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Former board member says superintendent 'bullying' excluded him from graduation dais; board clarifies participation rules
Summary
At public comment, former board member Jeff Winston accused the superintendent of treating his family unfairly by barring him from sitting on the stage at graduation; the superintendent and board clarified that Winston may present diplomas but will not sit on the dais because he resigned effective immediately.
Jeff Winston, a former East Brunswick Board of Education member, used public comment time to criticize Superintendent Dr. Vleski and the board after he said he was excluded from a long-standing practice of former board members sitting on the dais and presenting diplomas at graduation.
"You hurt my boys," Winston said, accusing the superintendent of taking his ‘‘shortcomings out on my children’’ and calling the superintendent a ‘‘bully.’’ He urged the board to override the superintendent’s decision so former members could resume the tradition.
The board and superintendent responded in the public meeting. A board member invited Dr. Vleski to clarify, and the superintendent said Mr. Winston had been offered the opportunity to come to the stage to hand diplomas to his sons but would not be seated on the board dais because he had resigned effective immediately. According to the board’s explanation, the district has not previously allowed a former member who resigned effective immediately to both sit on the dais and participate as a presenter, and the circumstances differ from past examples cited by Mr. Winston.
The board did not amend its graduation protocol during the meeting. The exchange prompted other public commenters and trustees to remind the board about recusal rules and the need for clear procedures around appointments and school ceremonies.
The board later recessed into closed session and returned to approve other business before adjourning.
Next steps: the board did not record any formal change to graduation participation policy at this meeting; any appeal or policy change would require a future agenda item and formal vote.
