Middlesex Borough school board approves routine minutes, appointments and personnel items as residents press hiring and ticketing concerns

The Middlesex Borough Board of Education met in regular session and approved the previous meeting minutes, annual organizational appointments, and a bundle of personnel and educational items after roll-call votes Tuesday night.

The board unanimously approved the minutes (item 0.71). Organizational motions for items 9.01–9.02 passed though two members voted 'no' on 9.021. Personnel actions covering items 11.1–11.13 were approved with several members recusing themselves on individual personnel lines and at least one abstention noted during roll call. Education items 13.01–13.16 carried with multiple recusals recorded on item 13.13. Facilities and finance items 16.01–16.40 were approved; one member voted 'no' on check 16.01 (check 040574) while the remainder voted yes.

During the meeting’s public-comment periods, resident Melissa Zac (6 Princeton Drive) pressed the board on transparency and spending priorities. Zac said she could not find an attachment to a memorandum of agreement with district administrators that was referenced in posted materials and asked when the public could review it. "Once it is approved, it will be available to the public," a board staff member replied during questions; Zac replied that she wanted the percentages shown through 2030 and that the attachment was missing from the posted packet.

Zac also criticized what she described as the district’s staffing choices. She urged the board to consider eliminating an administrative position to save "$125,000 plus salary and benefits" and said parents were frustrated that the district appeared to be prioritizing administrator hires over classroom teachers.

In a separate public comment later in the meeting, Zac raised concerns about graduation/moving-up ceremony logistics at Hazlewood Elementary after families were told their children would receive three tickets this year rather than four. Zac said enrollment rose from 49 third graders last year to 51 this year and called the explanation that capacity required the change "insulting," saying blended families and multiple caregivers were being forced to choose who could attend.

Board leadership reiterated that the district follows its public-meeting posting obligations under the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Law and that some materials (such as finalized contracts) remain under executive contract until formally approved and made public. The board did not go into executive session.

Next steps: the administration will post any approved contract materials in accordance with public-record rules and the board indicated it will continue to work through personnel approvals and follow normal posting procedures for finalized documents. A board retreat and the distribution of a board self-evaluation link were also announced as items for ongoing work this summer.

(Reporting in this article is based on the board’s roll-call votes, the public-comment record, and the motions and committee reports presented on the agenda.)