Jewish student urges continuous antisemitism education after swastikas found; board proposes student action committee

Adeline Lamontz, who identified herself as vice president and one of the founders of the Caldwell‑West BBYO, told the school board on Jan. 12 that swastikas had appeared repeatedly in the middle and high schools and that the symbols make Jewish students feel unsafe.

"As a Jewish teen, it makes me extremely uncomfortable to attend school knowing these antisemitic symbols are continuously occurring," Lamontz told the board, and she said she has family history connected to Auschwitz. She asked what steps the district will take to improve continuous education and sensitivity training across classrooms, sports and clubs.

Superintendent Dr. Furnari thanked Lamontz and called her remarks "very courageous," saying the district tries to embed anti‑hate instruction in social studies and advisory curricula and partners with outside organizations including the Holocaust Research Center at Kean University for both student and parent programming. Dr. Furnari also told the board that at least some of the incidents occurred outside of school hours, which has made identifying perpetrators difficult.

Board members unanimously praised Lamontz for speaking and discussed next steps. One board member proposed forming a student action committee with representatives from the middle and high schools to meet with administration and faculty to brainstorm responses and to ensure student voices shape any interventions.

The superintendent said the district will continue to use curricular materials, school clubs and community partnerships to reinforce respect and tolerance and to pursue ways to better identify and address incidents when they occur.

Next procedural steps were not detailed publicly; the board suggested following up with administrators and reconvening at future meetings to report on any student committee work or additional programming.