Lacey Schools To Schedule Special Meeting About Brower Indictment

The Lacey Township Board of Education is planning to hold a special meeting soon to deal with the ramifications of schools Superintendent Sandra Brower's indictment in Monmouth County.

"We need to address this as quickly as possible," Board President Eric J. Schubiger said this afternoon.

Schubiger said he had obtained a copy of the indictment from Board Attorney Arthur Stein today and reviewed the document.

"The allegations presented in the indictment pertain to Dr. Brower's prior employment in Wall Towship," Schubiger said. "Mr. Stein is now reviewing the document. The Board of Education is in the process of scheduling a special meeting to discuss the matter."

"It's got to be done soon," he added. "It's obviously a highly confidential matter dealing with an employee."

Brower is charged with second-degree official misconduct, third-degree hindering apprehension and fourth-degree obstruction for failing to immediately report a teacher's possible sexual assault of a 4-year-old special needs student while she was Wall Township's assistant superintendent.

At 2:58 p.m. Monday, Brower pleaded not guilty to the three charges brought against her during an appearance before Judge Francis J. Vernoia at the Monmouth County Courthouse in Freehold on Monday afternoon. No bail was set and Brower was released. She is scheduled to appear in court again on June 10 at 1:30 p.m. 

When asked if board members had any idea of the problems in Wall Township when Brower was hired as superintendent, Schubiger said: "Absolutely not."

Board member Maureen Tirella declined to comment and referred any questions to Schubiger.

"I can't give you a comment," she said. "You have to go to the board president. I am not allowed to comment."

Schubiger said other board members were not forbidden to comment on board matters.

"Typically, what we like to do [is] we like to have one voice to start," he said.

Stein said that the district received reports on the matter from Brower over a period of time. He did not say when those reports began.

“There was continual information that was not very clear to us, and there was information that there was [under] an investigation,” he said.

The board knew nothing of an investigation upon Brower’s hiring, he said.

“The first information that came out was the execution of the search warrant of Habel in September of 2012. Nobody gave any indication to the Lacey Board of Education of any improper activity of anyone prior to that time,” Stein said.

Former Wall Township Superintendent James Habel’s home was raided in September 2012. Brower had worked under Habel as assistant superintendent for three years before becoming the Superintendent in Lacey in November 2011.

According to Brower's contract, she was appointed to serve as Superintendent of Schools in Lacey for the period of Nov. 15, 2011 to July 1, 2016.

A background check was performed on Brower prior to her hiring but an investigation would not appear in such a check, he said.

“We had no idea when the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office may have initiated an investigation,” he said. “If you ask for public records, they’re confidential, so we wouldn’t be aware. It would not be disclosed. That’s exempt.”

At no point was the Lacey Township School District brought into the investigation, Stein said.

“There was no indication of activities in Lacey,” he said.

The Lacey School Board did look into the investigation further upon Brower’s reporting, but information was limited, Stein said.

“That changed Wednesday, May 1, when there was additional self-reporting by Dr. Brower, which prompted the emergency meeting,” he said.

At that special meeting, the Board of Education moved to place Brower on administrative leave, with pay.

The Lacey school board has once again initiated the steps to schedule a special meeting, Stein said. He does not know yet when that meeting will take place as the board members's availability varies.

“They’re going to be constrained in things that they can do and things they can say,” Stein said. “The prosecutor’s office won’t want them commenting on things. I can tell you that.”

Assuming Brower’s case reaches a trail, Stein said, a jury would be told that the indictment is an accusation.

“The jury is going to be told anyone charged in an indictment is innocent until proven guilty,” he said, which is a “legal standard.”

The Board of Education also has to fall into that “legal standard,” and it’s not likely the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office will share information with Lacey.

The school board will also have to make decisions under state statute (18a: 6-8.3), which states that an employee suspended from his or her position is entitled to receive full pay or salary during that period, except if charges against that employee are brought before the board. Under this state statute, the board has the ability to suspend Brower with or without pay if they so decide.

“The board will have the opportunity to discuss the matter and this will be a private discussion,” Stein said.

Stein could not say whether it is possible Brower could be dismissed before legal proceedings. Releasing such information would get into "legal advice," which he is not at liberty to disclose.

Frank Belluscio, Acting Deputy Executive Director of the New Jersey School Boards Association, confirmed that Brower could be suspended without pay at this point. He added that if the criminal offense is one covered by the forfeiture statue (N.J.S.A. 2C:51-2), the employee will forfeit his or her position upon conviction.

According to that law, an employee would forfeit his or her position upon conviction if the charges were "involving dishonesty or of a crime of the third degree," if the offense was related directly to the person's performance in, or circumstances flowing from, the position held by the person or if the Constitution so provides. The court can also order forfeiture upon conviction under certain circumstances. 

The special meeting will be private, as it is a confidential personnel matter. Brower could authorize the board to make it a matter of public discussion but, typically, the prosecutor’s office would be opposed to that, Stein said.

Lacey Mayor David Most said he respects Brower and the work she has done for the community.

"I think Dr. Brower has brought positive change to Lacey Township and I enjoyed working with her," Most said, adding that Brower was involved in the municipality's task force and proactively confronted Lacey's drug problem.

"She was trying to make positive change and that’s the kind of superintendent we need - someone who’s going to make positive change. She was all in as far as our task force was concerned and she was really involved in the community and I respected her for that.

"It’s under litigation," he added. "The woman is innocent until proven guilty. Let the process happen. I’ll let the courts handle it."

Board members William R. Quist and Linda Downing could not be reached for comment.