Board pair face ethics complaints

Resident accuses two Monroe school board members with violating School Ethics Act.

By: Bill Greenwood
   MONROE — A local resident has accused two Board of Education members of violating the state School Ethics Act.
   Jennifer Dressel, of Dey Grove Road, filed two separate complaints March 1 with the state Department of Education’s School Ethics Commission against board President Kathy Kolupanowich and board member Amy Speizer alleging that they misrepresented themselves before the public.
   The complaints say they spoke separately at parent group meetings without school board approval, while leaving the impression that they represented the board. The complaint also alleges that Ms. Kolupanowich wrote a letter that implied she was speaking on behalf of the board without board approval and that Ms. Speizer should have recused herself from matters dealing with the board attorney.
   Ms. Kolupanowich and Ms. Speizer both declined to comment on the complaints. Ms. Kolupanowich said she, Ms. Speizer and Ms. Dressel were instructed by ethics commission to keep the matters confidential until after they had been heard at a public hearing. Both board members are in the process of hiring attorneys. The first $15,000 in legal fees for each board member would be paid by the school board with the rest being paid for by the New Jersey School Boards Insurance Group.
   Richard Vespucci, spokesman for the state Department of Education, said Thursday he could not confirm receipt of the complaint or whether or when they would be heard. He said he could confirm that no public action has been taken.
   The commission can either uphold the complaint and recommend specific actions to the state education commissioner or dismiss the allegation. Punishments could range from censure to suspension of duties, Mr. Vespucci said.
   Under the ethics commission’s rules, those accused of violations can file responses to official complaints before a hearing is held, Mr. Vespucci said. The commission’s next meeting is scheduled for April 24 at 9:30 a.m. at Academy Learning Center on Pergola Avenue. Mr. Vespucci would not say if the complaint would be heard then.
   According to the complaints, which were provided to The Cranbury Press by Ms. Dressel, Ms. Kolupanowich violated the act by writing a letter to the editor "published in at least two newspapers" in which she identified herself as president of the Board of Education. The complaint alleges the letter contained "personal opinions" and "inaccurate statements" and was submitted without board approval.
   The Press ran a letter from Ms. Kolupanowich on Feb. 9. The original letter, submitted via e-mail read, "As President of the Monroe Township Board of Education, I would like to respond to some of the points in a letter to the editor dated February 2, 2007, written by Harold Kane." The e-mail was signed "Kathy Kolupanowich, President, Monroe Township Board of Education."
   An advisory opinion issued by the ethics commission in 2006 said that board members can write letters and speak publicly, but must "ensure that the letter does not indicate that it is written on behalf of the board" and that any statements made "should be made in (a board member’s) role as citizen and not … as board member."
   The complaint also claims she appeared at a meeting of the Monroe Township High School PTO where she said she was speaking as board president without board approval. It alleges she "proceeded to deliver a speech that provided opinions and misstatements of fact about other board members and actions of the board."
   The second complaint alleges Ms. Speizer violated the act by voting on matters involving school board attorney Bertram Busch’s contract and payments made to him for services. Mr. Busch had served as Ms. Speizer’s personal attorney on the closing of properties on Namsan Road and in Lumberton, according to the complaint.
   The complaint also says Ms. Speizer attended several PTA/PTO meetings throughout the district in which she said she was speaking on behalf of "the majority of the board" without board approval. It also alleges she provided "inaccurate and misleading information that compromised the board."
   Ms. Dressel said she filed the complaints because she thinks Ms. Kolupanowich and Ms. Speizer should be held accountable for their actions. She is a member of Park Savers, a group challenging the school board and Township Council’s plan to build a new high school on a 35-acre parcel in Thompson Park.
   "They’ve been doing this since the beginning," Ms. Dressel said. "They’re running around, they’re telling people things that aren’t true, and that’s the reason we don’t have a high school."