Refuted

Long-running negotiations aimed at placing Class 3 special police officers in Middlesex Borough schools came to a head on Tuesday, Jan. 27 as the Borough Council okayed a services agreement and challenged the Board of Education to do likewise.

The council-approved agreement calls for the hiring of three Class 3 officers. The meeting also saw the governing body’s legal counsel refute School Superintendent Dr. Roberta Freeman’s recent public assertions that he had been responsible for stalling the two sides’ negotiations. 

Clearly annoyed, borough officials have now put the ball in the school board’s court on whether the special officers get hired. Class 3’s are retired police, under the age of 65, who receive special training and get hired to provide school security. One online source said that hundreds of New Jersey school districts have employed Class 3’s since the program was begun in 2016, but did not mention a specific number.

Approval of the agreement sets up potentially contentious February board meetings where parents may pressure school officials to follow the council’s lead. The school board next meets on Wednesday, Feb. 18 and Thursday, Feb. 19. If the board ratifies the agreement, a second issue could still spur parental concerns. As the agreement now reads, three Class 3 officers would be hired, an insufficient number to place one in every local school.

“We’ve basically bent on every single thing to get this done,” said Mayor Jack Mikolajczyk. He added, that if the council receives no response from the board by next month, then “they need to get private security.”

At one point, Mikolajczyk said, “I would never want this on my head.” He was alluding to the potential for a school security-related tragedy if the council did not act.

The agreement states that the municipality would equip the officers. The school board would pay salaries and training costs. The board would forward the council an initial payment of $50,250, and subsequent monthly installments of $20,100. The monthly amounts would be pro-rated if hiring of the three officers is staggered.

Borough Attorney Chris Corsini spent several minutes early in the council meeting outlining his contacts last fall with Board Attorney Ari Schneider. The two exchanged a series of emails  that were aimed at finalizing a Class 3 agreement. Corsini supplied Inside – Middlesex with copies that documented the communications.

The most recent email was sent by Corsini to Schneider on Jan. 12. It stated the council’s intention to place the agreement on its Jan. 27 agenda for action if it received no further response from the board. It noted that a payment arrangement described by Freeman had been reflected in the agreement since October. Corsini enclosed a copy of the agreement, writing, “From our perspective, we believe there has been a meeting of the minds.” 

Corsini attached a copy of a Dec. 11 email from Freeman to Police Chief Matt Geist asking that a proposed payment arrangement be included in the agreement. The payment amounts in the council-approved agreement appear to match-up with the superintendent’s suggested numbers.

In the Jan. 12 correspondence, Corsini asked that any further requested changes be forwarded by the board expeditiously. “We are happy to conduct further discussions here if the school board deems that necessary,” Corsini wrote, “but the borough has made a good faith attempt to complete this agreement for the benefit and safety of the district’s students and staff…”

According to Corsini, he received no response to the Jan. 12 email. Nine days later, Freeman publicly blamed him for bogging down the negotiations, claiming he had failed to craft the agreement to reflect several school district concerns. 

Another email shows that Corsini reached out to Schneider on Oct.22, writing: “The attached agreement contains the language revision requested. They are contained within the first four sentences of Paragraph 3. Let me know your further thoughts.”

Schneider wrote back to Corsini on Nov. 17. “Apologies for the delay in getting back to you. I was able to connect with my client today. Any chance we can schedule a brief phone call, during which I can include the superintendent and BA (business administrator) as they have questions re: the initial payment of 50K. I think this may be the best route to a quick resolution at this point.”

Corsini responded on Nov. 20. “I’ll consult with my client and get back to you. They may want to be involved in any discussion we have that involves more than just you and me. After sixteen months of deliberation, discussion, and drafts, I am genuinely curious what could possibly still be ambiguous at this point, so I will get you an answer as expeditiously as possible.”

In early October, Corsini had emailed Schneider a proposed draft of the agreement, telling the board attorney to “feel free to redline your proposed changes and comments directly in the document.”

During this week’s council meeting, Corsini several times referred to a lack of feedback from the school district during the fall 2025 communications.

“The idea that the ball is in the borough’s court is a false one,” Corsini said.

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