The Berkeley HeightS Public School District’s 12-month Path to Less Input and Engagement

This article was originally published on TapInto.

Over the past 12 months, residents, especially parents, have witnessed the removal of avenues available to them to communicate with District leadership and influence policy decisions. This article is intended to serve as a timeline of events surrounding the removal of these avenues.

After a reconfiguration process (April 2021) that led to an extraordinary amount of public opposition (https://bit.ly/36EUKe6) and an investigation resulting in a finding against the District (https://bit.ly/3sMhPH0), the District appeared to take steps in reducing public access to and influence over BOE decisions.

July 2021- The BOE decided to stop allowing access to BOE residents to Zoom, and while reinstatement was promised, it has still not occurred almost a full year later. Residents are also unsure as to whether reinstatement means they would be allowed to speak during the meetings. The Town Council has not stopped it’s the practice of allowing Zoom access to meetings. This was a decision made by only two BOE members and the Superintendent (https://bit.ly/3Q00ioG)

September 2021- The former BOE President misrepresented a letter from the Union County Prosecutor to my and one other parent’s complaints in connection to the District’s compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act. This act is a protection to residents that requires government bodies to meet and make decisions in full view of the public. Former BOE President framed the letter as exonerating the BOE when it was more of a settlement letter that led to an agreement by the BOE to take certain steps in correcting its practices. (https://bit.ly/3lwW89O). None of the BOE members currently serving who were in attendance at that meeting has acknowledged this fact.

In August and September of 2021, the District attempted to remove articles from TAPinto that were critical of the decision to extend the contract of the Superintendent before its expiration and with a significant salary increase. These articles included:

Berkeley Heights Schools Cannot Survive Another Term under Dr. Varley: https://bit.ly/3nM8RYH (August 2021)

Addressing Mr. Reinstein’s and Mr. D’Aquila’s comments regarding Varley’s contract: https://bit.ly/3MiPizJ (September 2021)

In April of 2022, residents discovered that the District planned to remove French from its offering of languages based on incorrect information and with no parental influence, which led to a firestorm response on social media and letters to the BOE (https://bit.ly/3PCrFVS).

Following its reversal of this decision, three BOE members and the Superintendent informed the public that they decided the District would end the practice of parents commenting on the District’s social media platform and end the practice of reading resident letters during BOE Meetings (05/09/2022 meeting). (https://bit.ly/3xi6HEw) Again, these were two critical avenues parents and residents used to inform the community of the District’s misinformation during the reconfiguration and decision to remove French.

Only two BOE members (Dr. Foregger and Ms. Akiri) opposed this decision. As most of the BOE believed this action did not require a vote, it shielded the other members from being on the record in connection to this decision.  

Video Clip of Ms. Akiri’s remarks:

During the 05/25/2022 BOE Meeting, all but two members of the BOE (Dr. Foregger and Ms. Akiri) voted through a social media policy that severely limits the ability of BOE members to communicate with the public. Residents also expressed concerns about this policy:

Before this vote to limit BOE members’ interaction with the public, Ms. Akiri was vocal in her opposition to the budget process. She wrote a letter to TAPinto, critical of the process, on 03/20/2022. The budget process was shrouded in secrecy, with questions about potential cuts still unanswered. ((https://bit.ly/3Nbz2ll and https://bit.ly/396ab3H). It is also important to note that during the budget debacle, the District also attempted to remove an article from a resident on this issue (The Actual Accurate Facts Regarding the Budget: https://bit.ly/3MhVNmu)

One argument I have often heard is that if residents didn’t “complain” so much, these avenues would still be available. My response to that argument is that if the District made decisions based on evidence, transparently and with input from the public substantially reflected, there wouldn’t be a need to “complain”. Furthermore, these avenues existed precisely for that reason – to obtain feedback. Healthy systems evaluate critical input and adjust when the facts merit adjustment, and broken systems shut it down in a desperate attempt at political self-preservation.