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APRIL 2005
II
IN THIS ISSUE

Camden
Bd.of Ed. v. Alexander, et al.

Camden
Bd. of Ed. v. McGreevey et al.

P.H. and P.H. on behalf of M.C. v. Bd. of Ed. of the Borough of Bergenfield

Franklin Twp.
Bd. of Ed. v. Franklin Twp. Ed. Ass'n

Magnolo v. Washington Twp. Bd. of Ed.

O’Shea v. West Milford Bd. of Ed

Ramsey
Bd. of Ed. v. Ramsey Teachers Ass'n

In the Matter of Monmouth-Ocean Educational Services Commission, Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School District, Stafford Twp. Bd. of Ed.

In the Matter of the Petition of New Jersey American Water Company, Inc., for an Increase in Rates for Water and Sewer Service and Other Tariff Modifications
Welcome to Amicus Watch! The New Jersey School Boards Association is proud to launch this new electronic newsletter designed to inform school board attorneys, board members and other members of the legal/educational community, about the cases in which NJSBA participates as an amicus curiae.

AMICUS CASESMICUS CASES
(Organized by forum in which they were filed.)
NEW JERSEY SUPREME COURT
Camden Bd. of Ed. v. Alexander, et al
When is a non-renewal not a non-renewal? When it is converted by an arbitrator into a termination. In Camden Bd. of Ed. v. Alexander, et al., 352 N.J. Super. 442 (App. Div. 2002) certif. granted, 175 N.J. 77 (2003), the Appellate Division attempted to give arbitrators the power to do exactly that. However, the State’s Supreme Court disagreed. Ultimately, the State’s highest court ruled that unless a school board has explicitly waived the right to do so, school boards have the power to non-renew non-certificated employees without subjecting those decisions to arbitration as if they were disciplinary terminations. Camden Bd. of Ed. v. Alexander, et al, 181 N.J. 187 (2004). Get the full story.
SUPERIOR COURT APPELLATE DIVISION
Camden Bd. of Ed. v. McGreevey et al
The Camden Board of Education found itself fighting for its own survival in the cases of Camden City Bd. of Ed. v. McGreevey, Dkt No. MER-L- 2334-02, and Camden City Bd. of Ed. v. McGreevey, 369 N.J. Super. 592 (App. Div. 2004). The Municipal Rehabilitation and Economic Recovery Act (MRERA) provided for significant State intervention in the governance of a “qualified” financially distressed municipality’s school district. N.J.S.A. 52:27BBB-1 et seq. While it struggled to maintain control over district operations, the Camden Board found itself facing the full authority of both the New Jersey Legislature and the Governor. The Board could only turn to the judiciary for protection. Get the full story.

Chess v. Bergenfield Bd. of Ed.
(Formerly known as P.H. v. Bergenfield Bd. of Ed.)
Even if a board of education expels a student for breaking school rules, it has to provide that student with an alternative education until the age of 20. In a disappointing decision for local boards of education, the Appellate Division refused to discuss the merits of a school board’s challenge to this principle. It found instead that the Bergenfield Board of Education’s appeal in Mark Chess v. Board of Education of the Borough of Bergenfield was moot because the expelled student had meanwhile reached the age of 20 (in July, 2004). Get the full story.

Franklin Township Bd. of Ed. v. Franklin Township Education Association
Are teachers entitled to more pay when their class size increases? The Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) found that an arbitrator should determine whether a special education teacher was entitled to additional compensation for teaching two students added to her special education resource center class. In the unreported decision of Franklin Township Bd. of Ed. v. Franklin Township Education Association, decided June 10, 2004, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, affirmed PERC’s ruling that the matter was arbitrable. Get the full story.

Magnolo v. Washington Twp. Bd. of Ed.
Although the School Ethics Commission (SEC) does not have exclusive jurisdiction over the School Ethics Act (SEA), there are good reasons why the Superior Court should not make the initial determination in school ethics matter. As the Superior Court may not be familiar with the SEC’s rulings, the result may be inconsistent with those rulings, creating uncertainty in the educational community. Get the full story.

O'Shea v. West Milford Bd. of Ed.
Are notes taken at a public meeting and used as a memory aid accessible as public records under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act ? That question is poised to be addressed by the Appellate Division of N.J. Superior Court in O’Shea v. West Milford Board of Education, No. A-1094-04T5. Get the full story.
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Ramsey Bd. of Ed. v. Ramsey Teachers Association
Many of us were fascinated by shadows when we were kids. We could have hours of fun in the company of our own shadows. But would it still be fun if we had to pay for it? In the context of staffing schools with nurses, the answer is a resounding no. Get the full story.
COUNCIL ON LOCAL MANDATES
In the Matter of Monmouth-Ocean Educational Services Commission, Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School District, Stafford Township Board of Education
The State cannot require radon testing in your school district unless it pays for it, ruled the Council on Local Mandates (Council). In a decision issued August 20, 2004, the Council declared that N.J.S.A. 18A:20-40, a statute requiring radon gas testing at least once every five years in every public school building in the State, constituted an unfunded mandate in violation of the New Jersey Constitution, Article VIII, Section 2, Paragraph 5, and the Local Mandates Act, N.J.S.A. 52:13H-1 through -22. In accordance with its determination, the Council ordered that N.J.S.A. 18A:20-40 will “cease to be mandatory in its effect and hereby expires.” Get the full story.
BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES
In the Matter of the Petition of New Jersey-American Water Company, Inc., for an Increase in Rates for Water and Sewer Service and Other Tariff Modifications
“Water, water, everywhere/ Nor any drop to drink,” wrote Samuel Taylor Coleridge in his poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” in 1798. Some two hundred years later, those words would have special meaning for the Jamesburg Board of Education. Get the full story.
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Focus On: Public School Contracts Law

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