Outgoing Voorhees board member cites bullying and governance concerns in lengthy final remarks; colleagues rebut

At the public meeting, outgoing board member Julianne Bertie used her final board comments to recount accomplishments and to criticize the board’s culture, saying she had faced personal attacks and procedural obstacles while serving.

"I have been bullied, ostracized, and even threatened for doing what I was elected to do," Bertie said during her remarks, listing examples she said included an ethics complaint that was dismissed but cost the district legal expenses and an incident that led her to file a police report. She said she supported policies on preschool expansion, disaggregated suspension data, protections for immigrant students and measures to restore meeting recordings.

Bertie framed her decision not to seek reelection as a choice to continue similar work at a national level while stepping away from the board seat. "Though I'm stepping away from this seat, I am not stepping away from this work," she said, and urged the public to remain engaged and to hold the board accountable.

Several board members responded immediately. One colleague said the board values constructive dissent but criticized what they described as Bertie’s public approach. "Some of her ideas are genuinely interesting, but the way she engages makes it impossible for the team to hear her," a board member said, urging collaboration and noting efforts to coach and pull strengths into the board’s work.

Other board members defended the institution and called for civility; one apologized to the public for the amount of time spent on the internal dispute. Brant Stewart, who earlier chaired the policy committee, and others described an intention to begin 2026 with renewed focus on unity and governance.

The board did not vote on any disciplinary or policy measures tied to the exchange during the meeting. No formal findings or external investigations were announced on the record at the session; several assertions about prior complaints and costs were described by Bertie as matters that had already concluded or been dismissed.

The meeting record reflects both substantive policy points Bertie said she advanced (early childhood expansion, transparency, protections for students with invisible disabilities) and contested claims about interpersonal conduct on the board. Attendees included public commenters who both praised her advocacy on disability accommodations and urged respectful, collaborative approaches to governance.

The board adjourned after the exchange; the administration and board did not announce further procedural follow-up at that meeting.