WESTWOOD, N.J.—Westwood Regional School District Superintendent Raymond A. Gonzalez says he is “not permitted” to disclose a legal opinion he requested pertaining to one of the candidates for school board.
That said, “In my exploration of the topic there is nothing I found that would exclude anyone from the ballot who is currently running for a seat on the Board of Education,” Gonzalez told Pascack Press on Oct. 23.
The opinion followed the candidacy of Michael Pontillo, who is the borough’s police chief and who says he has filed a public records request to get at “any and all documents that are in in any way related to their inquiry.”
Pontillo, who is running with fellow Westwood parent Michelle Sembler for the board seat held by Roberta Hanlon—a 15-year incumbent who also is a crossing guard and former councilwoman— alleges that the inquiry feeds “misinformation” and was a bid to influence the election.
Pontillo and Sembler filed election papers in the wake of the school board backing the administration on keeping three gritty nonrequired novels in the middle school.
Several parents protested the books—marked as mature—as inappropriate and said the administration’s complaint review process was tarnished by allowing a principal and teacher involved in introducing the reading material to craft the recommendations.
Measures included greater online controls for parents on what kids districtwide have at their disposal to read and discuss.
(For more information, see “Westwood Police Chief Runs For School Board Amid Book Kerfuffle,” Aug. 9.)
Pontillo, who had spoken out for months on the book matter as a private citizen, complained at the Oct. 17 school board meeting that the inquiry into his candidacy amounted to “opposition research” against him that’s funded by his own tax dollars.
“The position of chief of police is not an elected position. As such, the law does not prevent my appointment,” Pontillo said.
He asked, “Was money spent by the district to get a legal opinion about this? Why would they object to my potential election to the board? Was this voted on by the current BOE and if so, did another school board candidate vote to spend tax dollars to assist her campaign?”
He added, “The bottom line is that nothing in the law prevents me from serving on the Westwood Regional Board of Education.”
Gonzalez told Pascack Press that it simply was his duty “to explore the legal and ethical questions surrounding the prospect of a sitting police chief serving on the school board.”
He said “Any suggestion that the Board of Education or administration is attempting to influence the election is simply untrue.”
He said that he shared the board attorney’s opinion with members as “it directly relates to their governance of the district.”
Gonzalez added that board attorney fees are included in the general operating budget for services that include legal research, review, and representation.
The Department of Education’s School Ethics Commission defines conflicts of interest for school officials and members of their immediate family.
Gonzalez declined to say which guidelines or cases informed the opinion he shared with the board.
“Given the complex and unique set of circumstances surrounding an appointed official running for the Board of Education, due diligence was required,” Gonzalez said.
He said, “I am not permitted to disclose the content of the legal opinion as it is protected by attorney–client privilege.”
There appear to be no police chiefs serving on any school board in Bergen County. Nevertheless, Pontillo noted he was cleared to run by the Bergen County Board of Elections and asserts a 2013 finding, by the state Commissioner of Education, of no conflict in the deputy chief of the Kearny Police Department serving on the Township of Kearny school board.
He also offered that the Hasbrouck Heights police officer in charge of that jurisdiction “was actively serving on the school board there, without any issue.”
Separately, WWRSD board Vice President Joseph Blundo, also of Westwood has decided not to run for reelection, as he is focusing on his family business, Joe’s Craft Pies, 257 Westwood Ave. His seat will go to one of the top vote getters in the election, which is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
As well, member Joseph McCallister, representing the Township of Washington, is not seeking reelection.
Running unopposed for that seat is Matthew Perrapato, principal of Roosevelt Elementary School in the Ridgefield Park School District, who said he’s eager to help the administration build on successes.
By the numbers
Also Oct. 17, the board and public received an architect’s presentation on the Berkeley Elementary School parking feasibility study, which looked at onsite parking for approximately 45 vehicles. Three options range from $290,000 to $460,000.
The school board, overseeing six schools K–12, posts a total operating budget of $69,548,001, up from $58,353,110.
This year’s operating tax levy, from taxpayers in Westwood and the Township of Washington, is $52,679,699, with the lion’s share of the overall tax bite going to the district.
Taxpayers also pay into their municipality, their library, and the county.
In Westwood the rate per $100,000 is $1,434.66 and the levy is approximately $28 million. In Washington Township the rate per $100,000 is $1,532.10 with a levy of approximately $25 million.
The board’s district goals for the year include planning for the September 2020 completion of the middle school expansion project and associated transitions at the middle school and high school, and updating studies on demographics and facilities.
The board’s goals for itself this year include completing a collective bargaining agreement with the Westwood Education Association, updating a comprehensive facilities plan, working toward New Jersey School Boards Association certification, and “enhancing” community engagement.
A unique race
Police chiefs wield great power, influence, and relative autonomy, answerable to the state attorney general.
Police are involved in parking issues, as Westwood has experienced with the recent Berkeley School area overhaul; and with security, as in the case of school resource officers and emergency planning and response.
Many district parents called for a “hardening” of school facilities and greater police presence in the wake of last year’s school massacre in Florida, which claimed the life of a former Woodcliff Lake student.
Pontillo, 44, a father of three students here, age 8, 10, and 12, was sworn in April 2018 as the borough’s youngest police chief after he rose from sergeant to replace chief Frank Regino.
A 1993 St. Joseph Regional High School graduate, Pontillo could have the powerful job for decades.
He was hailed as one of the best snipers with the Bergen County Regional SWAT team.
Pontillo has a bachelor’s degree in social science and human service, a master’s degree in human resource training and development, a master’s certificate in leadership and management, and is a graduate of the West Point Military Academy Command and Leadership program through the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police.
Vice president of the Westwood Softball Association, he has been a softball coach for three years. He has owned and operated a service-based local contracting business for more than a decade.
Moreover, according to his campaign information, he led the local Safe Schools and Neighborhoods program for more than 15 years, has strong experience in budget setting, contract negotiations, employee management, strategic planning, and developing positive community relations.
Started at $174,000, the chief oversees a nearly $4 million budget and 30 sworn officers, (including three special police officers) and six civilian staff.
The department has one Special Police Officer Class II who augments the school walkthrough program, which has police officers walk through all schools in town during their shifts.
He said having a police car present is a deterrent and that facilitating familiarity with officers, staff, and students “is a big plus.”
He said there was “no additional cost measure to promote school safety, as officers are already working.”
The high school hosts the annual Pascack Valley Junior Police Academy, the oldest and largest junior police academy in Bergen County, founded by Township of Washington Police Capt. Richard Skinner (and now overseen by Detective Heather Castronova) and serving youth in the district and from Emerson.
Pontillo said none of this would become entangled with his service as school board member, should he win election.
Hanlon, 61, is a past school board vice president and president and is this year’s chair of the committees on finance, facilities, and negotiation.
Asked to discuss her campaign, she said she is running because she believes deeply in the value a quality education affords children and the community.
“I take great pride in the accomplishments we have made in the district since I became a trustee and would be honored and privileged to continue this invaluable work,” she said.
Certified through the state school boards association, Hanlon recently qualified as master board member, which involves professional development and zero violations of the School Ethics Act.
A retired banker and a 2000–2002 member of the Borough Council, she is crossing guard on Third Avenue and Mill Street.
She traces her volunteerism to 1978, when she started as a member of the Westwood Ambulance Corps, on which she served for approximately six years.
She was co-president of the PTO when her boys were at Ketler Elementary School, and served as a class parent often.
Hanlon became active with the Parents Music Group and served for many years on the Westwood Municipal Alliance and Bergen County Alliance, helping on programs against drugs and alcohol, from youth to seniors.
She volunteered for the Westwood Teen Center for 19 years.
Beginning in 1995 she became involved in Boy Scouts of America, now Scouts of America, and rose to District Advancement Committee, where she helps review and approve Eagle Scout projects and conduct Eagle Scout boards of review.
Sembler is a mother of three—with two students in the system and one graduated—and a former teacher, active on the middle school PSO.
A Westwood resident for more than 30 years, she is a Westwood High School graduate, a former district substitute teacher, and has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with elementary education certification.
She’s vice president of Vinler electric contractor, founder and coordinator of the Westwood Regional Middle School multi-sports program, and WRMS PSO co-secretary and an eight-year Berkeley Elementary School class parent.
She says she brings strong experience in management, financial oversight, customer service and communication.