Issue 141: JCBOE update
Plus ICYMI and a crossword puzzle that probably is going to get me yelled at a lot because it hasn't really been tested!
Good morning! If you’re like me, you overslept this morning thanks to the time change. So let’s get right into it — enjoy your day! — Amy
JCBOE update, sort of
I assumed when I sent off last week’s issue that by this time we’d have a resolution to the events of last week’s Board of Ed meeting. Well, I was wrong — you’d think resolving the pope/antipope situation at the state’s second largest city’s school district would be a priority (like, maybe the state Department of Ed would weigh in? or something), but it doesn’t seem like literally anything has happened at all. I guess the next time the trustees are all supposed to be together is on March 18th for a caucus so, uh, no rush or anything. I’m sure nothing could go wrong with two separate people both claiming to be the current president of the board.
Meanwhile, an op ed appeared in the Jersey Journal and it starts out pretty normally. It reads like a straightforward critique of the situation, sort of a “local dad is upset at what happened last week” type thing:
The night did not suddenly fall on our heads from the skies but owes its origins to disagreements, dissent, distrust and disrespect festering among the trustees since the January 2023 reorganization meeting.
The JCBOE spends over $2 million in legal fees contracting over 12 law firms, yet not one school-law attorney was able to be present or called remotely for legal counsel throughout the meeting after the walkout. Questions will swirl if quorum requirements were fully satisfied by the fifth trustee participating via phone.
Did the motion to remove the president with four ayes and one abstention carry? Did any confabulations in advance of the meeting violate Sunshine laws? Do the agenda item votes legally bind the superintendent?
This is a legal and ethical mess.
Hey, come to think of it, the way this guy talks about this situation, seems like he knows a thing or two about the board and how it works. I wonder who this guy is? Oh wait, here’s his bio:
Sudhan “Tommy” Thomas is a former president of the Jersey City Board of Education.
Huh.
Seems strange that the Jersey Journal would list him so simply, ignoring a pretty big part of his bio that is definitely very well-known to longtime residents. From the US Department of Justice website:
The former president of the Jersey City Board of Education (JCBOED) and former acting executive director of the Jersey City Employment and Training Program (JCETP) today admitted embezzling JCETP funds and committing wire fraud in connection with his use of funds from his 2016 JCBOED campaign account, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Sudhan M. Thomas, 47, of Jersey City, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini to two counts of an indictment charging him with embezzling funds from JCETP, an organization that received federal funds, and wire fraud for embezzling money from his 2016 JCBOED campaign.
Yeah so, the author of this letter was the president of the JCBOE, that is true. He’s also pleaded guilty to wire fraud and embezzlement and is still awaiting sentencing, which keeps getting delayed. Kind of relevant that the guy who wrote the letter criticizing the JCBOE of being an “ethical mess” is literally waiting to find out how long he’s going to jail for, for some very serious crimes committed while he was the president of the same board.
So wait, does this mean what the JCBOE trustees did isn’t an ethical mess? Of course not — that meeting was a disaster and we still don’t know how things are shaking out. But already in a week this story is getting harder for ordinary residents — who may only be halfway tuning into to this story — to keep up. We complain about why so few people take part in their community — well, it helps if they don’t have to read an explainer every time there’s a story that appears in a local news site.
Anyway, this latest wrinkle is just another step into further and further more bizarre territory as this story develops. Doesn’t seem like there’s too much any of us can do but sit back and watch it all develop before us.
ICYMI
St Pat’s Day Parade: Today at noon is the JC St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which has competing mayoral candidates in prominent roles (McGreevey as Grand Marshall and O’Dea as Irishman of the Year). The parade starts at Dickinson High and the afterparty is at Healy’s Tavern which should make for some of the best political people watching of the year
The city sadly marked their first homicide this year with a triple shooting in McGinley Square that left one person dead.
Jersey City Crossword Puzzle
I have wanted to do this for a long time and now it’s finally here… sort of. Well, it’s a first shot, and since I’m running late because of Daylight Savings Time (*shakes fist*) I just thought I’d put it out as is. There may be spelling errors. I’m probably wrong about certain clues. The site might not work. I haven’t tested it at all. This turned into waaaayyy more of a project than I ever thought it would be.
But! Here’s a first try. To actually fill it in, go to this link but remember by clicking on that, you’re officially a Beta tester!! And if you want to be on the safe side, I’ll have something more finished soon-ish. Someday.
But if you’d like to spend part of your Sunday afternoon working on BETA TESTING a crossword, here you go:
Across
2.Last name of the current president of the JCBOE?4.Candidate for mayor5.Since 1872, Northern NJ has been the capital of this fiber art, according to a sign on the highway6.“Tea garden”; classic JC restaurant once known as The Hudson Royal7.Last name of the current president of the JCBOE?11.“A crooked family history,” first word in the title14.First Jewish mayor; owned a rock candy business15.Doo-wop group founded in JC in the 1960s that sang “You Belong To Me”17.Beloved distillery, RIP18.Candidate for mayor19.Original occupants of what became Jersey City21.A top resident complaint22.Street that flanks NJCU23.Youngest mayor in JC history24.Mansion built in Greek Revival-style for a local physician; was once a YMCA25.Acting mayor after Glenn Cunningham died in office26.Cemetery with 267,000 burial plots and mausoleums27.Got in trouble for “throwing hands” at the Newport Mall28.Third most common language spoken in JC31.Union located in Marion neighborhood33.Church that is the oldest continuous congregation in the city38.What you call JFK if you grew up here39.“A crooked family history,” second word in the title41.Candidate for mayor??
Down
1.Candidate for mayor??3.Hispanic weekly publication distributed in the area4.common local bird with distinctive call8.Food writer Peter Genovese calls this the “best diner in NJ… there is no runner up either”9.Her School for Crippled Children at Clifton Place from 1921 is now the A. Harry Moore School on JFK10.“A crooked family history,” third word in the title12.Bacteria found in JC water in 2020 that started a multi-day boil water advisory13.The “diner of the future”16.Used to be part of the Newport PATH station20.Candidate for mayor29.Architectural style that Jersey City is known for30.Native of JC, trans icon, member of the House of Xtravaganza32.Classic JSQ hotel built in the 1920s34.Jersey shore town that Frank Hague summered in35.Removed from office of the mayor because it was determined he wasn’t a citizen36.Other street that flanks NJCU37.According to Wikipedia, “[Newport] mall's official opening was on November 12, 1987, attended by New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean, Senator Frank Lautenberg," and these characters.40.Along with pal Snooki, she was part of a reality TV show filmed in JC in 2012
Let me know if it works! Also I clearly need help coming up with more clues. I want to make this thing massive, so let me know your suggestions.