For the second year in a row, the Berkeley Heights Board of Education has been unable to agree on election of a member to serve as BOE President. Last year County Superintendent Daryl Palmieri chose Gale Bradford for the position. With the choice in his hands again this year, a look at the tenure of Mrs. Bradford over the year can show where we saw successes, and where we need improvement.

Here is a link that shows the role and responsibilities of a BOE president in New Jersey. 

Overall, Mrs. Bradford followed the role as outlined and did a good job. There were struggles with procedure, but as someone new to the role, that isn’t surprising. (Unfortunately for everyone on the Board and everyone in Berkeley Heights, our BOE attorney at the time – Cleary, Giacobbe et. al. – was corrupt and gave inaccurate and biased guidance.) The single area where Mrs. Bradford’s performance was an issue was the selection of committee members, but this single issue had an outsized effect on Board operations.

One major difference between what is listed on the linked document and how our Board operates is that Berkeley Heights has, with the exception of last year, required a vote for committee members rather than allowing the Board President to appoint. The rationale of having committee members elected instead of appointed is to more fairly balance roles, but it also has the added benefit of allowing the public more transparency on who is being chosen and why.

In December of 2023, after the election of Mrs. Joly and Ms. Akiri meant that the BOE would no longer have a majority who could steamroll over anyone with a differing opinion, the outgoing board changed the policy on electing committee members. This was a clear attempt to limit the voices and power of those that had previously been the minority. Had Mr. Palmieri not chosen Gale Bradford, that policy change might have backfired, but Mrs. Bradford was chosen and took full advantage of her power when choosing committee members.

Though the BOE President is already an ex officio member of all committees, Mrs. Bradford placed herself on every committee having the most direct influence on how our school district runs and that can make the biggest difference. In addition, Mrs. Bradford aligned with Mrs. Stanley, Mr. Jordan and Mrs. Penna, granting them positions on the same committees and only allowing BOE members with opposing views a single seat. As a result, this quite effectively blocked those members from having a say. That decision to align with those particular BOE members is problematic.

Despite knowing that several Berkeley Heights residents had brought charges of ethics violations against these members, Mrs. Bradford did not strive to find a balance when selecting committee members. She continued to support the BOE members who had started actions against Ms. Akiri, in an attempt to intimidate and silence her, in their continued derision and disregard of the opposing views of other Board members. A judge with the NJ Office of Administrative Law found that these Board members, and specifically Mrs. Stanley, had violated the Code of Ethics for members. (Note that the School Ethics Commission still needs to meet to determine whether to adopt the judge’s finding of unethical behavior.)  Yet still, Mrs. Bradford and Mrs. Stanley, now joined by Debbie Terrero and Mountainside representative Bill Dillon, are forming an alliance.  This is a problem.  (And why Mr. Dillon has immediately aligned with this group, having not worked with any member of the Board in the past, is cause for concern.)

Given all the above, and with the decision on Berkeley Heights BOE President again headed to the County Superintendent, it’s time to switch direction. Mr. Palmieri can facilitate this direction change by appointing Dipti Khanna to lead the BH BOE this year.

More on the Berkeley Heights BOE