Ethics Breach Seen in Charter School Role

Livingston Councilwoman Deborah Shapiro violated ethics laws when she used her position to advocate for a proposed charter school in her town, according to the township attorney.

While Shapiro may serve as a founder of the proposed school without violating conflicts of interest rules, the lawyer determined her “subsequent actions” -- including using her public office to support the school's bid for state approval -- violated the Local Government Ethics Law.

Shapiro asked Township Attorney Sharon Weiner to on the issue after she came under criticism for a letter written to the state Department of Education. She also voted against a charter school resolution by town council. The resolution passed despite her dissent and, while non-binding, told the state that Livingston Town Council opposed charter schools.

“I’m not offering an apology,” Shapiro said in an interview with Patch on Tuesday afternoon. “But I will recuse myself in the future.”

Livingston is among the The township council and Livingston Board of Education voted to oppose the applications of Hanyu International Academy Charter School and Hua Mei Charter School, both which would offer a Mandarin-immersion education if approved by the state Department of Education. A decision is expected in September.

Livingston and neighboring school districts have that the so-called boutique charters are not needed in high-performing school districts and would drain money from school budgets already stretched thin.

In Livingston, Shapiro’s involvement as a founder of Hanyu International Academy Charter School has added another layer to the debate after she voted on the charter school issue on May 23.

"Everybody here knew , so it's not like it was secret and then I voted on this resolution. Everyone was very much aware of my position," Shapiro said in response to questions at the meeting of the Livingston town council on Monday night.

Shapiro,, was asked to write a letter by the founders of Hanyu International Academy Charter School for its application to the state Department of Education. Shapiro maintains she offered her support as a private citizen. The application lists Shapiro’s credentials, including her business and elected position.

In her letter to Acting Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf on March 13, 2011, Shapiro wrote:

“Dear Commissioner Cerf,

As Town Councilman and a resident of Livingston, I write this letter to show my commitment as a founder of the Hanyu International Academy Charter School (HIACS).”

In her opinion, township Attorney Sharon Weiner said: “Clearly, identifying yourself as a Livingston Councilwoman gives the impression that you are using your official position to advance a personal interest.”

The opinion was presented to the town council in closed session earlier this summer. Shapiro last week released the opinion to the local news media, and two Livingston residents who filed requests under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA).

Walter LeVine, the township’s consumer affairs director who filed the OPRA request, said he did so because “her actions, however good intentioned and supportive of her position on charter schools, could easily be misconstrued and misinterpreted.”

, a Livingston resident and lawyer, said he filed the OPRA request because it “shocked the conscience” that an opinion was rendered and was not made public. His request was denied, according to a letter he received from the township clerk. Shapiro released the information over the weekend and posted a blog on her website, From the Desk of Deborah Shapiro, Conflicting views...but not interests.

Shapiro acknowledged the “indirect conflict” with her support of the school in the interview on Tuesday, but repeated she has no financial interest in the school. “Some founders will be giving financial support,” Shapiro said in the interview on Tuesday. “I am not one of them.”

In her blog, , Shapiro wrote: “I have not been asked to raise funds, make any donations, or sign any bank guarantees for a charter school. I have not been asked to sit on the board for the proposed Mandarin-language immersion charter school, nor serve as a trustee, nor will I have ANY affiliation with the school when and if it is created.  My involvement has been purely as an advocate of school choice with a firm belief that this would be beneficial to Livingston residents and ANY town progressive enough to participate in this educational opportunity.”

Shapiro said she would not withdraw her support of the school despite the controversy. "I am a very big supporter of school choice and I have not been quiet about that fact," she said on Monday night.

Her critics have been equally vocal, commenting on her blog and debating the issue in public.  “I don’t expert Shapiro to resign over this, but my hope is the rest of the township council takes a censure vote … and that the charter application be withdrawn or rejected,” Alpert said.

At the center of the conflict issue was  “It was a clear conflict of interest for you to participate in the vote of the resolution,” Weiner wrote in the opinion.

"Given that the opinion was that I should not have voted on the resolution, I would have hoped that the township attorney or someone else on the town council would have said 'Wait a second you have a perception of conflict -- you should not vote on this' and then I would have recused myself," Shapiro said Monday night. "I did not honestly think to recuse myself at that point because I knew I had no conflict being there.”

Shapiro said she will recuse herself in the future. If the charter school is approved it is probable that the issues will rise before the township council, most notably for a zoning variance for the school facility -- as proposed in its application, vacant office space at Regent Park along Route 10.

She will also need to sit out a vote on the school budget in the event it is defeated by voters and referred to the township council, according to the lawyer’s opinion.

On April 11, three days before , the councilwoman suggested leasing space on the second floor of the Livingston Senior/Community Center to a charter school, according to minutes of that meeting. (Township Manager Michele Meade explained that the entire space was earmarked for programming).

“I believe this action was a direct conflict of interest,” said LeVine in an interview with Patch on Tuesday. “As a founder of the school and supporter of its application, a council person cannot make this suggestion, nor vote on a lease if the suggestion were approved, nor even join in any discussions.”

The township attorney’s opinion did not address the issue of space for a charter school.

According to the conclusion of the opinion written by Weiner, the township attorney:

After thoroughly researching the Local Government Ethics Law and case law on municipal ethics, I have concluded the following:

1.            Becoming a founding member of the Hanyu International Academy Charter School was not in itself a conflict.

2.            You violated the Local Government Ethics Law by using your official position to advance a personal interest.

3.            You violated the Local Government Ethics Law by voting on a resolution dealing with the establishment of a charter school while having a personal involvement in the success of the charter school made apparent by your many public statements in support of the school.

Therefore, based on my examination of the Local Government Ethics Law and the current case law on local government ethics, I have concluded that you established a conflict of interest between your position as a Livingston Councilwoman and your actions in support of the establishment of the Hanyu International Academy Charter School.