NJ Board Of Ed Sidesteps Mask Mandate, Holds Meetings At VFW Hall

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — The school district of Middletown — the town where Gov. Phil Murphy himself lives — will continue to hold its Board of Education meetings at the local VFW hall, to sidestep Murphy's mandate that masks be worn at all times in New Jersey school buildings.

Prior to this, BOE meetings were always held at High School North. While they were held on Zoom during the pandemic, this is the first time in recent memory the meetings have been held off school property.

Wednesday night's meeting was moved to the VFW hall and last night, the Board voted to hold next week's meeting, Sept. 29, again at the VFW.

Not all board members are in favor of the decision, however, with Board members John Little, Deborah Wright and Tom Giaimo very critical of moving the location. However, none of them formally voted against moving the meeting.

"I don't know if we ever got a clear reason why we're here," said Little. "Why are we here?"

Board vice president Frank Capone previously said the meetings were moved to the VFW hall because it avoids conflicts over mask wearing. Middletown BOE attorney Bruce Padula said he was the one who initially recommended the school board move the meetings to the VFW.

Murphy's Executive Order 251 mandates that masks must be worn at all times in all K-12 public, private and parochial schools; no exemption is given for after hours or evenings when students are not in the building. As the VFW hall is not a school building, there is no obligation to wear a mask.

"Obviously, there is a lot of contention about executive order 251, said Padula. "Unvaccinated students are a reason for mask wearing in schools. This is a meeting of the board obviously, where there is not a predominance of students here. Additionally, it avoids our security people and our local police from being involved in potential altercations."

The Monmouth County prosecutor's office has been directed to enforce Murphy's mask mandate, which means Middletown police officers can issue tickets and fines to people not wearing masks in school buildings, said both Padula and Capone. The same thing is also happening in Middlesex County, where the president of the New Brunswick school board said the county prosecutor sent him a letter in late August, admonishing him for not wearing a mask during their most recent meeting. The letter was even signed by the acting New Jersey Attorney General.

Padula said he's attended many Board meetings as a school board lawyer and in the past few months he's seen "almost physical altercations" break out between parents wearing a mask and not wearing a mask. He said he's raised these concerns to the governor's office.

"I've been at several different meetings where it's gotten very contentious," he later said. "People feel strongly about this issue whether to wear masks or not wear masks ... This board chose to have a meeting in a location that complies with the Open Public Meetings Act and complies with all executive orders and is conducting business as appropriate."

Patch asked the New Jersey School Boards Association about this, and they responded with a copy of the Open Public Meetings Act. Nothing in the law requires BOE meetings be held on school grounds. The law does not even state that a board has to inform the public why they are moving the location of a meeting.

"We are not aware of anything in the Open Public Meetings Act law that pertains to meeting location," said Janet Bamford, Chief Public Affairs Officer at the New Jersey School Boards Association, which oversees how all school boards operate.

The law does, however, require districts notify the public within 48 hours of where and when a meeting will be held, so the public can attend.

"I don't understand your rational at all," Giaimo disagreed with Padula. "If you're concerned with safety and the potential to become violent, isn't that just as likely here as anywhere else?"

"I feel the sense here is a lot calmer than what we've had at North," replied Padula.

Board president Joan Minnuies said she supports having the meetings at the VFW.

"If this is a place where people can come and feel safe wearing a mask, feel safe not wearing a mask, and we have enough social distancing, then we can start moving on with our business," she said. "But the behavior at the last couple meetings has been out of control."

Board member Harmony Heffernan told Patch after the meeting he supports moving to the VFW hall.

"Nobody wants Middletown police writing summons to parents for not wearing a mask," he said. "And our local police don't want to do that, either. I support Middletown parents' right to freedom to choose on either side, whether it's wear a mask or not, while still following Gov. Murphy's legal mandate."

The VFW is rented using private funds; no school district money is being used to rent the hall, said Capone.

He also criticized Gov. Murphy and Department of Education Commissioner Dr. Angelica Allen-McMillan for being seen at a press conference last week inside a Palisades Park school and not wearing masks.

"Do as I say, not as I do," he said. "At no time are masks supposed to come off in school."

The governor's office said they would not be responding.

Watch the Weds night meeting where they voted to move to the VFW Hall:

Here is the public notice of next week's Middletown BOE meeting:

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN of an update to a scheduled meeting of the Middletown Township Board of Education which will now be held on Wednesday, September 29, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. at which time the following matters of business will be conducted: Regular Voting Meeting. This meeting will be at the VFW POST 2179 at 1 Veterans Lane, Port Monmouth and will be open to the public at approximately 8:00 p.m. The public portion of the meeting will be live-streamed on YouTube.

Formal Action Will Be Taken

Related: NJ Prosecutor Reprimands BOE President For Not Wearing Mask (Sept. 21)

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