EAST BRUNSWICK — In the wake of East Brunswick’s recent decision to continue its groundless lawsuit against the Hatikvah International Academy Charter School, Hatikvah officials announced today that they have filed a formal Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request with the school board to reveal how much taxpayer money has been wasted on the case to date.

“Our friends and neighbors in East Brunswick should be clear on the facts here,” said Hatikvah board member and spokeswoman Pam Mullins. “Three times the school board has attempted with specious arguments to try to shut down our school, and each challenge has been rejected out of hand. The last three state education commissioners, the career attorneys in the attorney general’s office, and now three independent judges have all said the same thing: Hatikvah has a valid charter and has the right to deliver a high quality, dual language curriculum to the families who choose Hatikvah as the best educational option for their children.

“We would have hoped that the school board would heed its fiduciary responsibilities to East Brunswick’s taxpayers and stop this pointless fight, which has already wasted tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars without accomplishing anything other than unfairly punishing a group of parents and students who believe in our approach. Sadly, the school board decided last week to file yet another frivolous appeal and throw away even more precious resources that should be spent on preparing all of East Brunswick’s students to succeed in career and life.

“We believe that our fellow citizens should be aware of exactly how much this baseless case, which the town is actually subsidizing both sides of, is costing them. That’s why we filed this OPRA request — East Brunswick’s taxpayers have a right to know how their public funds are being used, or in this case, misused.”

East Brunswick Patch: Hatikvah Files OPRA for Access to Legal Fees