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.

The NJSBA Superintendent Search Discussion is the main attraction for this special meeting.  This is the first meeting surrounding the process of hiring a new Superintendent.  The NJ School Boards Association (NJSBA) will be present, and discussion will ensue surrounding the process, stakeholder involvement (hopefully), and projected timeline (hopefully).  At the last board meeting, the Board voted on the contract with NJSBA, which would cost a maximum of $15,000 to conduct this search.

After business, followed by a citizens’ hearing, the Board will adjourn into Executive session.  No specific items are listed for their confidential discussion.

Once the Board reconvenes and moves back into public session, three items will be discussed, all under New Business.  Those items are;

Social Media Policy

The social media policy (0169.02) was put into effect by a prior Board in August of 2022.  There was much hesitation to the policy and there have also been many unanswered questions in regard to current Board members who are actively violating the policy

The policy, in short, designates that elected officials are held to a higher standard when participating in social media discussions with residents or when sharing Board business.

Board members are expected to uphold the district’s value of respect for all individuals while participating in social media forums.  The policy also outlines that all Board members must use a disclaimer whenever they share their personal opinions.

While this policy has been violated multiple times by more than one individual on the BOE, one BOE Member in particular,  who voted to adopt this policy (in 2022) despite objections from two other BOE members and parents in the community, is actively a “top contributor” on social media platforms – pushing misinformation about teachers not being paid . This may be one factor that led to this policy being on the agenda.

OPMA (Open Public Meetings Act)compliance with BHPSNJ committee meeting documentation;

The district has had some difficulty with its compliance with OPMA.  Several years back, a case was filed with the Union County Prosecutor’s Office concerning OPMA.  The district agreed to take part in annual training and changes in meeting practices as a result of the investigation.  OPMA is very clear that no business, other than matters involving personnel or students, should happen behind closed doors, over email, text or phone.  All business of the Board should be readily and easily available to the public.

Conference sessions for student, teacher and staff recognition events.

The evenings when students, teachers, and staff are recognized can and should be handled better.  Due to the overload of business that the Board has to deal with, special guests or honorees are often left sitting in an empty cafeteria waiting upwards of 45-60 minutes to be recognized.  The idea behind conference sessions, similar to how the Township handles its recognition ceremonies, is that these special honorees are given the time and attention deserving of being honored and recognized.  Currently, anyone being honored or recognized is embedded as an agenda item or part of the Superintendent’s report.

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