Resident questions school bills list, legal fees and contractor payments at Middlesex board meeting

A resident during the public-comment portion of the Middlesex Borough School District Board of Education meeting questioned several entries on the bills list, seeking clarity about reimbursements and outside legal and contractor payments.

The resident opened by praising the renovated auditorium and then said, “I have a couple questions on the bills list.” She asked specifically about a $300 refund listed for a lost Chromebook and whether that refund meant the device had been found and returned. She also raised a line item totaling roughly $24,100 in attorney fees and asked which firms or services those fees covered; the transcript records references to Bosch Law Group and the law offices of Nolan and Lang in the committee report.

The speaker questioned two vendor amounts tied to pest control — a $300 charge for pest removal and a $450 line described as a pest contract — asking whether the $450 was a monthly fee and whether it applied to a single school or the entire district. She also asked about a $200 payment to “K University” for recruitment while noting that many hires on the list were being made at step 18 of the salary guide.

Board staff closed the public-comment period after the questions and moved on to the agenda. The transcript does not record responses that fully explained these line items; the resident’s remarks were presented as requests for clarification and transparency rather than allegations of wrongdoing.

The board had earlier noted that some items on the agenda are mandated by the state and that several policy and contract items would be reviewed in committee. No vote on the bills list or vendor payments is recorded in the transcript of this meeting.