Belleville School Update: Union Avenue Property, OPRA Requests

BELLEVILLE, NJ — The Belleville Board of Education held a public meeting on Monday, addressing long-running questions about a property that the district had been leasing to help cope with “major space issues.”

Several people inquired about the board’s current use of 335 Union Avenue during the public comment portion of the meeting, with some asking if the district has vacated the property. The repeated questions prompted responses from Superintendent Richard Tomko.

“I don’t really know what is going to happen with the property on Union Avenue – all I know is that we are not there,” Tomko replied to one speaker. “We’ll just leave it at that.”

Watch Tomko speak about the situation below (video is cued to the discussion).

• See Related: Belleville Schools May See 625 New Students In 10 Years, Official Says

OPRA REQUESTS

Michael Sheldon, a former board of education member who ran for office again in 2022, questioned his former peers about the decision to list requests made under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) on the meeting agenda – along with their “total costs” to the district and the person or group who made them.

“Give me the name of any other districts in New Jersey that are doing a similar thing,” Sheldon asked the board, accusing its members of “outright intimidation” due to the fact that he launched several of the requests listed in the agenda.

Sheldon said that he puts forward some of his requests in solidarity with other Belleville residents, who may be reluctant to do so themselves.

“You know that – in all likelihood – I’ll probably run for the board of education again this year,” he continued, calling the new policy a “scarlet letter” that will resurface every board meeting.

• See Related: 2022 Belleville, Nutley BOE Election Results (See The Winners)

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