Taxpayer Betrayal: How Board Leaders Misused Hardyston's Funds
Taxpayer dollars are supposed to go toward students, schools, and actual education - not cleaning up personal squabbles. Yet here we are.
Over the past year, Hardyston residents have watched an unsettling trend unfold: Board Vice President Jean Barrett and Board President Donna Carey using legal resources like personal weapons instead of tools for public good.
Their actions haven’t just drained money away from classrooms; they’ve eroded public trust in the very board they’re supposed to lead.
✨ A Misuse of Board Resources
One of the most brazen examples? Jean Barrett trying to pressure board attorneys into acting on a personal grudge.
Jean Barrett’s email to the board attorney:
“With the majority of the board in agreement, I would like to request a ‘cease and desist’ notice to be given to Mr. Van Ginnigan as soon as possible, and have him stop the use of the website immediately.”
Umm… small problem: the board hadn’t even voted yet.
So let’s pause:
- Why was Barrett acting like she had official approval?
- Why were public funds being dragged into what sounds like a political spat?
- How much money did it cost just to entertain this nonsense?
🔄 Backtracking When Caught
Once it became clear she’d jumped the gun, Barrett tried to pull a quick “oops, you misunderstood”:
“My asking for a cease and desist was asked with the understanding that it would have to be a majority decision by the board, something that would have to be asked of each board member.”
Nice try.
Problem is, she’d already framed it like it was a done deal - misleading everyone involved and wasting taxpayer-funded legal time in the process.
🚨 Donna Carey’s Escalation: The Ethics Complaint
If Barrett’s misstep wasn’t enough, Donna Carey took it to the next level.
Instead of focusing on, you know, actual district business, Carey filed a politically motivated ethics complaint - again, soaking up public dollars that should’ve gone to benefit kids.
In short:
- Barrett tried to weaponize board lawyers.
- Carey decided to weaponize ethics complaints.
- And Hardyston taxpayers got stuck footing the bill for both.
💸 The True Cost? A Lot More Than Money
Beyond the invoices, here’s what gets lost:
- Time and energy spent chasing down baseless claims
- Staff distracted from actual district needs
- Growing public frustration with leadership that seems more interested in petty fights than students
The ones hurt most? Hardyston’s students and families, who deserve leaders focused on education, not personal vendettas.
🌍 A Pattern of Waste and Distraction
Sadly, this isn’t a one-off. It’s part of a larger trend:
- Using board resources to settle personal scores
- Weaponizing legal action to silence opponents
- Refusing to own up to wasteful decisions
If board leadership really cared about “fiscal responsibility,” they’d stop burning through tax dollars to fight personal battles-and start putting students first.
🤔 We Kept the Receipts - Stay Tuned
Hardyston families deserve to know exactly where their money’s going.
Is it funding better classrooms-or bad decisions?
We’ve got plenty more to show you-and yes, we’ve kept the receipts.
Stay tuned.