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More than half of the games played at the Highland School by the North/West Bergen/Passaic Basketball League between Feb. 7-March 7 didn’t include a Midland Park team, resident Jillian Mulder said.
“We allowed hundreds of out of town residents un-abided access to our gym during a time when the board meetings themselves couldn’t be in person and our kids weren’t allowed in school due to the severe health concerns posed,” she said.
The Midland Park Board of Education immediately cancelled the remaining schedule after parents complained about the prevalence of games among out-of-towners in the league organized by trustee Richard Formicola, who’s heavily involved in borough recreation.
“When the facilities use request was made for these games, it was our understanding that only Midland Park teams and their opponents would be utilizing our facilities for league games,” the board said in a statement. “As soon as administration was made aware of the extensive use of our gymnasium by other towns, we immediately stopped this practice.”
But the parents say it shouldn’t end there. They’re demanding to know exactly what happened.
“It’s obvious that our current system is flawed seeing as how someone was able to host multiple towns at our school buildings in the midst of a global pandemic,” Mulder wrote in an email to Schools Supt. Marie C. Cirasella.
Giving free access to school facilities benefits the league financially as it “takes precious gym time away from our young Midland Park athletes,” she wrote.
“My niece’s had to shovel one of the outdoor courts next to the barn and play in the cold this winter because there was a severe lack of gym time for practices,” Mulder added. “Many other parents complained of this.”
Also hurt, she said, are taxpayers who “are essentially funding a privately held league” by covering the cost of custodial staff, electricity and heat.
Mulder said it’s her understanding that the league collects $1,600 per team to cover the costs of gyms, referees and time keepers, among other expenses. The district doesn’t see a dime of it, she said.
Cirasella told Mulder that private organizations traditionally have been allowed use of facilities without cost provided district schoolchildren are involved.
The district business administrator vets the applications in consultation with other administrators, she explained.
“At the time of [this] application, it was [the business administrator’s] understanding that only Midland Park teams and their opponents would be utilizing our facility for these games,” the superintendent wrote. “Thus, the application was accepted.”
Mulder, a lifetime Midland Park native with two sons, said she couldn’t understand why there wasn’t any “discussion, determination and communication about this [usage of our school gyms for private leagues hosting out of town teams] prior to the start of the sports season to prevent such a ‘misunderstanding’.”
She pointed to the league’s website, which says: “[Because] many school districts deny the use of facilities for extracurricular activities due to the high price of cleaning services and the fear of COVID [w]e have secured private gyms in Bergen County.”
A “lack of checks and balances in our systems allowed for a board member to prioritize financial gain over the health and safety of our children and community,” Mulder contended.
She questioned during her email exchange with the superintendent whether the schedule of league games provided to the district – only half of which included borough children and the rest involved out-of-town teams – was misleading.
Cirasella disagreed.
“We reviewed the matter with Board Counsel Stephen Fogarty,” she wrote to Mulder. “It was confirmed that there was no violation of board policy, nor of any other related code due to the actions of the program organizer.
“The misunderstanding with regard to the schedule of league games and participants was, we believe, motivated by the organizer’s enthusiasm as a coach and volunteer.
“Therefore, our process is not a flawed one—again, an error was made by the outside organizer and administrators immediately halted this practice once we became aware of it,” Cirasella said.
Parents believe it was more than an innocent mistake. Even if it wasn’t, issues remain.
“If the actions taken by the owner of the NWBP League didn’t break any current violations then we have a problem with our current policies and codes,” Mulder said. “Enthusiasm shouldn’t trump ethics.”
It’s unclear where the controversy is headed at the moment.
Mulder said she was told to expect a call from the board attorney after sharing her email exchange with the superintendent publicly.
The superintendent also characterized Mulder’s questions as “accusatory” and said she felt “uncomfortable” with them.
“We have been swift, factual, and thorough in providing you with information on this issue,” Cirasella wrote.
Mulder, turn, said she’ll “respect the process” and will now rely on New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act to submit formal requests for any and all information on the matter.
Other parents, meanwhile, have begun asking questions of their own and sharing thoughts on social media.
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