The court considered the final agency decision of the Commissioner of Education granting the Board of Education of the Borough of Kinnelon's motion for summary decision, denying appellant's cross-motion for summary decision, and removing appellant from her position on the Board.
The Commissioner ruled a ten-day letter filed by a parent of a child in need of special education services constituted a substantial conflict of interest sufficient to remove the parent from her duly elected position on the Board of Education. Our Supreme Court of New Jersey previously addressed circumstances wherein a due process claim that included a request for specific monetary relief was determined to be a substantial conflict between a board member and the board, requiring removal. Bd. of Educ. of City of Sea Isle City v. Kennedy, 196 N.J. 1, 22 (2008). The question the court considered here is whether the submission of a ten-day letter raises a similarly substantial conflict of interest. The court concluded, based on the record, it did not.