HACKENSACK SCHOOL ATTORNEY OVERBILLS TAXPAYERS, TAKES HUGE PAY INCREASES AND HAS NO CONTRACT IN VIOLATION OF STATE LAW

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School Candidates Demand That Richard Salkin Reimburse Taxpayers and Call for State Investigation

Hackensack, NJ (April 5, 2018) –  Hackensack Board of Education Attorney Richard Salkin has raised his compensation by 50% in just 2 years, overbilled taxpayers by thousands of dollars and is breaking state law by working without a contract according to public records analyzed by three opposing candidates for the April 17 school election.

The “Putting Our Kids First Team” candidates are calling for a state investigation

School Board Candidates Frances Cogelja, Lance Powell and Carlos Velez say Salkin’s compensation has increased from $95,000 two years ago to $144,000 for the current school year.

Last year Salkin was the campaign attorney for the losing slate of candidates backed by former Mayor Jack Zisa and former Police Chief Ken Zisa and their family political machine.

Cogelja, Powell and Velez say that Salkin overbilled the School Board by thousands of dollars. The candidates also charge that Salkin works without a contract, a violation of the New Jersey School Contracts Law that states that, “All contracts for goods and services shall be in writing.”

The school district released copies of contracts with three other law firms, but not for Salkin. “Richard Salkin believes that he is above the law because he actually controls the Board of Education through his relationship with the Zisa family,” said Carlos Velez, also a local school parent and a NYC school Principal.

“We filed an Open Public Records Act on February 26 asking for Salkin’s contract and received hundreds of pages of records, but no contract,” says Cogelja.  “We did learn that he overbilled taxpayers by $13,000 last year and we demand that he return these funds to the school district.” The former local PTA President says public records show Salkin was authorized to bill $118,000 but actually billed $131,709.

Cogelja adds that Salkin is also overbilling taxpayers in the current school year by charging a higher hourly rate than allowed. “We can’t fully know the depth of his abuses or how many years he has been doing this without a full investigation by the State Board of Education or another appropriate state agency.”

Powell, an educator and public school parent, says the lack of a contract is a serious legal issue. “The public has a right to know what services they are paying for, if he is overbilling, if he is insured, if he complies with important state regulations and many other requirements. That’s why state law requires a written contract but the school board apparently doesn’t care.”

During last year’s city council election, Salkin ruled that a high school teacher who was serving as the Zisa candidates’ campaign manager who was caught doing political work on school time and on school property did not do anything wrong. When Mayor John Labrosse asked the Superintendent of Schools if he knew that Salkin was also the slate’s campaign attorney, Salkin and Board President  Jason Nunnermacker angrily ordered the Superintendent not to answer.

Now it appears that Salkin may have also billed taxpayers for that legal opinion – which would be a serious conflict of interest. Records show that Salkin billed the school district for an “ethics opinion” on April 10, 2017 – the same time that the controversy was happening. Only a formal investigation would reveal what that “ethics opinion” was.

“This is just another reason why we believe a full state investigation is necessary,” adds Velez.

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