Berkeley Patch, April 29, 2022
BERKELEY, NJ — Students and community members once again gathered Thursday to protest the social media posts of two Central Regional Board of Education members, again urging the district to take action.
Board members Merissa Borawski and Heather Koenig have been under fire since March for racist social media posts, copies of which have been shared throughout the community and sparked complaints at board meetings. Read More: Community Decries Racist Posts By Central School Board Member
On Thursday, the school board was voting on a social media policy for board members that was introduced at the March 17 meeting, in response to the community’s uproar over posts by both Koenig and Borawski.
Neither were present at the March 17 meeting when it was introduced due to what Superintendent Tom Parlapanides said were planned vacations.
Thursday night Borawski asked the board to table the policy, but her motion was rejected, with only Borawski and Koenig voting to table it.
Representatives from the Child Advocate Coalition, a group that protested children wearing masks in schools, were present with politician Mike Crispi in order to show their support of Borawksi and Koenig.
Crispi is among the challengers to Chris Smith for the Republican nomination in New Jersey’s 4th Congressional District.
Crispi spoke up in support of Borawski and Koenig, saying that the social media policy was meant to silence school board members, repeatedly saying the policy is a violation of freedom of speech. He said that the two never posted anything illegal.
Christopher Dasti, the board’s attorney, said the social media policy prohibits members from posting anything that violates the School Ethics Act, so it follows the law.
Read More: Racism Permeates Central Regional School Culture, Students Say
Borawski also took issue with the recently formed “People of Color Club,” asking for it to have a different name as she felt that one was exclusionary. She suggested renaming “People of ALL Color.”
The People of Color Club formed as a response to students’ concerns about racial tensions in the school. The idea was brought up at the previous meeting.
The president of the club, along with the club’s advisor, Agnes Whitfield, spoke up in support of the name, saying it was inclusive and that anyone of any race or ethnicity was allowed to join.
Community members were critical of Borawski and Koenig, saying the two have not taken responsibility for their actions. Borawski said that the NJEA, the state teachers union, was “playing” the audience. She said that the union got teachers to write affidavits against herself and Koenig and that they were the ones getting people mad.
Joeshun Miller, a parent who previously spoke at the March 17 meeting, rejected Borawski’s claim as she dropped printouts of social media posts. “As parents, we show up for our children, so they can show up for themselves, as themselves,” she said.
She told Koenig that if there was a target on her back, she put it there herself. “You deserve to be off that board,” she said to Borawski and Koenig. “You have no place here.”
Another parent, Lisa Pericciuoli Reilly, said the things the two members posted hurt her youngest son, who is Black. “You women brought the ugly to us,” she said. She added that Crispi was only there to use it as a chance to promote his campaign.
Note: Due to redistricting, some of Berkeley will now be in the 4th Congressional District.
“We’re moving forward,” she said. “Don’t let this distract us.”
Parker Miller, a student who gave an impassioned speech at the previous meeting, spoke Thursday night, saying she found it “insane” that neither Borawski nor Koenig were taking any accountability.
“It’s disgusting, and it’s inhumane, and it’s sad. It’s sad!” she said through tears. “It shows you don’t care about anyone who is a person of color.”
“It’s ugly and it’s disgusting,” she said.
Veronica Flesher 