Can municipalities opt-out of yearly reassessment?

This is really incredible reporting. Thank you!

With the case now moving into discovery, the focus shifts from allegations to evidence. What emerges next will depend on records, communications, and sworn testimony that have yet to be made public.

Read more at publicrecordnj.com

Our research also identifies payments to an out-of-state opposition research firm whose principal has advised national school-focused political movements, raising questions about how partisan tactics enter local school board politics.

Campaign finance records show payments to Archangel Strategy Group during the same periods when the coverage appeared. Our reporting does not allege coordination, but identifies a recurring overlap between campaign activity and undisclosed editorial control of a local political Substack.

The complaint also alleges that personnel files and district records were used to generate undisclosed media coverage critical of the teacher, echoing patterns documented in our prior reporting.

The lawsuit centers on a long-time public school teacher and local mayor who alleges he was suspended and subjected to tenure charges after political disputes escalated. The charges were later withdrawn, but reinstatement and back pay were denied.

Thank you for reading!

(apologies in advance for the self promo but) yes, the local R's have an entrenched system there. Here's an example from the Middletown school board race medium.com/@publicrecor...

Middletown is comprised of many named neighborhoods and confusing postal designations. Don't be fooled by the Whole Foods in "Red Bank", it's actually Middletown. Parts of town even have a Rumson mailing address.

The story missed the opportunity to reference Middletown's Nut Swamp Road. Perhaps that is a good thing.

This is just one illustrative example of from our research into local party-network spending: Mapping Influence and Information Flow: The Convergence of Party Spending and Political Media in Monmouth County

None of the content contains "paid for by" disclosures. To readers, it appears as organic news from a local community source.

Business records identify the Substack editor as a vendor that is used by many, local Republican candidates. Campaign payments align with post dates.

One local Substack regularly wrote positive articles about the candidates, while espousing anti-trans ideology and verbally attacking state officials.

Those articles became Facebook posts, which were then pushed to local community groups.

Voters would never know the content was paid for.

The 2023 election in Middletown was the center of the "parental rights" movement in New Jersey.

The Attorney General had sued the school district for adopting an anti-trans measure that violated state policies.

Board members took their re-election campaign to the media, appearing on Fox News.