WESTWOOD REGIONAL DISTRICT—A trustee’s remarks at a late January school board meeting — tying then-district policy on unvaccinated students to the 1954 court decision that ruled segregation of Black students in public schools was unconstitutional — erupted again at the board’s March 3 meeting.
Kristin Pedersen’s comment has roiled the Westwood and Washington Township school communities, incited angry social media posts, and led to appeals for courtesy and civility from the regional board president at board meetings.
At the Jan. 27 meeting Pedersen had said the treatment of children under state DOH quarantine rules did not appear equal, “and almost feels a little reminiscent of the situation that led to the 1954 Brown versus Board of Ed Supreme Court ruling that dismantled segregation in schools.”
She said there is “no one-size fits all solution” and called for the district “to implement protocols that put the decision-making back with the parents.”
Pedersen, a finance executive and mother of two in the district, said a healthy child should come to school “and experience an equal education” and if a child is sick, parents should “do the right thing” and keep them home.
She said under the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment, children are entitled to equal education opportunities in New Jersey “void of discriminatory mandates or laws and we as a board of education took an oath to support the (U.S.) Constitution.”
Pedersen said she felt the then-current DOH quarantine recommendations “to be discriminatory” based on a child’s vaccination status. She noted this “creates a stigma for a portion of the population. It adds additional stress to children that are already suffering from the emotional and mental trauma of the past two years.”
She said the treatment of children under state DOH quarantine rules did not appear equal, “and almost feels a little reminiscent of the situation that led to the 1954 Brown versus Board of Ed Supreme Court ruling that dismantled segregation in schools.”
Pedersen spoke again at the board meetings on Feb. 17 and March 3, meetings heated in hourlong public comment periods with parents deriding and supporting Pedersen’s position.
Both meetings featured testy exchanges, harsh criticisms, and sometimes divisive repartee between parents and board members.
On March 3, former trustee Tommy Snee praised Pedersen’s “courageous leadership” on the district’s unvaccinated learners. He said she had become the target of a “very small, noisy group” opposing her on social media.
He noted the last few board meetings, running 3- and 4-plus- hours long, reminded him of “disastrous meetings of last year” when divisive meetings went for hours. Many of those meetings were marked by ongoing personality conflicts between specific board members and occasionally, administrative staff.
Joanne Morell said she counted on Pedersen’s board meeting recaps on social media prior to her election and was grateful to have her voice now as a trustee.
She said “She has a right to express herself in the way she expresses herself” and that residents with differing views should not see Pedersen’s comments as “racially insensitive.”
Washington Township’s David Ritchie called Pedersen’s Feb. 17 explanation “a non-apology” and expressed his disappointment. He said his objection to her comments was not about “canceling anyone” but rather about “human decency.”
Ritchie read Pedersen’s Jan. 27 statement noting her use of the word “reminiscent” and defining the term: tending to remind one of something; suggesting something by resemblance.
“This statement is insensitive and offensive. It is either a gross understatement of America’s understanding of its history of segregation or a gross exaggeration of the quarantine recommendation. Either way it is ignorant,” he said.
Pedersen, who in 2020 launched a petition to remove then-Superintendent Ray Gonzalez in part over school closure and transparency, took pains at the Feb. 17 school board meeting to clarify her position, which she said “has been potentially misconstrued by a few people and maybe misunderstood as well.”
She said, “I apologize for the misunderstanding or if what I was trying to convey did not come through effectively. In no way was I trying to compare the current situation to anything that Blacks experienced. Obviously, very different circumstances.”
She said she had her original remarks in front of her and asserted that they established she had not made “a comparison” between Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka and unvaccinated students.
She said she referenced the decision “simply because it dismantled segregation in public schools and at the time we had certain students, the unvaccinated, who were being segregated.”
Pedersen described herself as “a vocal advocate for our children and for equal educational opportunities and I will continue to speak out against acts of segregation. But you have my word that I will be sensitive to any references, and ensure that they are crystal-clear going forward. And again I do apologize for the misunderstanding.”
When she finished speaking and members began reacting, Board President Frank Romano III of the Township of Washington interrupted them, banging his gavel.
“Excuse me please, excuse me, please folks, it’s not a two-way conversation. I know it’s emotional but it’s not a two-way conversation, thank you,” he said.
He urged attendees to not interrupt the meeting “out of respect” and reminded them that no one had interrupted them during their five minutes at the podium.
When audience reaction continued, Romano moved to adjourn into closed session until 9:45 p.m. Neither Romano nor trustees stated the purpose of the adjournment into closed, or executive, session.
When the board returned, Romano was speaking, apparently making a statement on the board’s need to adjourn into closed session. However, due to technical difficulties noted by board Business Administrator Keith Rosado, much of Romano’s extemporaneous comment on the need for a closed-session adjournment were not broadcast.
Almost the entire period during closed session Feb. 17, cameras were live-streaming a view of the near-empty Campbell Auditorium. However, when the board returned and Romano started speaking, the livestream read “No signal.”
“Try to stay together as a community and it can’t get out of hand like that,” he was heard saying when the broadcast returned, likely referring to audience talking following Pedersen’s comment.
He said, “Hopefully we can count on a significant period of relief from all this” as the pandemic wanes. “So let’s try to get there and let’s try to get there together.” He said he was not “dismissing anything that happened here tonight.”
School boards in the Pascack Valley, including the Pascack Valley Regional High School District, have faced off regularly with taxpayers over vaccination and masking requirements, and their impacts on students, educational quality, and individual liberties and freedom.
All area school districts have been following state Department of Health guidelines related to such requirements. Some have also consulted regularly with health departments to adjust their responses to specific Covid-19 outbreaks and to facilitate contact tracing efforts.
Westwood’s Laura Nicholson questioned why the district did not go through a search process before hiring Superintendent Jill Mortimer, noting that it “always seemed tainted and off.”
She also questioned what the school board’s “bar for decorum” at public meetings was with yelling occurring and people occasionally speaking in costume.
“Who’s really running the school there… Is this how we want to run our school district?” she asked. She urged trustees to “watch your words, watch your actions, watch closely what you’re doing; so many others are watching and counting on you to do the right thing.”
Alina Rejas noted that current Covid science shows people can catch Covid-19 whether one has a booster shot or not. She said that Pedersen’s comparison regarding segregation was “a perfect statement” and that “it wasn’t about race” and that she made no reference to race.
“Regardless whether you want to acknowledge, that’s exactly what was happening in our community … segregating healthy students due to vaccination status,” she said.
Recent public comments have also criticized Mortimer, appointed in January, over her qualifications, the board’s search process (which Romano has repeatedly addressed), and how she has handled aspects of the district’s test-to-stay and vaccination programs.
Mortimer spoke out March 3, noting being superintendent was “the highlight of my career” after she had served seven years as district assistant superintendent.
She said, “There is this element of negativity, quite frankly, out there that brings me down on a daily basis,” she said. “So I have a small group of people slandering me, outright lying and making up things about me. And I really wish they would stop attacking me at board meetings and saying things that are untrue.”
She said she “made a conscious decision to really focus on my projects and focus on what I really want to get done and that’s 80% of my effort.”
She added, “I can’t let all of this negativity, the constant fighting, the this-side-that-side, you know, Dr. Mortimer shouldn’t be here, all of that stuff, I’m putting that aside, folks, I’m moving on. It’s not healthy, it’s not right and I’m not going to tolerate it, quite frankly.”
She said she “can’t wait to get going to do it and everybody will be proud of me, I can guarantee you that.”
