YahooGate: Hardyston BOE President Donna Carey's Private Inbox Revealed in OPRA Dump

“The public has the right to know not only what government does, but how it does it.” - New Jersey OPRA handbook
(In other words: stop shoving the receipts into your junk drawer.)

So, Here’s the Scoop

You know that moment when one OPRA request turns into a full “wait… what?” moment? That’s what happened here.

The records showed board emails forwarded from dcarey@htps.org to Donna Carey’s personal Yahoo account. Legal notes. Budget threads. Redacted items. District business, routed to a private inbox.

And yes, she’s the Board President.

---

A Glimpse Behind the Curtain

The forwarding log is heavily redacted, but the pattern is hard to miss. Threads on security planning, legal guidance, and budget issues were routed off-server. Some subject lines are fully blacked out.

Bottom line: official business landed in a personal inbox, and the public only learned that through OPRA.

(If this sounds like records-retention chaos waiting to happen, you’re not wrong.)

---

Why Forwarding Matters (a.k.a. The Four Horsemen of Email Oopsies)

1. Transparency - If emails live in a private account, OPRA turns into a scavenger hunt.
2. Records Retention - The state requires years-long archiving. Yahoo’s purge policy? Not so much.
3. Cybersecurity - Sure, our district email isn’t fortified with fancy multi-factor logins-but it still lives on a monitored, backed-up server the IT team can audit. A personal Yahoo inbox? No logs, no oversight, and no guarantee messages stick around once a hacker (or an overeager spam filter) sweeps through.
4. Public Trust - Voters hate surprises, especially the redacted kind.

---

Which Policy Did This Violate?

Hardyston’s own Policy 0169 - Board Member Use of Electronic Mail/Internet couldn’t be clearer:

• Board e-mails are governmental records subject to OPRA.
• Written communications “should not involve confidential matters” that belong in executive session.
• E-mail or chat discussions must not replace open deliberation or include a quorum the public can’t observe.

Forwarding confidential drafts and legal memos to a private Yahoo account flunks all three bullets. The policy even warns that improper disclosure “may compromise the Board or Board member.” Guess we’re there.

When a violation happens, Policy 0169 says the Board President (yep, Ms. Carey) and the Board Attorney should step in. That conversation is officially overdue.

---

“But Everyone Forwards Stuff…” (Do They, Though?)

Sure, everybody forwards random stuff to themselves. But forwarding confidential board communications is a completely different category. Public business belongs on public systems.

---

What the Board Should Do-Yesterday

• Flip the forwarding switch off. Many districts block external auto-forwarding already.
• Pull the strays back home. IT can import those messages into the district archive.
• Review-or Write-Policy. If the current policy’s mushy, make it crystal clear: no personal inboxes for public business. Period.
• Own It Publicly. A simple, “We messed up; we’ll fix it” goes a long way. So does actually fixing it.

---

Questions You Might Toss at the Next Board Meeting

1. President Carey, what was the purpose of forwarding these emails to your personal Yahoo account?
2. Were any student or personnel records included? If so, how is the district protecting that data now?
3. Will you authorize the district’s IT staff to archive your Yahoo account to ensure full OPRA compliance?
4. What specific technical controls will be implemented to stop future off-server forwarding?

(Feel free to print, fold, and bring to the mic.)

---

Final Thought

I’m not mad that Yahoo still exists-okay, maybe a little. I’m mad that official school business took a detour there. Sunshine laws matter, not because they’re fun bureaucratic hoops, but because they keep public servants honest and communities informed.

Let’s keep the conversation (and the emails) where they belong: out in the open.

If you found this breakdown useful, share it with a neighbor-or your favorite school-spirit group chat. Transparency works best when everyone’s watching.*

---