Nutley board says it terminated agency contract after staff arrest; public presses for clearer vetting

The Nutley Public School District told the board that it has terminated a contract with Innovative Therapy Group after an agency-contracted paraprofessional was arrested in mid-October. Superintendent Bania said the district "found no evidence that misconduct occurred inside any of our schools" but acted to cut the agency's contract and requested that properly fingerprinted agency staff remain temporarily while the district recruits replacements.

Bania said the third-party agency is responsible for ensuring employees’ criminal-history checks through the New Jersey Department of Education’s Office of Student Protection, and that the district has opened postings to fill vacancies. He asked the board to approve an addendum to work with the Northern Region Educational Services Commission as an additional staffing option.

At public comment, resident Jim Novotny thanked the district for swift action but pressed for more detail about the district’s due-diligence process for rehiring agencies. "I would ask the board to look inward when you guys are going through these due diligence processes," Novotny said, adding that the presence of someone with a troubling past near vulnerable children was "incredibly disappointing."

Superintendent Bania said the district will go out for a request for proposals (RFP) for provider services this year and "plan to get proposals thoroughly vetted" as part of its annual contract-approval routine. He also said the district has asked that agency staff who are properly fingerprinted remain in classrooms to keep services running during the transition and that the district will seek reliable provider agencies going forward.

The board placed staffing and a Northern Region Educational Services Commission staffing addendum on the agenda for approval as part of the administration and walk-on resolutions.

Next steps: The district said it will post updates and pursue a formal RFP this year to re-evaluate contractor vetting and selection, and the board will review staffing options as they come forward.