A Costly Gamble

The OPRA Custodian is missing the mark and it may end up costing the District more money.

Many parents have received the following limited availability email from the designated OPRA custodian Mr. Hopkins:

So the key question is, who is fulfilling the OPRA requests within the seven business day timeline in accordance with the Open public records act? Some parents had received emails stating the business office is closed on Fridays, yet I do not recall and cannot find the meeting during which the board approved for the business office to be closed on Fridays this month. Are we setting up the District for more legal challenges for not meeting the OPRA requirements?

More concerning, are we simply affecting operations to delay information getting to the public? Additionally, our custodian has stopped acknowledging OPRA requests. As a result, residents have no confirmation from Mr. Hopkins as to whether their requests were actually received. It is also becoming common for residents to receive notices of 7-9 week extensions for basic OPRA request.

Similar OPRA requests were answered by our previous business administrator Donna Felezzola within seven business days, and the District had far fewer lawsuits.

Currently, Mr. Hopkins is requesting random extensions for even basic OPRA requests like bills etc., that should be immediately available under OPRA:

Many residents have not received readily available committee minutes within seven business days. So it raises the fundamental question – Why are we paying an extra $12,000 to Mr. Hopkins if he is out of office and unable to meet the OPRA requirements?

Is this the best use of public funds, especially since answering OPRA requests is one of the core responsibilities of the Business Administrator – a position that already exists?

Lastly, is it not a conflict of interest for one of the Director positions to have access to the emails of their colleagues?

The District is currently negotiating a multi-year contract with the Berkeley Heights Administrators Association (BHAA), and one of their own union members is the OPRA custodian with access to all the District’s documents including legal memos, bills, personnel documents and emails. How is the Superintendent ensuring that Mr. Hopkins doesn’t have access to confidential information concerning the negotiations?

This probable conflict of interest was raised when the position was created earlier this year. Only two board members questioned the appointment of Mr. Hopkins. At the same time, the bloc of six (Gale Bradford, Joy Young, Robert Ciancuilli, Pamela Stanley, Jordan Hyman, and President Angela Penna) approved this hire at the recommendation of Superintendent Melissa Varley. Dr. Varley stated that based on the resumes received, Mr. Hopkins was the most competent, but as we have seen multiple times, there seems to be a training issue with improper redactions, along with what I mentioned above.

We are yet to see the compelling evidence that Dr. Varley and the BOE Majority used in coming to this bizarre decision that is likely to lead to more costly litigation.

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