Hrycenko Files Ethics Complaint Against BOE Member

Two days before a search for his replacement was set to begin, Brick Schools Superintendent Walter Hrycenko filed a flurry of ethics charges against a member of the Brick Township Board of Education.

In a filing with the state School Ethics Commission Sept. 13, Hrycenko accused board member John Talty of violating the state's school ethics law six times, in alleged violations ranging from a June vote on personnel to Talty asking Hrycenko to correct a mistake in the Brick Township High School yearbook.

Hrycenko's first complaint against Talty was over a vote taken June 23, 2011 to rubber-stamp the rehiring of 758 tenured teachers. Of those 758 teachers, one was his brother, Gerald Talty, who has been employed for 18 years as a teacher. Hrycenko alleges in his complaint that Talty's vote violated a provision in state school ethics law that bars board members from voting on the employment of relatives.

The remaining five complaints stem from various examples of what Hrycenko alleges are Talty's overstepping his bounds as a board member by involving himself in district administration.

In one incident, Hrycenko alleges Talty violated state ethics law by asking him to redact Talty's name from a high school yearbook where Talty's photograph mistakenly appeared under the photograph of former board member Robert Collier. In another, Hrycenko alleges a violation because Talty asked Business Administrator James Edwards for responses to a bid request for a district auditor to be opened at a Human Resources Committee meeting rather than in a separate location.

In another charge, Hrycenko alleges Talty violated the ethics law by asking him the name of a company that delivered chemical supplies to the district in a yellow U-Haul truck, and details of the purchase. Hrycenko also says Talty stepped over his bounds when he asked to sit in on interviews on July 19 when the district was hiring a motor pool supervisor.

Additionally, Hrycenko claims that Talty violated the law when, during negotiations with Assistant Superintendent Patricia Lorusso on June 13, he allegedly asked Lorusso to forgo attending one conference during the school year in exchange for a pay raise. The complaint argues that Talty should not have been involved in direct negotiations with Lorusso.

The complaints were filed with the ethics commission on Sept. 13, two days before the district was set to for Hrycenko's replacement. A copy of the complaint, obtained by Brick Patch, shows that the legal document was notarized by Janet Brannick, a district employee, on Sept. 7. Andrew Babiak, an attorney whose address is listed in Trenton in the complaint, is representing Hrycenko. There is no attorney listed for Talty, though board members are normally represented in administrative matters by board counsel.

Hrycenko said Thursday, in an e-mail, that his attorney has advised him not to comment on the matter. Talty could not be reached for comment.

The complaint against Talty is of an administrative – not criminal – nature. The School Ethics Commission can decide to dismiss the complaint or, if they find it is valid, recommend a censure, reprimand, suspension or removal from the board to the state Commissioner of Education.