Board fills vacancy, opens probe into information leaks and approves ethics referrals

The Pleasantville Board of Education filled a vacant seat and took multiple governance actions late in a lengthy meeting that also featured budget debate.

Following interviews with three candidates, the board appointed Deandra Miller to the vacancy. Miller told the board she would uphold confidentiality and cited the code of ethics. The vote was taken by roll call and the chair welcomed the new member and directed her to complete onboarding paperwork with the business administrator.

The meeting also included motions and votes that signaled heightened scrutiny of internal processes. A motion to open a formal investigation into how privileged information (including who had applied for the vacancy) reached the public carried on roll call. Board members said the goal of the probe is to determine whether privileged materials were improperly disclosed by staff or others and to restore transparency and trust.

During public comment David Calloway alleged that board member Thea Waters had not lived in Pleasantville for nearly three years and said the claim had been forwarded to county authorities, including the Atlantic County superintendent of elections and the county prosecutor. The board chair asked Calloway to send formal documentation by email so the administration could share it with board members and counsel. Calloway said he had already forwarded the information to county officials.

Separately, a motion to file complaints with the New Jersey School Ethics Commission against the board president and vice president — alleging the withholding of critical materials including the superintendent’s resignation letter — passed on roll call. Several board members said they sought a formal ethics review to clarify whether board leadership followed disclosure rules.

The board also voted to remove the current solicitor (Bush Law Group) and temporarily retain Lester Taylor pending further action. Another motion directed staff to issue requests for proposals (RFPs) for auditors and the district’s insurance broker.

Community commenters used the meeting to press additional points: a local volunteer track team asked to use the high‑school track for a single day (the board said the request is paused pending a $2,000‑plus security/insurance balance and city confirmation); parents raised data‑privacy concerns around classroom communication platforms and urged a district review.

What happens next: the board’s investigation of information disclosures and the ethics referrals will proceed as formal processes; the solicitor change and procurement motions will be implemented while administration follows up with documentation requested by board members.