Police Called To Brick School Board Meeting As Heckler, Critic Spar

(Victor Fanelli and Brick Township Board of Education President Sharon Cantillo listen to a response from Brick school business administratior James Edwards to one of Fanelli’s questions Thursday night. Credit: Karen Wall)

Brick Township Police were called to Brick High School Thursday evening after a dispute between a school board critic and a district employee turned ugly at the Board of Education meeting.

Victor Fanelli is a consistent presence at meetings of both the school board and Township Council, and a persistent critic of the school board and the school district. On Thursday night, he was particularly critical, chastising board President Sharon Cantillo for removing the lectern that speakers had used in the past and accusing her of changing the rules of the meeting when she asked him and others to sign in before they spoke.

But it was the end of the evening when Fanelli really took the board and administration to task, first over its lengthy executive session that resulted in the public portion of the meeting starting about 7:45 p.m., then over its treatment of a school bus driver’s concerns at the previous meeting, before turning his attention to the performance report presented earlier in the evening.

That report from the state Department of Education identified areas where it said the district is lagging behind other districts of a similar demographic, and Fanelli dismissed the explanation of report by the district’s Susan McNamara as making excuses for what he viewed as poor results.

As Fanelli spoke, a man in the back of the room stood up and said loudly, ”His five minutes are up,” in an irritated tone, referring to the 5-minute time limit that most boards in the state have per speaker. Most local boards, including the Brick school board, use the limit primarily to ensure that everyone who wants to speak at a meeting has the opportunity to do so, and not so much to shut a speaker down.

The outburst prompted an angry response from Fanelli, who demanded Cantillo kick the man out of the meeting.

“This is the fifth time that jerk has interrupted me,” Fanelli said, angering the man, whom Fanelli referred to as a district employee, a fact confirmed by school board attorney Jack Sahradnik.

“You never have anything nice to say,” the man said, whose first name is Joe but whose last name could not be confirmed Thursday night. The man has spoken up in the past, demanding Fanelli identify himself when he has failed to do so and trading barbs with Fanelli over the latter’s comments.

Fanelli, complaining that Cantillo was doing nothing to stop the heckler, again demanded he be thrown out meeting. As Cantillo started to reply, saying, “If I threw out everyone who said something I didn’t like,” Fanelli and the man began sparring verbally, with Fanelli saying, “let’s settle this outside” before turning his ire back to Cantillo and Sahradnik, saying, ”I’m not talking to you” to the attorney as he tried to convince Fanelli to calm down.

“This is five times,” he said to Cantillo. “Do something about it.”

When the board adjourned a short time later, Fanelli and the heckler were stiill sparring as Fanelli walked out of the auditorium. In the hallway, Fanelli continued to complain about Cantillo’s actions at the beginning of the board meeting and about her handling of the situation.

“He should be disciplined,” Fanelli said to Sahradnik, who had come into the hall to ensure the situation didn’t escalate. A police officer arrived shortly thereafter, but by that point the heckler had reached the parking lot, putting an end to the dispute.