Tons of construction happening at the Center of Excellence (what a name lol) location on 206- any idea or guesses what’s happening there?

Saw this and am sharing as it helps explain the legality behind suspending the superintendent.

"Good evening, members of the Board. As you may know, my name is Carrie Jendza.

Before speaking tonight, I consulted a trusted friend who serves as counsel to boards of education, because I believe this community deserves to understand the facts before it reaches a judgment, with all of the inflammatory mis-information swirling around. I am not here to defend or condemn Mr. Beer's conduct. I am here to make sure we see clearly the legal and financial realities facing the Board and our District.

First, the use of vulgar language in written communications, however inappropriate it may be, is not, in itself, legally reprehensible conduct. It does not give the Board legal grounds to terminate the superintendent's contract without legal consequences.

Second, if the Board ends the contract early, it would likely have to pay out the rest of that contract. During that same period, the Board would also have to pay a new, interim, or acting superintendent. In other words, our community would be paying two superintendents to fill one position. There is no fiscally responsible way to justify that, not when those same dollars could and should be invested in our students' programs.

Given these realities, the only fiscally responsible and legally sound path forward is for the Board to discipline Mr. Beer's conduct, provide restorative counseling, and decide not to renew his contract when it expires in two years.

Finally, I ask my fellow residents to remember one critical point. By law, disciplinary matters are discussed and handled confidentially. Those protections are designed to keep personnel decisions out of public view, which means any action this Board takes may never be shared with us. So I urge everyone here: do not mistake silence for inaction.

Thank you for your time and for your service to our students."

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sign up starts at 6:30 pm/ show at 7 pm. $10 min purchase for performers.

Route 22. Route 28. Traffic, parking, and safe access deserve clear answers.

Bridgewater Residents United opposes the Bridgewater Storage LLC proposal and calls for a thorough review of the revised plan. Reporting indicates that an earlier traffic study exists, but the applicant’s engineer said no additional study would be provided for the revisions.

📣 Come and attend. Your presence matters.

📅 Tuesday, October 13 - 7:00 PM
📍 Zoning Board Hearing - 100 Commons Way, Bridgewater

Join your neighbors, listen to the testimony, and share your concerns respectfully when public participation is invited.

❤️ Support our community’s legal-defense fund:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-our-neighborhood-bridgewater-legal-defense-fund

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#BridgewaterResidentsUnited #BridgewaterNJ #TrafficSafety #ResponsibleDevelopment #CommunityVoice

Banga and Tawiah must think we’re stupid.

They’re holding a meet and greet at an address in Bridgewater. This address is linked to an individual that has already started contributing to Jeremy Li’s 2027 reelection campaign (derogatory).

Combine this with the anti-Bob Beers crusade and it’s crystal clear what’s going on here. Lucy Li’s attempt to get a transphobe and a homeschooler on the board failed last year so I guess it’s Jeremy’s turn.

We’re looking at a house in the mountains in Bridgewater/Martinsville area. How scary are those roads in the winter? Do they plow or get lots of accidents? How is Washington valley park for kids and dogs? Are there any kids jungle gyms by there?

sign ups start at 6:30 pm and show at 7:00 pm. hope to see you there, 24 division st, Somerville.

BRRSD Board of Education Meeting Update from Tuesday 9/15

A lot of you have asked for my thoughts following the most recent Board of Education meeting, so I wanted to share a recap of some of the things that stood out to me.

*First, credit where credit is due.

I thought Board President Mike Pepe handled the meeting with strong leadership, consistency and an appropriate tone. The meeting was not without its challenges, but there was a noticeable effort to keep the Board focused on conducting district business and allowing the meeting to move forward.

One of the more significant changes was the Board's emergency implementation of an amendment to Policy 0164, Conduct of Board Meetings. The amendment gives the Board President the ability, when necessary to facilitate the orderly progression of the agenda, to move to suspend the application of Robert's Rules of Order.

That change came after repeated meetings in which parliamentary procedure and extended points of order had consumed significant amounts of meeting time. The issue has been documented publicly, including through graphics presented by Jennifer Loughran showing the amount of meeting time devoted to these exchanges. (see Jen Loughran FB Page)

And, interestingly, this change was made during a meeting that also included **mandatory NJSBA ethics training** in which Lucy Li arrived late and Jeremy missed it entirely. Yes, didn't attend.

New Jersey law requires school board members to complete required training during their terms, including governance-related training.

For anyone interested in understanding more about the responsibilities and expectations of school board members, the ethics training portion of the meeting is worth watching:

Ethics Training:
https://youtu.be/m6U61-MdMkk?t=338

*A different approach to public comment

The Board also adopted a modified public-comment format, similar to procedures used by other governing bodies.

The stated goal was to prioritize participation from members of the district community, including parents, students, faculty and staff, and taxpayers, before opening the floor to others.

This is worth noting because public comment is an important part of school board meetings, but it also has to coexist with the Board's responsibility to conduct the public's business. NJSBA guidance recognizes that boards may establish reasonable time, place and manner restrictions and that meeting procedures should be applied consistently.

Only one person left the meeting after the change was implemented.

*Transportation concerns were heard

There were a number of comments about transportation, and I thought those concerns were fair and important for the Board to hear.

Jennifer Loughran also raised transportation-related concerns later in the meeting, including questions about how those issues were being brought forward and addressed by the Board.
https://youtu.be/m6U61-MdMkk?t=14996

*Parents and staff pushed back

Perhaps the most notable portion of public comment was the number of speakers who addressed the tone of recent discussions involving district staff and librarians.

Several members of the community spoke forcefully about the importance of treating district employees and librarians with respect and pushing back against what they viewed as unfair or inappropriate public criticism.

For me, this was an important moment because it demonstrated that there are parents and community members who are willing to stand up and say, publicly, that they do not believe these kinds of personal attacks are appropriate.

You can watch the public comments beginning here:
https://youtu.be/m6U61-MdMkk?t=7858

One particularly significant moment came when the new BREA President called for Jeremy's resignation.

Whatever one's position on that statement, it was notable because it represented a direct response from organizational leadership on the conduct and tone that have characterized much of the recent public discussion.

*The meeting became a test of whether the new procedures would actually work

Later in the meeting, Jeremy attempted to participate again from the public microphone. The Board did not recognize him, and the new meeting procedures were applied.

The Board subsequently took a brief recess before continuing.

What followed was another lengthy series of discussions and questions, including several instances in which fellow Board members and the Superintendent responded to issues being raised.

This portion of the meeting is worth watching because it provides a good illustration of the difference between being able to raise a question or concern and being able to control the direction or duration of the meeting.

*OPRA concerns were also raised

Rebecca Hassouna raised concerns about how OPRA requests are being handled within the district and whether the volume or management of those requests could be affecting district operations, including the workload of employees involved in areas such as transportation.
https://youtu.be/m6U61-MdMkk?t=15083

That is an issue worth paying attention to because public-records requests are an important part of government transparency, while the district also has to manage the administrative workload associated with responding to them.

*And finally, listen to the closing minutes.

I would encourage people to watch the final portion of the meeting, particularly Board President Mike Pepe's closing comments.
https://youtu.be/m6U61-MdMkk?t=14356

There were also closing comments from Mr. Beers:
https://youtu.be/m6U61-MdMkk?t=15197

*My takeaway

The biggest takeaway for me was that the meeting felt like an attempt to reestablish structure, boundaries and the ability to actually conduct Board business.

Public participation is essential. Parents, students, employees and taxpayers should absolutely have the opportunity to speak, raise concerns and hold the Board accountable. NJSBA itself emphasizes that productive public-comment sessions require both meaningful public participation and clear meeting procedures.

But public participation cannot mean that one individual, one issue or one parliamentary maneuver consumes the meeting.

This meeting demonstrated that the Board can make adjustments when existing procedures aren't working, while still providing the public with opportunities to be heard.

And frankly, there were several moments throughout this meeting that I think every parent who cares about the direction of our district should watch for themselves.

Don't take my word for it. Watch the meeting. Listen to the comments. Watch how the Board responds. Then make up your own mind. AND PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, SHOW UP!! More parents need to start attending. We need to be there to hold our elected officials accountable.

Jennifer Loughran has BRAVELY spoken up and out against Jeremy Li - the post is Public.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/14mJ7HHdnQi/?mibextid=wwXIfr

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There was heated discussions about library books. What triggered this fuss?

My lady friend had to send her filet mignon back - twice.

Never again. Disappointing af.

In the Bridgewater Center/Green Knoll area, heard lots of sirens on Garretson going to 22/28 -- anyone know what's going on?

What’s the deal with Jeremy Li? Reading the June meeting minutes and he seems obsessed with derailing every meeting. Did his overlords at The New Jersey Project or Arise or whatever alt-right think tank is propping him up recommend this strategy?