State clears Warren school board members of ethics charge for rejecting new health curriculum
WARREN - The state's School Ethics Commission has denied a complaint that four township Board of Education members committed an ethics violation by voting to reject the state's new health and physical standards in the school district's curriculum.
Township resident Craig Margolies filed the ethics complaint against the four board members - Todd Weinstein, Mark Bisci, Daniel Croson and Ryan Valentino - for voting against the curriculum at the Aug. 29 board meeting.
Because the board vote was 4-4, the curriculum changes, which have generated a firestorm in many New Jersey school districts, were rejected.
Margolies alleged that the negative vote would "leave the school district in noncompliance with the New Jersey Student Learning Standards and in an unlawful position."
Margolies said the vote was "a direct violation of the oath which they swore to uphold and enforce all laws, rules and regulations of the State Board of Education."
In their response to the complaint, the board members said they based their decision after many community members voiced concerns about the curriculum. They cited residents' concerns about the "opt out process" and the residents wanted more information about the curriculum and how it was developed.
The board members also said their decision was not about the Student Learning Standards but against the proposed local curriculum and they will "continue to consider and vote on proposals for curriculum.....that both align with the New Jersey Student Learning Standards and respond to parental feedback."
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The School Ethics Commission wrote in its decision that "factual evidence" of an ethics violation "shall include a copy of a final decision from any court of law or administrative agency of the state" that the board members failed to enforce all laws, rules and regulations.
The board's vote came after lengthy comments from the public both in favor and against the curriculum.
"Our world is changing. People are changing," said Lauren Mansour. "They are discovering who they are. We need to be accepting of these people."
Another resident said the curriculum materials were "as innocuous as you can get."
But Nicole Dalton said that not all of the material in the curriculum was "appropriate to be taught in school."
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"I understand these topics being taught in districts where most students don't have a positive role model at home, but we know that's not the case for a majority of homes in Warren," she said.
Mayor Vic Sordillo told the school board that though he saw "both sides of the story," the district should not be afraid to "push back" against the state.
He said that a majority of residents in a "majority conservative community" like Warren believed the curriculum was "too liberal."
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: State clears Warren school board members of ethics charge
