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Suspension Upheld For Former Board Of Ed. President
By Keith Hagarty
The suspension of a former president of the Township Board of Education was upheld this week by the Appellate Division of the state Superior Court.
Last year, State Education Commissioner Lucille E. Davy suspended Sharon Kight for two months because of an incident involving a contentious argument between the former board member and a resident at the board's March 17, 2005 meeting.
The original suspension came from the state's School Ethics Commission after resident Robert Lanzieri filed complaints against Kight and fellow former board member John Talty. The complaint came after Lanzieri claimed both Kight and Talty "physically and verbally" attacked him.
Following the incident, the commission determined that the complaints against Talty were unfounded, but substantiated the complaint against Kight, leading to her two-month suspension. Kight later lost the reelection bid for her board seat last year.
When reviewing the decisions of an administrative agency, invariably appellate courts have a limited role, the appellate court ruling determined. The appellate court's findings further stated that a decision from an administrative agency, such as with Kight's suspension, could not be reversed "unless it is arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable, or it is not supported by substantial credible evidence in the record as a whole."
Saying she is disappointed in the appellate court's decision, Kight maintains that the commission's initial ruling was based purely on politics alone.
However, according to the commission's report last year on its decision to suspend Kight for two months, "The weight of the evidence shows that Ms. Kight approached Mr. Lanzieri in an aggressive manner, screamed at him and threatened him."
The report further stated there was evidence to show that Kight made some type of physical contact with Lanzieri.
Furthermore, Kight's actions were determined to be private, and not acting under her official capacity as a representative of the board, the findings concluded.
"The evidence shows that she was headed towards her husband to see if he was going to stay while she was participating in the executive session of the board," the report states. "She testified that she then turned towards Mr. Lanzieri to discuss his comments … the commission finds that such aggressive actions had the potential to compromise the board because the actions hurt the integrity of the board and intimidated the public from coming forward and addressing the board."
Therefore, the commission determined that Kight took private action when confronting Lanzieri in a verbal and physical manner regarding his comments during the public comment session at the 2005 board meeting.
During its hearing on the matter, the commission noted contradictory testimony regarding Kight's interaction with Lanzieri.
Kight testified to the commission that she was so upset with Lanzieri's comments during the public comment portion of the meeting that she was shaking.
According to the commission's report: "She (Kight) further testified that she walked calmly towards her husband and turned to Mr. Lanzieri. However, Mr. Lanzieri and two witnesses testified that she walked up to Mr. Lanzieri in an aggressive manner. Ms. Kight denies that she touched Mr. Lanzieri. However, Mr. Lanzieri and two witnesses testified that she either pointed her finger at him or pushed him."
The report further concluded there was evidence based on eyewitness testimony that Kight told Lanzieri she would "get him and his organization."
"All the witnesses agree that the interaction between Ms. Kight and Mr. Lanzieri was so heated that her husband had to pull her away," the report stated.
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