Ramapo Indian Hills hires third law firm in six months
OAKLAND − The Board of Education approved the hiring of its third law firm in six months by a 5-4 vote Thursday, and was denied membership after proposing to join a Haddon Township Board of Education Communications Consortium for public relations assistance.
Neither motion had the recommendation of School Superintendent Rui Dionisio, and debate of the two proposals dominated the four-hour public meeting.
The Morristown firm of Porzio, Bromberg & Newman PC was approved to succeed the Metuchen-based Busch Law Group. Senior partner Adam Weiss issued his resignation in May effective July 11 after three months on the job. Weiss was hired by a five-member majority in February to succeed the board’s 20-year counsel Fogarty & Hara, whose contract the newly installed members refused to ratify at their January reorganization session without explanation.
Board President Judith Sullivan repeated her charge from the June 12 meeting that Weiss specifically “mentioned” three board members − Vivian King, Brian DeLaite and Aaron Lorenz − as the reason for his departure. However, in response to a request by The Record for verification, Weiss declined to confirm Sullivan’s allegations, saying only that “I stand by the content of my letter” announcing his resignation May 12. That letter did not name specific trustees, but cited as reasons “board members weaponizing our legal advice in attacks against each other,” and “a marked degradation in the level of civility, trust and respect that the board members have shown one another.”
In response to an Open Public Records Act request by The Record to the Board of Education for documentation in support of Sullivan’s statement, Business Administrator Thomas Lambe replied June 28 that “no such documentation exists.”
DeLaite and several residents questioned the need to hire an attorney that he estimated would be 24% more expensive. King charged hiring Porzio would create a conflict of interest, since she said Porzio already represents Sullivan in a ethics matter. However, Sullivan defended the choice of the ad hoc committee.
“Not everything has to have the superintendent’s recommendation,” Sullivan said.
Public relations questioned
A proposal to join an eight-school Communications Consortirum operated by Haddon Township Board of Education in Camden County was quesioned by Lambe during his business administrator report near the beginning of the meeting.
Lambe attempted to read a threepage statement into the record, protesting that his name was attached to an agreement approved at the Haddon Township Board of Education’s May 18 meeting without his knowledge or consent. Sullivan eventually cut off Lambe’s remarks, which were subsequently read into the record by several audience members.
Lambe charged he was not aware of the agreement “until I saw it placed on tonight’s agenda a few days before this meeting,” even though it was already approved and posted on the Haddon district’s website. The agreement called for Ramapo Indian Hills to receive 44 days of service from a public information officer at $650 per day, or $28,600.
“It was not included in the 2023-2024 budget and was not discussd at any finance and facilities committe meetings during the budget development process, or any time before or after the Haddon Township meeting May 18,” Lambe said. “I believe that this agreement would not save the RIH district any money. In fact, it would increase costs by adding a service that does not exist and in my professional opinion, is not necessary.”
Lambe questioned who inititated discussions with Haddon Township, since the Policy Committee that recommended the plan does not have oversight of public relations.
“Public relations is an administrative function led by the superintendent, not the board or any of its committees,” Lambe said. “Did any board members direct the district’s attorney to negotiate the agreement, without the approval of the superintendent? I don’t know. I believe it is an egregious waste of taxpayers’ money for the residents of the FLOW communities.”
Trustee Doreen Mariani defended the proposal, stating the public relations person was “on the agenda of two different committees,” and that “Dr. Dionisio told us we had the right and we were able to bring it to the board for a vote.”
Sullivan said DeLaite and resident Kathie Schwartz called the Haddon district inquiring about the proposal in addition to Lambe, “who I did not know called the district until tonight.” The Haddon district subsequently withdrew the proposal to participate, and it was removed from the agenda.
“Now we have someone who pulled out a potential contract with the district because, I don’t know, difficult board members, public members,” Mariani said. “I just want to say people leave the district for many reasons and to say that it is because of the board is ludicrous.”
Lambe is leaving the district July 1 to become business administrator of the 6,176-student Livingston school district.