BOE accepts resignation after DWI arrest, appoints new leader

ROBBINSVILLE » School board President Matthew T. “Matt” O’Grady’s fall from grace became official on Tuesday as the Robbinsville Board of Education formally accepted his resignation in the aftermath of his recent driving while intoxicated arrest.

Board Vice President Thomas W. Halm Jr. ascended to the board presidency at Tuesday’s meeting while board members voted to install colleague Shaina Ciaccio as their new vice president.

“This is certainly not a position I have ever sought,” Halm said after accepting his nomination as board president. He reminded the public that elected school board members serve as unpaid public servants and said he was “honored and humbled” to lead as Robbinsville’s school board president.

“I pledge to work tirelessly for this community,” he added. Halm also used his acceptance speech to thank O’Grady for his service to the board.

Hightstown Police arrested O’Grady on Sunday, Aug. 20, following a motor vehicle stop on South Main Street. The officer initially pulled him over for motor vehicle infractions but soon determined O’Grady was driving while intoxicated in the school zones of both Peddie School and Hightstown High School, according to police.

O’Grady tendered his resignation four days after his arrest, with the board formally accepting that resignation Tuesday night and moving forward.

O’Grady’s sudden departure from the school board is sure to change the dynamics of the board for years to come.

O’Grady was first elected to the school board on April 15, 2008, to a threeyear term. The board members in 2010 voted him to serve as board vice president. Voters re-elected him in the April 2011 election, and he continued serving as board vice president that year.

O’Grady resigned from his board seat in July 2011, not because of legal troubles but because he was offered a job opportunity that took him out of state. However, O’Grady soon returned to school board service in July 2012 after the school board appointed him to fill a vacant position. He went on to win election to the school board in November 2012 as the top-vote-getter, receiving 4,017 votes.

After winning re-election to the school board in November 2013, O’Grady took the oath of office on January 2, 2014, and his colleagues at that meeting appointed him board vice president. He ascended to the leadership role as board president in January 2015, and continued serving in that capacity for the next two years.

Robbinsville voters re-elected O’Grady to the nine-member school board last November as the top-vote-getter with 3,020 votes, and he had the continued full support of his board colleagues until his alleged intoxicated cruise, which made major headlines in the local press.

The Trentonian reported last week that O’Grady attempted to make one last desperate plea as he was handcuffed in the back seat of the police car.

“Is there nothing that we can work out here?” O’Grady asked the Hightstown cop after he was placed under arrest for drunk driving, according to a copy of the police dash cam video obtained by The Trentonian through a public records request.

The Hightstown officer instantly shot down the Robbinsville school board president’s proposal.

“No, as of right now, nah,” the cop says in the video, who was apparently conducting his first traffic stop ever. “Not until everything’s done and you’re released.”

Wearing a polo shirt and shorts, O’Grady was given a field sobriety test, the video shows, and was placed under arrest after struggling to recite a basic numbers count.

Hightstown Police charged O’Grady with failure to stop, reckless driving, driving while intoxicated, DWI in a school zone, and refusal to submit breath samples.