Is Judy Sullivan's Letter to the Community Transparent and Policy-Compliant?

What Judy Sullivan Told the Community

On August 25, Board President Judy Sullivan sent a letter to the community, signed on behalf of herself rather than on behalf of the Board. Her letter appears to be in response to Dr. Dionisio's op-ed about the importance of mental health, published on August 24th in North Jersey dot com.

Ms. Sullivan's letter focuses on how much money the district spends on mental health. She gives an estimate of mental health spending but doesn't clarify what her figure includes. After professing her personal support for the mental health initiatives, Ms. Sullivan basically seems to say, 'we spend a lot of money on mental health so it's ok that the Board voted down a few programs'.

She did not acknowledge or apologize for the vote of 4 Board members (Sullivan, Ansh, Emmolo and Mariani) to rip away a decade old program that serves 50+ students (most with IEPs which are required by law to be met) a month before school starts, with no plan in place and as a complete surprise to the Superintendent and Director of Special Services.

At a special meeting a week later, under fire from members of the community, the 4 board members reversed their votes.

Perhaps these BOE members made a huge and embarrassing mistake (which seemed likely when they all changed their votes a week later). If it was a ‘mistake', none of them admitted it. And in the meantime, they caused a lot of traumas to families who rely on that program, and to the Superintendent and administration who had to scramble and field calls from upset families and try to figure out what to do to meet IEPs before school resumes.

Ms. Sullivan’s letter does nothing to counteract the reckless actions and highlights a lack of understanding the impact their own actions had on some of the most vulnerable students in our district.

Why I Wrote to the Board

Ever find yourself scratching your head after reading a letter such as the one Ms. Sullivan sent? I felt compelled to write my own letter to the Board of Education.

One issue I pointed out is that Ms. Sullivan's letter appears to violate Board policies that dictate how members should communicate with the public. During the board meeting on August 28th, I publicly questioned the issues in Ms. Sullivan's letter and her response failed to clarify whether she was expressing personal opinions or the board's official stance. Despite claiming to have consulted with Board Counsel, Ms. Sullivan has not clarified whether the full board approved her letter.

Interestingly, Ms. Sullivan chose to hide behind attorney-client privilege, which by the way didn't prevent her from mentioning that she'd consulted with Board Counsel. Her selective disclosure not only raises eyebrows but also severely undermines community trust yet is in line with the course Ms. Sullivan has taken throughout her presidency: inconsistently waiving attorney-client privilege—disclosing information when convenient to support her position and withholding it otherwise.

Time for Accountability - Is this the kind of leadership we want?

We deserve clarity and honesty on critical topics like mental health services for our students. So why the secrecy and policy violations? Let's hold our Board to the high standards that our community deserves. Aren't transparency and accountability the cornerstones of effective governance? Isn't it time we demand greater transparency and accountability from our Board? What steps can we, as a concerned community, take to ensure this happens?

Read Judy Sullivan's full letter and my email to the board below.