BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A court date has been set for today, Thursday, Jan. 5, to hear oral arguments by those concerned with the residency qualifications of Gladys Rivera, who won a seat on the Bloomfield Board of Education in the recent November elections. Rivera was scheduled to be sworn onto the board this past Tuesday, Jan. 3, during the BOE reorganizational meeting.
The hearing today will be held in the Office of Administrative Law, 33 Washington St., Newark.
It was prompted by former board member Shane Berger who has questioned Rivera’s place of residence. In a telephone interview earlier this week, Berger said he had filed a brief for emergent relief from the NJ Department of Education to get the hearing.
“We tried to get it earlier but were held up by the holidays,” he said.
To be a school board member, a person must have been a resident of the municipality of the school district for which they will serve for one year from the date they are elected, according to NJ election guidelines. Rivera was elected Nov. 8, but has so far only furnished a March 2016 change of address form issued by the NJ Motor Vehicle Commission. She resides on Ampere Parkway, Bloomfield.
But the length of her residency at her present dwelling was questioned by her landlord’s son during the public hearing of an October school board meeting.
In response to the allegation, Rivera said during an interview with The Independent Press that she has resided in Bloomfield for the necessary time and that her landlord’s son was prompted by his mother to involve himself in a landlord/tenant dispute that began as a parking issue and has gotten out of hand. She said the landlord and herself were once friends.
Berger said the hearing on Thursday will be between three parties: himself, the Bloomfield School Board, and Rivera. It was his understanding that everyone involved has been notified and that he personally gave notice to Superintendent of School Sal Goncalves, who received him cordially, he said. Berger said he did not know if Rivera will appear, but he will represent himself.
“I just can’t afford to pay for an attorney for this,”
he said.
Berger was an incumbent running for a third term when he finished fourth in a nine-candidate race. The top three vote getters were the winners of three-year terms. Berger acknowledged that, in the event Rivera is disqualified, there is very little chance he would be appointed to fill the vacancy. If there is a disqualification and an appointment is called for, the appointment would be for a one-year term.
Berger said he is pursuing the matter on principle. He believes it is incumbent upon the school board to determine if candidates have the qualifications required by law.
“The board needs a solid foundation in the community,” he said. “This has nothing to do with the administration but with the fidelity of the board. We’re dealing with people’s children and money.”
He said he believes that if it is determined that Rivera is not a qualified Bloomfield resident, this lapse was just an honest mistake on her part. But Berger said he would not be attending the reorganizational meeting.
“I’ll be home,” he said. “I wish everyone well.”
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