The Bayonne Board of Education re-elected Mary Jane Desmond as president and Sam Maggio as vice president after a quick but tense workshop meeting prior to their reorganization meeting on Tuesday where four trustees were sworn in as well.

By Dan Israel/Hudson County View

Desmond, Maggio, and Trustee Hector Gonzalez won re-election on November 4th and were sworn in for their new three-year terms at the 16-minute reorganization meeting. The trio ran on a slate that decisively bested their only challenger, Vivian Ghobrial.

Meanwhile, William “Bill” Young won a two-year term on the board running unopposed to fulfill the unexpired term of Trustee Jodi Casais, who resigned on July 1st. After he was sworn in, the governing body began deliberations for leadership roles.

Desmond was the only trustee to receive a nomination for president, and subsequently received an unanimous vote (9-0) of approval from her peers to continue to hold the position.

She has been serving in the role since last year, before being appointed Business Administrator by then-Mayor Jimmy Davis, who is now the Hudson County sheriff.

Subsequently, Maggio was re-elected by vice president by a tally of 8-1, with Trustee Melissa Godesky-Rodriguez voting no without an explanation.

Earlier in the evening at the Open Public Workshop prior to the meeting, Godesky-Rodriguez made a passionate case asking for one of her fellow trustees to nominate her for a leadership position.

Reading from a prepared statement, Godesky-Rodriguez said her comments were in the spirit of “transparency” and “public trust.”

“I am asking to be considered for the role of at least vice president because I believe the board in this district are the strongest when leadership is steady, experienced, ethical, and fully able to participate in all aspects of governance,” Godesky-Rodriguez said.

“I have actively participated in BBOE meetings since 2016. Over that time, I’ve served on committees including policy, and have built strong, respectful working relationship with students, educators, paraprofessionals, parents, administrators, and my fellow Board members. As a leader and operator, I bring a disciplined, thoughtful approach to governance. I am prepared and detail-oriented, fluent in policy, process, and procedure.”

Godesky-Rodriguez brought to light a 2023 report issued by the School Ethics Commission known as AO523, which she described as a formal guide issued by the commission to help boards govern ethically, avoid conflicts of interest, and protect public trust.

She used this to highlight that she does not have any conflicts that would impede her from performing the duties of vice president.

“The advisory opinion concludes with an important reminder and I believe it is worth stating clearly for the public: School officials must always be cognizant of their responsibility to protect the trust, to honor their obligation to serve the interests of the public and the Board, and to periodically re-evaluate the existence of potential conflicts of interest,” Godesky-Rodriguez.

“I also believe deeply that the Board leadership should reflect current demographics and lived realities of the Bayonne School District. Leadership should be informed, inclusive, and grounded in service.”

While Godesky-Rodriguez did not name names, this initially appeared to be vague shade toward either Desmond or Maggio for holding leadership roles while having some level of conflict. However, Desmond appeared unfazed.

“It’s a curious thing to be born and raised and live in Bayonne, New Jersey. It is hard not to be related to someone, somewhere, at some point. I will say that every member of the current board has conducted themselves with great integrity,” Desmond replied.

“Even if they have family in the district, no one has voted, imposed a decision or opinion. No one has tried to influence on behalf of or in a self-serving manner and I’m proud of that.”

She then gave Godesky-Rodriguez what appeared to be a verbal pat on the back.

“That was a very nicely prepared statement, Melissa. And you do work hard, but I will say there is no issue with conflict here. Everyone does conduct themselves in a respectful manner with great personal and professional integrity.”

Godesky-Rodriguez was quick to interject that she was not accusing anyone of anything.

“I’m not saying anybody has ever done anything wrong. Just, it’s public trust,” she responded, but Desmond wasn’t buying it. Yet she also seemed to acknowledge there may have been something prompting Godesky-Rodriguez’s remarks.

“Yes, you did. You’re talking to the pubic. To be clear, there’s no cause for concern in that regard … If you’re going to talk about conflict of interest, I’ve always found it curious that people thought that would be a conflict of interest,” Desmond remarked.

“The interest here are parents, taxpayers, students, teachers, and if they are conflicted because they are invested, well that’s kind of silly. So we are all invested. We are all motivated to do what’s right for the children and the community.”

Maggio said he reached out to the New Jersey School Boards Association on the subject and they said was not an issue, reading the response into the record.

“It says that ‘There is no reason why a conflicted Board member should not be chosen to be leadership role on a Board,'” Maggio said.

“‘However, they must still conduct themselves as all conflicted members on the board. They have a right to question and to give opinions for every single resolution that they have. However, when it is a conflicted area, they must recuse themselves from that individual vote.’

Trustee Hector Gonzalez said that whoever is chosen for leadership positions needs to be a consistent part of the community.

He described that as, in part, showing up at things beyond the board meetings, from sporting events to state budget hearings and things of that nature.

“We need to build a new school. We need funding for a new school. Tough times are coming ahead. People don’t understand that in 2027, I even spoke to Mr. Castles. I’ve been talking about Chapter 44. You guys have to understand that that’s the health insurance,” he declared.

Trustee Lisa Burke said that she has seen many leadership come and go, both conflicted and non-conflicted due to having “deep roots in the community.”

She said that it hasn’t mattered and signaled her support to keep the current leadership in their roles, reiterating what Maggio read from the NJSBA.

Godesky-Rodriguez countered that she actually feels like she has had a lack of information or timely information in the past. While she admitted it was her perception, she still felt slighted by the way information is presented to the Board.

“There is a perceived feeling … that I don’t always get the most timely information and maybe that’s where there is room for improvement. And I’d like to see commitment on how we can change that, because I don’t want to get information the day of,” she exclaimed.

“I want to be included in conversations. And to the best of my knowledge, there have been conversations I have not been a part of … There is importance in figuring out how do we close that gap so we can remain as effective as we’ve been … We need to consider all routes to ensure that continue the same level of effectiveness and improve down that road.”

Desmond closed out the discussion by underscoring the changes the board has made to counter even the perception of being excluded, from rotating schools for each meeting location and changing committees times to ensure they are all on the same day.