Middletown School Board Member Heffernan Censured Over Private Matter

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Some drama occurred at Tuesday night's Middletown school board meeting, where the Board voted to censure Harmony Heffernan, saying they "disapprove" of some of his recent conduct.

The Board passed this resolution, "disapproving of the conduct of Board Member Heffernan" over an incident between him and Middletown school district employees earlier this March.

Heffernan said there has been an ongoing issue with one of his children being bullied, and he and his wife are not satisfied with the way the school is handling it.

"At the end of the day, I'm a father and my child was being bullied and I didn't think it was being taken seriously," he told Patch. "I was acting as a father protecting one of my children and I don't feel like it was getting addressed."

The resolution reads as following:

"Heffernan interacted with building administration concerning a personal matter on March 3 and March 15. During this interaction, (Heffernan) engaged with building administration in a manner which was unbecoming of a board member. Although this was a personal matter, the Board finds that its members must act, at all times, with professional decorum and proper ethical standards. The member’s interaction with and comments to building administration were inappropriate and fell short of the Board’s expected standard of conduct of its member."

In summary:

"The Board wishes to express its disapproval of the member’s conduct," it said.

Here are all the documents from the Tuesday, March 28 Middletown School Board meeting: https://www.middletownk12.org/... The vote against Heffernan is listed as a "Voting Meeting Addendum."

The resolution is mostly a formality; Heffernan is still a Middletown school board member and can continue voting on hiring, the school board budget, etc.

Heffernan also said Wednesday he suspects this may have been a political attack against him.

Two people who used to be his biggest political allies, Frank Capone and Jacqueline Tobacco, both voted to censure him last night. Two years ago, Heffernan, Capone and Tobacco were the "1,2,3" slate that upended the Middletown school board, riding a wave of voter anger over prolonged COVID lockdowns, virtual learning and forced mask wearing.

Kate Farley, Joan Minnuies and Leonora Caminiti also voted to censure him. Board member Deb Wright was absent.

"The Board has a certain expectation of how its members should conduct themselves," said Capone. "The board member’s interaction with staff resulted in a complaint being made to administration. After consultation with counsel and administration, the Board took action to maintain public confidence in itself. The Board’s resolution speaks for itself, and we have no further comment."

Two Board members did not vote to censure Heffernan, and they are Joe Fitzgerald and Gary Tulp, both newcomers to the board this year.

Fitzgerald said Heffernan explained the situation in private to the Board during executive session, and Fitzgerald said he accepted his story and sympathized with him.

"The whole thing just felt rushed and like we didn't have the full story. I personally didn't think the whole thing was valid," said Fitzgerald Wednesday. "He explained himself in executive session and I don't think what he did or said was necessarily unbecoming. I understand that Board members are held to a higher standard, but at the end of the day we're still parents, right? He was acting as a parent."

You can watch last night's Middletown school board meeting here: