Michael Leblond, a resident of Berkeley Heights, is a parent of children in the District and a NYC Educator

Dear Members of the BHBOE,

Welcome to 2025 and the midpoint of the 2024-2025 school year.  The start of 2025 already finds the Berkeley Heights Public Schools facing three major challenges that could have significant, long lasting impacts on our school system, students, parents and staff.  All three of these issues need prompt and competent action to prevent them from becoming long term problems that could plague our district for years to come.

The first problem our school district faces is the PowerSchool data breach.  The district notified parents about the issue but has failed to fully account for all the data the BHPS shares with this vendor.  Our families need a full accounting of all the data that may have been exposed by this breach.  I have requested that the district share this information in the past two weeks with little response or movement on the issue.  The lack of transparency on this breach is troubling and poses a threat to the identities of our children and our families.  Families need to know what data is out there and how they can best respond to identity theft threats.  It should not require an OPRA request to get this information to the public, but if it is necessary, it will occur.

The next problem our district faces is the fire alarm system in Columbia.  Our students lost two days of instruction and now are attending school in a building with a compromised fire alert system.  We still don’t have a timeline for full repairs to the system.  The public should also wonder if our other schools are facing similar maintenance issues that are just waiting to fail.  A full audit of these systems is probably needed to ensure the safety of our students.

The third problem that our district faces is the Board members themselves.  The Board needs to end the foolishness and elect a President and Vice President.  You have been elected to serve the students and families of Berkeley Heights, not your own personal agenda.  If you cannot or will not put our students above your own petty nonsense, you should resign from the board and allow those who can and will to do so.  Next, you must set an agenda and deal with issues I have mentioned above along with numerous others that our students and schools are facing.  Failure to compromise and resolve the issues our system faces will have repercussions at the ballot box.

Our district faces these challenges and more.  Hopefully, our new leaders working with our experienced board members can right the ship and work together.  Our students must be your singular priority.

Respectfully,

Michael Leblond
NYC Teacher and fifteen year Berkeley Heights Resident.

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