Deadline Extended for School Officials to Complete Background Checks

Any Board of Education or Board of Trustees members who missed the Dec. 31, 2011 deadline to complete a background check now have until Jan. 27, 2012 to complete the background check, the New Jersey Department of Education announced on Tuesday, Jan. 17.

This includes two members of the Board of Trustees who were approved

“Our priority throughout this process is to ensure compliance with the law while minimizing disruption to boards of education,” New Jersey Department of Education Communications Manager Allison E. Kobus said on Tuesday. “Acting Commissioner Chris Cerf has granted an extension to board members that received a letter of ineligibility earlier this week.

"Any board member that completes the fingerprinting requirement within two weeks—by January 27—will be eligible to remain on their board if they are cleared through the background check.  If a board member does not comply by that date, their ineligibility letter will become effective.”

Since July, the Department of Education has sent three letters to boards to notify members of the need to comply with state law. Last week, the state released a list of 186 school board members and charter school trustees statewide who did not complete the background exam by the Dec. 31 deadline.

New Galloway Community Charter School Board of Trustees members John Hunt and Melissa Cast were on that list. Both were approved on Nov. 21, filling two previously vacant seats, according to Galloway Community Charter School Director Deborah Nataloni. A third seat remains vacant.

Stating that the new guidelines were put in place specifically for traditional school board elections, which take place in the spring. 

Galloway Community Charter School doesn’t follow a normal election cycle. Board members are nominated to one-year terms, and the board’s reorganization takes place in August. Otherwise, nominations are made once a seat becomes available.

As of last week, Nataloni expected Hunt and Cast to follow through with completing their background checks and submitting them to the state for approval. She wasn’t sure what the outcome would be, but it now appears that if the background checks were completed, Hunt and Cast will be allowed to remain on the Board of Trustees, which next meets Jan. 23.

The background checks were required by the New Jersey general assembly in legislation passed last year, to require school board members and charter school trustees to meet the same standards required of school teachers. If board members or trustees show up for meetings, they could be charged with a fourth degree crime.

New Jersey is apparently the only state to require the background examinations.

According to the Department of Education, more than 4,000 board members have complied with the background check law.  

Any board member who does not submit to a background check by Jan. 27 will be out of compliance with the law and ineligible to serve.  According to the state fingerprinting vendor, Morphotrack, appointments are available in all parts of the state within two to seven days, which will give each board member time to schedule and complete the fingerprinting process.