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Resident alleges board member disparaged her, asks for clarity on $5,000 FBLA funding and end to secretary evaluation removal
Summary
Pajana Tolchinski told the Fair Lawn Board of Education she received reports that a fellow board member made disparaging comments and improperly promised accommodations; she also questioned a nearly $5,000 FBLA trip payment and pushed back on removing the board-secretary evaluation, calling it a transparency loss.
Pajana Tolchinski, a Fair Lawn resident, used the public-comment period to raise a series of governance and ethics concerns. She told the board she had "received multiple reports that the board member, mister Michael Rosenberg, who is absent today, has been making disparaging comments about me outside of board meetings," and said she had also heard Rosenberg "assured parents that their child would receive a special accommodation," which she argued no single board member may promise on behalf of the board.
Tolchinski also asked for an explanation of an earlier funding decision: "On 03/18/2025 ... the board approved nearly $5,000 for the trip," she said, noting the district historically funded state competitions, not national ones, and asking what objective criteria justified that payment. She urged the board not to eliminate the annual performance evaluation of the board secretary (policy batch 12, policy subject c), arguing that removing that evaluation would reduce oversight and transparency. The board did not immediately respond with a substantive clarification during public comment; the superintendent and staff said they'd follow up through committee or written response.
