Squan School Board Passed Required Criminal Checks
School board members came up clean in September after new state-mandated checks
Manasquan parents can rest assured that their town’s School Board members, according to borough officials, have all passed their state-required background checks.
The Star Ledger on Sunday reported that roughly one-third of the state’s school board members have not yet complied with a seven-month-old state law requiring them to undergo criminal background checks.
Manasquan Schools Superintendent Geraldine Margin said the district’s members completed their checks in September. Another board member, John Winterstella, who was appointed last month to fill a vacated seat, completed his background check immediately following the appointment, Margin said Thursday.
And perhaps most importantly, Margin said every member turned up clean.
“Everybody in Manasquan checked out,” Margin said with a laugh. “They’re all clean.”
In addition to a receiving criminal history check, each member’s fingerprints were recorded, Margin said.
The law prevents individuals from serving on a school board if they have committed any crime that would also disqualify them from working in a public school.
The background check process thus far has nabbed 13 school board officials across the state, the newspaper reported.