Board of Education Turnover Continues in Berkeley Heights

Seven Board of Education members have decided not to run for reelection since Dr. Melissa Varley took the helm at BHPS

-Written by an Educator in the Community

According to “Union County Votes,” the official election website of our county, two Berkeley Heights Board of Education (BOE) members are not running for reelection this year. As of the filing deadline, BOE Vice President Mrs. Joy Young and BOE Member Mr. Robert Cianciulli are not running for the two seats up for election this year. See the updated candidates’ list here.

Even a casual observer of town government can start to notice a trend of BOE turnover since Dr. Melissa Varley became Superintendent of Schools in Berkeley Heights in July 2019.

This is the list of BOE members – elected officials who oversee Berkeley Heights Public Schools (BHPS) – who have chosen not run for re-election since and including the November 2019 election cycle:

-Denis Smalley (did not run for reelection in 2019)

-William (Bill) Cassano (then-BOE Vice President; did not run for reelection in 2020)

-Gerald (Gerry) Crisonino (served as BOE Vice President; did not run for reelection in 2020)

-Christine Reilly (did not run for reelection in 2021)

-Michael D’Aquila (then-BOE President; did not run for reelection in 2022)

-Robert Cianciulli (is not running for reelection in 2023)

-Joy Young (BOE Vice President; is not running for reelection in 2023)

It must be stated that all BOE members, regardless of views on policy or the way they voted, must be thanked for their service as these individuals each spent at least three years of countless time, effort, and energy overseeing BHPS.

As of 2023, there is only one member of the BOE still on board from 2020, which is our BOE President Angela Penna. Mrs. Penna was elected to her first term for 2020-22 and has since been re-elected to her second term for 2023-25. Besides Mrs. Penna, the only other two-term BOE member is Robert Cianciulli, who was on the BOE from 2017-19 and again from 2021-23.

Remember that throughout the past three years, Mr. Cianciulli and Mrs. Young voted “no” on redistricting in 2021, both voted “no” on Dr. Varley’s early contract renewal in 2021, and Mrs. Young voted “no” on cutting five Supervisor positions to three Director positions in 2023 (while voting “yes” for the final budget that included cutting two Supervisor positions to one Director position). These votes all bucked the BOE majority which all negatively impacted (or will negatively impact) Berkeley Heights students and families in one way or another.

This year’s general election will take place on Tuesday, November 7th. Candidates for State Senate, State Assembly, Sheriff, County Commissioner, Berkeley Heights town council, and Berkeley Heights Board of Education will be on the ballot. For town council, see each candidate’s recent response to a question connected to the town’s master plan. For BOE, two candidates are running for two positions (updated candidate list found here).

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