Choose your location
nj21st
Laura's Notes on the 05/30/2024 Berkeley Heights BOE Meeting
Without any prior notification, the zoom access for the 5/30 BOE meeting allowed for remote participation. However, the new version of Zoom does not let attendees see who else is on Zoom. Regardless, this is a major step in allowing for stakeholder involvement.
The BHPSNJ Business Office is Over-Redacting Public Records & It is Hurting our Students
It has been a recurring theme in an ongoing narrative, “the onerous nature of OPRA requests for the District”. Yet, a compelling revelation came to light yesterday, further substantiating a strategy that is clearly intended to provoke and agitate those seeking public records, thereby dissuading the public from making such requests. – a gamble that continues to cost the District thousands in legal fees.
Laura's Notes on the 05/30/2024 BOE Meeting Agenda
Board Candidate Interviews, Athletic Trainer and Heavy Investment in New Behavioral Health Service on the Agenda. The Acting Superintendent will present the district goals following the student representatives' report.
05/30/2024 BOE Agenda Notes on Proposed Changes to Policy 2411- Guidance Counseling
The first item of concern for me in the proposed policy is the removal of language that:. (1) Indicates collaboration between the guidance office and teaching staff. (2) Reaffirms the necessity of having licensed/certified guidance and counseling staff.
John’s Notes on the Berkeley Heights 05/30/2024 BOE Meeting Agenda
Policy 0167- Public Participation in Board Meetings. Before getting into this specific policy, the policy documents up for review do not contain the term “Draft” on them. Not all document changes (from the old policy) are indicated in bold. This can lead to a lot of confusion and makes it harder for the public to understand how the proposed policy differs from the prior version.
NJ21st – Three Years of Shining a Light
This year, the team had serious discussions about whether we would shut down, keep doing what we were doing, or expand. Given the level of disinformation and the collusion of powerful groups in this community around issues, we did not feel we had a choice but to continue. There is no way that accurate information would get to anyone about the local government if we did not exist – which is why – if you pay attention – all the predictable voices are coming out of the woodwork again.
Support Positive Change-Ignore the Desperate Narrative
There is a lot of talk from the same voices that supported the prior administration attempting to resurrect their candidate's chances for election. These voices include members of special interests and former council members trying to twist and spin the New BOE's efforts on the Superintendent search.
Questions on the 2024-25 BHPSNJ Budget & Quick Note on “Special Interests” & “Echo Chambers” (lol)
Email Sent to Finance Chair Dipti Khanna and Mr. Nixon:. “I took a look at the budget (spreadsheet) and have the following questions:. $56k increase on security (from 204k to 261k)- what security events have caused us to increase our spending in this area to a quarter of a million? Again this is a lot of money for a District that is in a very safe community.
Laura’s Notes on the Berkeley Heights 05/21/2024 Town Council Meeting Agenda
Update at 5:32 p.m.: The Proposed Salary for the Chief of Police Position is $216,300 - the contract is still in draft form. The Town Council Meeting will occur tonight, Tuesday, May 21 at 7:00PM.
John’s Notes on the Berkeley Heights 05/20/2024 BOE Meeting
As we reported at the last meeting, the BOE President signed a contract with the NJSBA to facilitate the Superintendent search. It’s worth noting that this was done without a full board review of the contract, a decision that has raised some concerns.
Laura's Notes on the Berkeley Heights 05/20/2024 BOE Meeting Agenda
Superintendent Search, Social Media Policy, OPMA and Recognition. The Board of Education's special meeting is tonight with the public session expected to begin at 6:30 PM. Unlike other meetings, the Board will meet to discuss the one and only business item before adjourning into Executive session.
Push-back from Boards Around the State at Today’s NJ School Board Association Delegate Assembly
The New Jersey School Board Association (NJSBA) is holding its delegate assembly as this article is being written. If you recall, the NJSBA is a tax-funded lobbying group that has supported the current legislation that seeks to destroy the Open Public Records Act and advocates for anti-transparency practices such as Boards by Committees – where policies are deliberated behind closed doors.
NJ Proficiency Reports - Berkeley Heights Public Schools Climate Indicators
Two climate indicators we decided to examine this year were HIB and Chronic Absenteeism compared to the other schools on the BHCW 7-District Dashboard. Berkeley Heights was in the higher middle in the percentage of students identified as chronically absent but experienced the second-highest jump from 2018 to 2019.
nj21st
372+
Posts
265K+
Views
A local government information source for residents of NJ's 21st District
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.