In what should’ve been a routine midsummer meeting, the Hardyston Board of Education found itself in the middle of a legal shuffle - and no, not the kind you learn in civics class.
Board Member Tony Alfano openly admitted during the July 8th meeting that he initiated the push to change attorneys. His reason? He was dissatisfied with how the current attorney handled internal conflicts - some going back as far as two years.
“I was unhappy with several personnel decisions that were affected by legal opinions,” Alfano said. “It had nothing to do with money… I initiated the RFQ.”
But once questions began flying - particularly about the firm’s role in special education, where they’ve historically performed well - Alfano’s confidence started to waver. When pressed on whether the change would include replacing the special education counsel, he deflected, noting the board might “split that up,” even though the RFQ had already gone out.
This ad-hoc approach drew pushback from other members. One pointed out, “The process usually starts in January or February,” allowing ample time for vetting. Instead, the board is now extending the current firm’s contract by one month while scrambling to schedule interviews - an inefficient plan that could result in repeating this cycle monthly.
To complicate matters, the RFQ requested a wide range of services - general counsel, labor, negotiations, special education - all bundled. As one member noted, “There are districts that hire different firms for different things,” suggesting a more modular approach would have made more sense.
In the end, Alfano attempted to own the decision:
“If you want a boogeyman, I’ll be the boogeyman.”
But for parents and taxpayers watching, this wasn’t about villains - it was about leadership. And as one member put it bluntly:
“The attorney’s not a referee between board members.”
Maybe that’s the real issue here.