After the Judge ruled in July that Keith Kaplan was a prevailing party regarding the failure of the Teaneck Board of Education to comply with the Open Public Meetings Act (the “OPMA”), the Board and their attorneys continued to act as if nothing happened. They refused to admit they lost the case. They refused to change the practices of the Board of Education.
So Keith Kaplan filed a Motion to compel them to comply. The first had to do with the BOE failing to pay fees to Kaplan as a prevailing party of $400. The Board responded that they were gonna do it…. in a bit
Judge Catuogno:
If such is the case, then Defendants also knew that it could not pay the $400 within the 30-day timeframe ordered by the Court. Defendants would have been wiser to have raised such an issue to the Court when the judgment was issued on July 18, 2024, or simply moved for an extension. (Opinion – page 16)
The August 21st Meeting violated the OPMA
The next motion filed said that the OPMA was violated on August 21st when the Board AGAIN held a meeting without noticing the meeting or noticing an Agenda.
The Board responded that it’s cool because they put the agenda on the school website and that’s kinda how people do things in BOE land throughout the State.
Judge Catuogno:
In their opposition brief, Defendants state the January 17, 2024, meeting was properly noticed, stating that “posting the agenda on the website is … perfectly permissible” because it is a “norm throughout New Jersey.” Of course, norms that are not in strict compliance with OPMA cannot satisfy OPMA. (Opinion – page 12)
Swing and a miss….. if only someone had tried to tell them this ahead of time. Oh, wait….
But there’s more!
The Court also notes that Defendants seem to believe agendas can only be published online, due to the length of the agendas. Defendants argue that boards of education publish their agendas only on websites because “publishing the entire agenda in a newspaper would be impossible, since the agendas can easily be forty pages or more” and furthers their belief that norms, which are not in strict compliance with OPMA, are somehow in compliance with OPMA. (Opinion – page 12)
Pro-tip (from a guy that never spent a day in law school): when a Judge says you “seem to believe” in an opinion, you’re about to get whacked for screwing up pretty bad.
Just in case they STILL try to think their meeting actually was kinda, sorta, maybe ok… the Judge says:
Nevertheless, Defendants failed to comply with OPMA’s notice requirements for the August 21, 2024, meeting because they did not submit the meeting’s agenda to the designated two newspapers. The August 21,2024, meeting therefore violated OPMA. (Opinion – page 13)
Clear enough for ya, Clara Williams? Jonathan Rodriguez?
There was one objection
Kaplan also said that the Board violated the law by not including the objection of Trustee James Wolff to continue the meeting into the Minutes.
Board attorney Stephen Edelstein said, it’s on video… what’s the big deal?
Plaintiff argues that Defendants violated OPMA by failing to enter another board member’s concern that the August 21, 2024, meeting was not noticed properly. Defendants counter that Plaintiffs argument “has no meaning whatsoever” because the “entire meeting is recorded.” (Opinion – page 13)
Judge Catuogno: “Defendants’ argument ignores the text of OPMA.” (Opinion – page 13)
Folks, I just need to point out that when a pro se litigant that never went to a day of law school can figure this out and your own LAWYERS are telling you otherwise, the people siding with the lawyers should have NO PLACE on a public Board. And that especially goes for Nadia Hosein, Jonathan Rodriguez and Seleene Wong who continue to refuse to believe anything went wrong in Teaneck.
But let’s not digress….
At the August 21, 2024, meeting, Board Trustee James Wolff stated during the board member statements that he did not believe the meeting was adequately noticed in compliance with OPMA because the meeting and agenda was not noticed in two newspapers. Board Trustee Wolff’s statement appears nowhere in the August 21, 2024, meeting minutes. Defendants contention that the meeting is recorded and somehow compliant with OPMA in recording objections of the public body’s members need not occur is misguided. OPMA’s text is clear. Board Trustee Wolffs objection should have been recorded in the meeting’s minutes. Defendants failed to do so. Accordingly, this is in violation of OPMA. (emphasis added) (Opinion – page 14)
So… the August 21st meeting didn’t cure the previous meetings like the lawyer’s told us they did???
To the extent that the matter is before us, Defendants have not cured either the Special or Re-Organization Meeting because, as explained above, they failed to properly notice the August 21, 2024, meeting by not properly noticing an agenda. (Opinion – page 15)
That answers that… ok.
Judge Catuogno goes on:
This Court’s prior Order was clear when it ordered that Defendants shall adhere strictly to all the mandates of OPMA and remain in full compliance with OPMA moving forward. It is now clear that Defendants have, again, failed to act in compliance with OPMA. As demonstrated above, the August 21, 2024, meeting was not noticed properly. Its agenda was not properly submitted to two previously designated newspapers for publication pursuant to N.J.S.A. 10:4-8 at least 48 hours in advance. Because they failed to perfect annual notice for 2024, Defendants cannot rely on annual notice for the August 21, 2024, meeting, and thereby avoid submitting an agenda to two newspapers for publication. (emphasis added) (Opinion – Page 17)
Was there a reason you couldn’t follow the rules, BOE?
Defendants have failed to make a showing that they were unable to comply with OPMA’s mandates. (Opinion – page 17)
Oh
This Court already determined that the January 17, 2024, meeting was not properly noticed under OPMA. Such determination requires the Defendants to give written notice, at least 48 hours before the meeting, providing the time, date, location, agenda, and whether formal action will be taken. N.J.S.A. 10:4-8(d). That written notice must be: (1) posted in at least one public place designated for such announcements; (2) submitted to at least two previously designated newspapers; and (3) filed with the relevant clerk. Id. Defendants cannot rely on annual notice for regular meetings because their Re-Organization Meeting was not properly noticed under OPMA, as they themselves conceded when starting the meeting, and because the January 17, 2024, meeting does not strictly comply with OPMA’s text either for re-organization meetings nor was it noticed properly. N.J.S.A. 10:4-18. (Opinion – page 17)
So they violated the OPMA in December, in January, through the date of the decision in July, after July in August and…. had no excuse? Can you say it a TEENY BIT more plain so they don’t try to wiggle out and say you were not clear?
Accordingly, because Defendants are in non-compliance with this Court’s July 18, 2024, Order, were able to comply, and have failed to show why their non-compliance should be excused, and this has been brought to light by the Plaintiff moving to enforce litigant’s rights, the Plaintiff is awarded motion fees pursuant toR. 1:10-3. These fee awards are intended to further compel Defendants to comply, not only with this Court’s injunction, but also with OPMA’s mandates. (emphasis added) (Opinion – pages 17–18)
Noted. And that’s the reason that the legal fees are going up folks. Because the lawyers are telling the BOE trustees that violations are kosher1 and the Trustees have been believing their lawyers over the Judge.
Now… the Judge is going to give the BOE a little bit of time to digest this (50 days), so they have until the new board sits to get their act together.
But for the sake of our kids getting the money they waste on bad legal services… don’t elect Rodriguez, Wong and Hosein, expecting anything will get better.
This one is on the Board and the Lawyers. The next one is on you, voters!
Click here to download the 22 page opinion and two page order
BER-L-000121-24_2024-11-04_Order (Motion 2) OCR BER-L-000121-24_2024-11-04_Order (Motion 1) (OCR)- As the new trustees can attest, sometimes even when the Weiner says “kosher”, it is in fact, still traife