Manchester School Board Members Pass Criminal Background Checks

Each of the eight members of the Manchester have completed and passed a required criminal background check before the state deadline.

The background checks were required by state law, unique to New Jersey. The deadline to complete the process was Dec. 31, and the state Department of Education said the names of the board members who didn’t comply could be released by today.

Manchester's school board members all were fingerprinted and investigated well before the deadline, said Business Administrator Craig Lorentzen, who also serves as the board secretary.

"We received all of our notifications that their background checks were complete and they were all clear by November," he said.

However, NJ.com reported that more than 350 school board members statewide failed to complete a criminal background check.

Legislation passed last year states that board members who did not complete the criminal background checks by Dec. 31, would be required to resign or face criminal charges.

The background check legislation is intended to hold school board members to the same standards as teachers working in the district, its supporters say. Yet opponents said the law will also find decades old, minor offenses, and disqualify those school board members.

Members of Manchester's Board of Education are Donald Webster, Jr., who serves as president, vice president James Kenneth Pate, Jackie Bermudez, James Griffin, Jennifer Hudak, Steve Placido, Mary Walter, and Lakehurst Representative April Chillemi.