School Official Says No Need For Any Board of Ed Member to Step Down

Hasbrouck Heights school board officials say that there is no need for any trustee to step down, despite reports released Thursday stating the state Department of Education identified a Heights board member who is no longer with the board, as not having the newly required background check completed.

Dina Messery, business administrator for the Hasbrouck Heights Board of Education, said Thursday she immediately called the state Department of Education upon receiving notification, informing them that former trustee Richard Giarratana, and therefore did not need to have his fingerprints done for the background check.

Messery told Patch she got confirmation from the state DOE that they will remove Giarratana’s name from the list. A new state law requires all school board members to complete criminal background checks. The deadline for this requirement was Dec. 31, 2011.  Failure to have the check completed means that a school board member must step down.

who has completed his background check, Messery stated,