Murphy’s radical N.J. school board nominee stalls in committee

Notwithstanding NAACP and NJEA pressure, Democrats decided not to advance a controversial Murphy nominee for the state school board on Thursday.

Senator Kristin Corrado (R-40), who presently serves as the ranking Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, took the unusual step of thanking the Democrat committee chairman for pumping the brakes.

“We’re thankful that Chairman Stack has been willing to listen to Republican concerns about Mary Bennett, which resulted in the consideration of her nomination to the State Board of Education being removed from the agenda of today’s Senate Judiciary Committee meeting,” said Corrado. “Given recent controversies surrounding the State Board of Education in recent years, Republicans believe all nominees to the board must be required to appear before the Judiciary Committee as part of the confirmation process to provide testimony and answer direct questions from members.”

Governor Murphy nominated Bennett, an educational consultant for the Seton Hall University Academy for Urban Transformation since 2007, back in September. Murphy put up three nominees in all in the hopes of purging opponents to his extreme sex ed agenda.

Republicans have expressed concerns regarding her background and candor.

“Her involvement in an organization – as a member of its governing board – devoted to the use of brutal instruments like the forced busing of school children from school districts funded by the property taxes of their parents, to districts paid for with state income tax dollars, is concerning and should be further examined,” said LD24 Senate hopeful Steve Lonegan on Thursday. “So too is Ms. Bennett’s failure to disclose her involvement with that organization – the New Jersey Coalition for Diverse and Inclusive Schools (NJCDIS) – on her official questionnaire. It has been reported in various media that this is an infraction punishable by criminal sanctions. This is very problematic.”

Matt Rooney
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MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.