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Resident alleges board president-superintendent conflict; board attorney cautions on confidentiality
Summary
Resident Michael Sheldon said the board president is a student in a program taught by the superintendent and that the arrangement violates the New Jersey School Ethics Act; the board president refused to step down and the board attorney warned that ethics complaints are confidential.
Michael Sheldon, a Belleville resident, told the Board of Education that he intends to file an ethics complaint alleging a conflict of interest because Board President Leon is enrolled in an educational leadership master’s program where Dr. Eric Alfonso, the district superintendent, serves as an adjunct professor.
"Your board president, mister Leon, has publicly confirmed that he is a matriculating graduate student in the educational leadership master's program at Montclair State University," Sheldon said during the public-comment period, arguing the classroom relationship creates "irreconcilable conflicts" under the New Jersey School Ethics Act and urging Leon to vacate the board presidency.
The board attorney intervened, cautioning that matters before the School Ethics Commission are confidential. "Matters involving the School Ethics Commission are confidential," the board attorney said, advising speakers to be careful about publicizing complaints while they are under review.
President Leon declined Sheldon's request to step down. "I am not resigning. I am not stepping down from board president," Leon said, adding he looks forward to a third-party review and expects the complaint will be dismissed after review. "You gave your opinion tonight, and that's all it is... and we'll leave it at that," he said.
Sheldon told the board he planned to file with the School Ethics Commission and said he might also notify the New Jersey Attorney General's Office. The board attorney reiterated that filing is the individual's prerogative but emphasized the legal and confidential nature of commission proceedings.
The public-comment period ended without further formal action by the board. The transcript records no board vote, recusal, formal complaint filing, or legal finding during the meeting; the matter remains a public allegation and, according to comments at the meeting, an item for the ethics commission to review.
