Berkeley Heights board adjourns to executive session for superintendent interviews, returns with no public comment

The Berkeley Heights Board of Education called a special meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. and immediately moved into an executive session to conduct superintendent interviews, the board president said.

The board cited the Open Public Meetings Act (N.J.S.A. 10:4-6) and read a resolution stating, “Be it resolved that the Berkeley Heights Board of Education adjourns to executive session to discuss matters related to superintendent interviews,” adding that the executive session would last approximately three and a half hours and that the board would return for public comment.

A board member moved to adjourn to executive session and a second was recorded; the board recessed by voice vote and reconvened in public session at 11:35 p.m. When public comment opened, the board announced that no members of the public were present in the room and that no participants were online. The board reminded attendees that public comments should identify the speaker’s name and town or school, are limited to three minutes, and that personnel matters are discouraged and cannot be addressed by the board in public comment.

After the public-comment period, a motion to adjourn was made and the meeting was closed at 11:37 p.m. The board did not take any formal votes on policy matters or adopt motions in open session during this meeting. The board’s public materials and the meeting notice list the Star-Ledger and the Courier News as outlets notified of the meeting and record that notices were posted at the Administration Building and filed with the municipal clerk.

Meeting materials identify the purpose of the executive session as superintendent interviews; the board provided no further details about candidates or outcomes in open session.