BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ - Berkeley Heights resident, Jarred Weisfeld, has filed a civil lawsuit against Dr. Melissa Varley, the superintendent of Berkeley Heights School District, as well as the Board of Education and the District itself. The lawsuit alleges that Dr. Varley made false and misleading statements about a weapon found in a student's possession.
During a November 2022 Board of Education meeting, Weisfeld publicly addressed two school security concerns. The first involved a student who brought a weapon to school and threatened to harm two students. The second concern was regarding failures to lock doors during a lockdown drill.
In response to Weisfeld's claims, Dr. Varley disputed their accuracy, stating that there was not an incident of a student bringing a weapon to school but rather an inappropriate item. Dr. Varley emphasized that the District does not comment on security drills to protect its students and staff. In a statement to TAPinto Berkeley Heights, Dr. Varley said, at the time, “At the November 17, 2022 meeting, a member of the public erroneously asserted that there was a recent incident of a student bringing a weapon to school and also allegedly a door was left open during a security drill. Contrary to this statement, there was not an incident of a student bringing a weapon to school, it was however, an inappropriate item to have brought to school. Moreover, as stated previously, the District will not comment on its security drills in order to protect...
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