NJ tosses ethics charges against Monroe school board members

MONROE – The state School Ethics Commission has voted to dismiss allegations that two township Board of Education members violated the state School Ethics Act.

The complaint against school board member Kenneth Chiarella was dismissed on Aug. 23 and the complaint brought by another board member against board President Christine Skurbe was dismissed the same day.

In the complaint against Chiarella, Kathleen Leonard alleged that at an April 25 board meeting and in an April 26 Facebook post, he made offensive, stereotypical and disparaging comments about "an entire class of people," by criticizing a resident, who previously had filed an ethics complaint against him in 2020. That complaint, which also involved alleged derogatory comments, also was dismissed.

The recent complaint stated that after the resident spoke at a board meeting about an issue involving the Booster Club and included the f-word, Chiarella said he wanted to "remind the public that when you come in here that this is not just some bar in Appalachia where you just drop the f-bomb and scream at people."

The following day, the complaint alleged, Chiarella posted on Facebook that speaking "as a private citizen, it felt like we were transported to Appalachia last night and the local dive bar closed early so the patrons came to the board meeting. Everyone should have to wash their hair and jeans before they come up screaming and dropping the f-bomb."

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Leonard argued that Chiarella's comments were "part of an overall pattern of making offensive and stereotypical remarks."

Chiarella defended his comments by saying he wanted to restore decorum to the board meeting after the resident's remarks

In dismissing the complaint, the School Ethics Commission wrote that Chiarella's comments do not "constitute a decision contrary to the educational welfare of children" or an action related to programs or policies.

Though Chiarella "clearly could have used more appropriate and respectful language to reclaim order at the board meeting," the commission wrote, no violation could be substantiated unless more factual evidence was presented.

The commission repeated what it had written in a previous decision dismissing ethics charges against Chiarella for using inappropriate words that the dismissal of the charges does not mean his speech is condoned and was not offensive.

In that previous complaint, Chiarella allegedly posted on Facebook in 2020 a “derogatory comment” stating that a local family had “chromosome issues.”

The commission wrote that it is up to the voters to pass judgment on Chiarella.

"It is incumbent upon the Monroe Township community to determine whether, at the time of election, an individual who repeatedly makes the kind of statements at issue here … should be elected to serve the needs of the district and its students," the commission wrote, adding "the voting members of the community have the power to choose the individuals who they feel are most fit to serve."

The other complaint also arose from the heated April 25 meeting.

Board member Katie Fabiano alleged that Skurbe violated ethics rules by providing "inaccurate information that confidential information was being leaked to the community."

According to the commission's ruling, the incident began when Fabiano's husband made a comment in the public portion of the meeting. When her husband returned to his seat, the complaint says, Skurbe "engaged in an argument" with him and accused Fabiano of "sharing confidential board information to (her) spouse without ever offering any evidence at all."

Those remarks, Fabiano argues, undermined her credibility and were a "clear effort to defame (Fabiano) in the community" solely to retaliate against (Fabiano) for (her spouse's) criticisms."

In her defense, Skurbe said Fabiano failed to show that Skurbe's comments were inaccurate or that the "inaccuracy was other than reasonable mistake or personal opinion."

Skurbe also argued that the First Amendment provides "expansive" protection to political speech and that the commission has no jurisdiction over defamatory speech.

The commission agreed with Skurbe that it has no jurisdiction over defamatory speech and that Fabiano had not provided any evidence that the comments were "other than a reasonable mistake or personal opinion."

The commission concluded its ruling with a response to comments made at the commission meeting about "frivolous" ethics complaints originating in Monroe.

"The commission reminds all members of the public that the commission is not a medium through which vendettas, quarrels, grudges and sour grapes are to be filed," the commission wrote. "The filing of complaints which are designed solely to 'settle the score' unnecessarily delay the processing of other complaints which concern behavior and conduct that may actually violate" the law.

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ tosses Monroe school board members’ ethics charges