We submitted an OPRA request demanding that the district produce the complete, true recording. On May 6, used New Jersey’s Sunshine Law to challenge the school district’s publication of the erased, altered April 27 meeting recording. Who is advising the board about the law? Recording demanded under Sunshine Law (2)Makes, presents, offers for filing, or uses any record, document or thing knowing it to be false, and with purpose that it be taken as a genuine part of information or records referred to in paragraph (1) (1)Knowingly makes a false entry in, or false alteration of, any record, document or thing belonging to, or received or kept by, the government for information or record, or required by law to be kept by others for information of the government Tampering with public records or information. In 2012, under Gagliardi’s watch, the board was sanctioned by the Hunterdon County Prosecutor for fabricating official meeting records.ĢC:28-7. Board attorney Vito Gagliardi was present at the online meeting. Agree that it is very concerning to be edited.” Who is advising the board about the law?īoard President Lana Brennan announced at the beginning of the meeting that the board meeting would be conducted under the laws of New Jersey. “Who should we be requesting g to make this available? I think people should submit requests ( would be nice if we had standard language). “The BOE member expressed her comments, knowingly, during in the public portion of the meeting… not the executive session. Some residents demanded the full recording: She’s mad that she blocked settling the teachers’ contract for the better part of almost a decade and now the teachers are finally getting the contract they deserve.” “Nothing like ripping into the BA that you hired to replace the other one that you hired and the one before that.” Other commenters said of Grant’s performance: One resident who attended the online meeting reported that “grant was grandstanding for over an hour… attacking all the new BOE members!!!! I’m livid!!!” (While Grant was board president, minutes were notoriously unavailable for 5 or more months at a time.) For the past 2 weeks, since the meeting, only the altered recording has been made available to the public on the district’s website. The board has not made minutes of the April 27 meeting available. The New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) and the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) protect rights of the public to attend, and obtain official recordings and minutes of, public government meetings. Township parents complained about the erased recording on the Clinton Township Cares Facebook Group, where parents gather to discuss school matters. Parents complainĭue to the COVID-19 crisis, CTSD board meetings are conducted online. Several of Grant’s supporters on the BOE lost their re-election bids last year, and the new majority ousted Grant as board president in January. The erased parts were largely audio of board member Maria Grant. confirmed this after obtaining a copy of the complete recording. The Clinton Township School District Board of Education tampered with the official recording of its Appublic meeting, then published it on the school district’s website, apparently in violation of New Jersey statute.Īlmost 50 minutes of the 3-hour long public online meeting, which focused on the proposed school budget, were erased from the official recording. Who illegally erased 50 minutes of a 3-hour recording of a school board meeting and passed it off as official - and why?
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