Why checks and balances are needed on the Berkeley Heights Board of Education
-Written by a non-politically connected Educator in the Community
On election day, Berkeley Heights voters have the chance to select two candidates for two three-year terms and one candidate to finish the remainder of one one-year term. All candidates are listed here on Page 1.
Going into this vote, voters must remember that the responsibility of an elected Board member is to serve as a check and balance on the Superintendent and not a rubber stamp to vote ‘yes’ to everything 100% of the time without any commentary or questioning.
Throughout the past three years and this year especially, BOE members Dr. Thomas Forreger (up for re-election), as well members Sai Bhargavi Akiri, Natasha Joly, and BOE Vice President Dipti Khanna (the latter three are not up for re-election this year) have asked serious questions and provided thoughtful commentary to administrators and fellow BOE members to maintain and attempt to raise the high standards of Berkeley Heights Public Schools.
First, we have to remember how we got here. This video sums up the actions of the Berkeley Heights Board of Education, their members, and candidates running for office over the past three years.
Errors of previous BOE majority in 2023 and prior that led to the following:
- Rushed elementary school redistricting process that led to fewer students receiving courtesy busing (see traffic lines outside of Mary Kay McMillin and Woodruff since 2021).
- Premature contract extension and 23% base salary pay raise for Superintendent Dr. Melissa Varley.
- Mass resignations and early retirements of teachers and administrators (read Principal Annie Corley-Hand’s retirement letter).
- Administration realignment that teachers, parents, students, and fellow administrators were against.
- Mass administrator resignations (particularly in 2022 and 2023).
- Columbia Middle School and Governor Livingston High School did not have a full-time media specialist (librarian) for fall 2023.
- The Supervisor of Social Studies and World Language was appointed to be in charge of the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), allowing an administrator to have access to teacher emails that he observes and evaluates.
- Horrible math curriculum with overwhelming parent concerns and a lack of teacher professional development.
- An overall decline in rankings for Governor Livingston High School and the district as a whole (which originate from district test scores in math, science, and English Language Arts).
If it were not for a BOE that supported checks-and-balances, the following bad policies would still be in place:
- Horrible math program (Building Thinking Classrooms) that included little-to-no direct instruction with no plan in place to improve math scores.
- Since 2022, there would be no French world language program at Governor Livingston High School or Columbia Middle School (and therefore the fewest world language options of any nearby high school for students).
- Dr. Melissa Varley would still be Berkeley Heights’ Superintendent of Schools with another contract extension through 2029 and a salary of $260K annually per year (see recent Westfield’s Superintendent new contract).
- The Open Public Records Act (OPRA) custodian would still be a district instructional Supervisor of Social Studies who can oversee his colleagues and teachers emails.
- There would be fewer dollars spent in the classroom and more spent on administration (administrators/business office personnel that are far removed from classroom instruction).
- No virtual participation at Board of Education meetings
- A less transparent budget process with no public survey
- No one questioning why students are not permitted math or science textbooks.
And finally, no one present on the Board would be questioning/acknowledging why BHPS continues to be the highest per-pupil spend but behind in rankings and how to improve our students’ test scores!
Early Voting Starts Today.
Election day is Tuesday, November 5th.
NJ21st allows for confidential articles from non-administrators of local public entities whose careers would be affected because of their efforts in informing the public. NJ21st also allows contributions from members of non-profits whose positions as volunteers would be in jeopardy as a result of sharing their positions. In the case of the latter, the non-profit the writer is associated with will be identified. We have confirmed the source of this article, know their location and full name and have had face to face contact with the individual.
NJ21st does not profit from its content, does not accept money for campaign or business advertisements and is not run by a corporation. We welcome content from ALL residents, regardless of political affiliation as long as they work or reside in the 21st District and abide by our terms.