurate Public Comments on OPRA Requests (typos corrected): “We have already written about the Business Administrators inaccurate accusation concerning the OPRA log and our concerns that what ought to be a standard baseline job requirement is being outsourced to attorneys. This email pertains to...
The 2025 Berkeley Heights BOE Reorganization Meeting: Sanity V. Spectacle
The Berkeley Heights Board of Education’s reorganization was so dramatic it could qualify for an Emmy. Next time, perhaps we should aim for a Tony—because honestly, the only way these marathon meetings could be bearable is if the endless contentious debates were performed as a musical, complete with high-energy dance breaks from the Administration. But on a serious note: We...
Johns Notes on the 01/07/2025 BHPSNJ BOE Meeting
Last night’s BOE meeting made it abundantly clear that the board remains deeply divided into two factions: one that seeks to advance change through evidence-based reasoning and thoughtful debate, and another that seems more intent on politicizing every. single. issue. The evening featured the Business Administrator’s perplexing defense of sending documents—already publicly released—for yet another attorney review to determine if...
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