NJSBA Superintendent Search & Social Media Policy
NJSBA
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.
Last night, the NJSBA indicated that BOE Members would be limited in the kinds of questions they could ask Superintendent candidates, which Ms. Akiri expressed concerns about.
The Superintendent search is being pressed as a “we need to do this now”; yet meetings have been canceled, and search firms have been swapped at the last minute, forcing delays.
It’s important to understand that rushing to fill the Superintendent position may not be in Berkeley Heights’s best interest. Current research and our own experience suggest that a Superintendent’s role may not significantly impact a District’s performance in a positive way, but a hasty decision can be detrimental, as has been recently evidenced.
Social Media Policy
Ms. Stanley, who voted for the social media policy in 2022, has since posted inaccurate information regarding teachers’ pay, district busing (indicating that the District would only provide mandated transportation), and utilization rates of courtesy busing that the public or other BOE members have not been able to verify.
The Board did NOT vote for mandated-mileage busing only -the Board also agreed to provide Subscription busing and indicated it would revisit rates at the subsequent meeting. Ultimately the Board reduced subscription busing Rates from $1,000 to $500 per family with a cap of $750.
Mr. Nixon did not provide current numbers on families who signed up for subscription busing for this year when asked by the public and a BOE Member at last nights meeting. Eventually the public heard numbers ranging from 198-201 families have already signed up from Mr. Nixon and Ms. Akiri.
In shutting down the conversation, Ms. Bradford appears to believe there is merit to the position that Ms. Stanley violated the policy, as she indicates that repeating what was posted during the meeting would violate the Board policy and that the issue would be addressed through additional Board training.
However, the misinformation on teachers’ pay and busing has already created a permanent disinformation rift that is harming what should be a fact-based discussion on important and impactful issues across community social media groups.
Clip on discussion surrounding Social Media Policy During 05/20/2024 Meeting