BOE Member Sai Akiri’s Response to Questions on Transportation

On 03/28/2024, I emailed the Berkeley Heights BOE The following questions:

Are there plans to share the rubric and data driving the scoring that led to the hazardous road designations by the consultants-with the public?

Will there be a period of time when public input is sought on those designations?

Can you provide clarity on the assertion that specific homes were indicated while the streets they were on were not designated?

I received one response, thus far,  from Ms. Akiri:

Good Afternoon Mr. Migueis,

I have similar questions, as I said at the 3/18 board meeting I personally did not receive the rubric data supporting the designation of 65 streets as hazardous routes. One of the main concern is we need to understand the basis for selection and designation of 65 streets and certain house numbers only on busy streets like Mountain ave and Emerson Rd as Hazardous routes. And how some of the main roads like Springfield, Plainfield and Snyder ave did not make the list of 65 hazardous routes on policy 8600 (March 18, 2024 Proposed Student Transportation Policy 8600 (Page 69) )

Ms.Stanley invited me on March 27th evening (@4:58PM) to attend a closed door meeting with transportation consultants on March 28, 2024. It was a last minute invite.

I did not attend the meeting. There was NO information provided ahead of the meeting along with the invite. No contract/board approval for an additional engagement with transportation consultants exists.

Ms. Stanley and Ms. Bradford attended a closed door meeting with transportation consultants, administration and BHPD.

Supporting data connected to the decisions on hazardous routes designation were not provided to the attendees as per Ms. Stanley’s report.

I believe the meeting should have been held publicly and the data should be provided to the entire board and community. I am not clear as to why a consultancy firm that makes recommendations without providing supporting data was hired.

For me it’s as simple as -When a doctor gives a patient a diagnosis needing surgical intervention but won’t backup the need for the surgery with diagnostic test reports.

Or

As in a Math class you need to show your work or it does not count.

I hope the policy committee can handle this discussion in a full board meeting with supporting rubric data so that we can finally understand the logic and thinking behind the proposed transportation policy 8600.

Note: These are my thoughts and opinions as an individual and do not represent the opinion of the Berkeley Heights Board of Education.

Best regards,
Sai Bhargavi

If enough BOE Members had attended the meeting, it would have constituted another OPMA violation.

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