To regain our trust, Sparta school board must be transparent

To the Editor:

In your recent article “Robert Zywicki resigns from Sparta Board,” you failed to mention that Dr. Zywicki only resigned after numerous citizens went to meetings to point out the alleged ethical violations he committed while on the board.

The article also quotes board vice president Niamh Grano as saying, “the school board plans to interview applicants at its December 16 meeting.’

What she fails to say is that the board will only be choosing to interview some of those who apply, and they will be doing so behind closed doors during the executive session, which is against best practices by the New Jersey School Boards Association.

What does board President Kim Bragg want to hide from the public? The majority of school districts interview all interested candidates who apply in public, so why isn’t Sparta being transparent yet again?

The public has lost much faith and trust in the Sparta school board over the past year. They should hold an additional public meeting in December to interview all of the candidates seeking Dr. Zywicki’s former seat, and then they can go into executive session to discuss their favorite.

Transparency is the first step in regaining our trust after months of unethical behavior.

Frank Sanchez

Sparta