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To: dennis.frohnapfel@lodi.k12.nj.us Cc: nancy.cardone@lodi.k12.nj.us; sharon.salvacion@lodi.k12.nj.us; karin.gilcher@lodi.k12.nj.us; kerry.mastrofilipo@lodi.k12.nj.us; joseph.ramos@lodi.k12.nj.us; yadiria.jimenez@lodi.k12.nj.us; laura.cima@lodi.k12.nj.us; jocelyn.anderson@lodi.k12.nj.us; paula.cortez@lodi.k12.nj.us Sent: Sunday, November 28, 2021 8:36 AM Subject: Being Paid to Not Serve the PublicMr. Frohnapfel,
After watching a video of your behavior at the last Board of Education meeting, I felt compelled to send this email. I watched a Lodi resident politely ask questions about a vote on a contract. I watched you respond by yelling, ‘I’ll clean your clock!” and “You’re a clown!”. Your behavior is unacceptable and should never be tolerated by Superintendent Douglas Petty or any of the board members for the reasons listed below. Your actions have further tarnished Lodi’s already battered reputation.
You are not volunteering your time here in Lodi. The Lodi taxpayers are paying you a $155,920.08 annual salary at the same time you are collecting a separate $122,499 public pension (for when you “retired” from the Garfield Board of Education in 2011). You are paid very well to be a public employee. You are paid to serve the public and answer to the public. Instead of serving the residents of Lodi, you have showed time and time again that you don’t answer to the public, you make up your own rules, and laws don’t apply to you.
Your $278,419.08 annual public paychecks and PHD from Seton Hall do not make you better than anyone else. You have been rude, nasty, and disrespectful to many in Lodi including concerned residents and taxpayers as well as employees. You should learn some respect and show some humility.
You, along with Superintendent Petty and most board members have set Lodi back a decade in the area of transparency. People noticed that you removed all the bills from monthly agendas. People noticed that you removed all summaries for hearing of citizens from meeting minutes. You do not comply with the required 48-hour notice for some of the most important items voted on during your meetings.
People read your email where you clearly stated that all board members voted on your $67,262,087 budget without ever being provided a copy of the detailed budget. That budget raised Lodi taxes at a time when Lodi was receiving millions more in state aid. You basically admitted in writing that this board raised Lodi taxes without ever seeing how the money would be spent.
You put together a $67,262,087 budget and refuse to provide the public with a copy of the detailed budget even after it is requested via the Open Public Records Act. Why? What are you hiding? I received a copy last year and have copies going back decades.
You have committed multiple violations of the Open Public Records Act. You have been denying the public access to public records that have been made available for decades. You even tried to deny the public access to see public comments that were submitted electronically during your virtual meetings. You have redacted Giacobbe’s legal invoices to the extent they are unreadable. You are only allowed to redact confidential information, yet you have been redacting everything. What are you hiding in the legal bills? An experienced BA would know that board attorneys are supposed to compose invoices for the purpose of OPRA responses.
Too often, overpaid public employees (supposed retirees) abuse the system. They are drunk on power. They are consumed with money and titles. They forget who they work for and who pays their salaries. It is clear that you have reached that point. Let this email serve as a reminder that many Lodi residents saw your behavior at the last meeting and know how you are operating our board office. It is unacceptable. Lodi residents should demand accountability and consequences from the Superintendent and all nine board members.
Ryan Curioni
