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Trustees address online criticism at Hardyston school board meeting amid calls for civility
Summary
Board members spent much of the Sept. 9 meeting responding to a local blog and social-media posts they called slanderous, with trustees urging moderation of online groups and asking the superintendent and counsel to respond where appropriate; the discussion delayed agenda items and prompted public comment criticizing board dysfunction.
Trustees at a Hardyston Township Board of Education meeting devoted an extended portion of their Sept. 9 agenda to responding to what several members called sustained attacks and misinformation posted on local blogs and social-media groups.
A board member who spoke at length described posts on a blog she identified by name and accused the blog’s author (named in the transcript) of "character assassination" and of using a board-related domain name to publish attacks. She said the conduct had imposed a time burden on the board’s secretary and required legal intervention.
Multiple trustees urged a change in online tone. One said: "We have to temper it down. Use social media for what it was meant to do—connect us, not divide us." Another trustee called for board members who moderate or administer community social pages to review and more carefully moderate posts that target students or board members.
Trustees debated whether some of those online pages are private citizen fora or de facto channels for board-related information when board members post in them. Several members said they were surprised the issue consumed much of the meeting, and asked that the board return to committee-based vetting for policies rather than placing items on the full-board agenda at short notice.
During public comment, a resident criticized how the board handled the discussion and urged leaders to renounce participation in divisive online groups and model better behavior.
Board members closed the discussion by saying they would work through committees, ask administration to produce clearer guidance about social-media moderation, and encourage civility in public discourse.
