Bellomo voted against investigation into Board response to alleged molestation and legal malpractice
The County Clerk candidate withheld her support of a resolution dedicated to self-transparency because it confused her.
Marlboro - Recent revelations show that Danielle Bellomo voted against an investigation into the Marlboro Board of Education’s response to the alleged molestation of a student and subsequent legal malpractice of the Board’s attorney.
Why? The resolution had too much verbiage.
Now, Marlboro taxpayers are on the hook for defending the Board of Education against a lawsuit by the teacher alleging that the girl’s parents engaged in a “transparent attempt to shake down the Marlboro School District for some cash.”
At the May 7th, 2024 Marlboro Board of Education meeting, Bellomo argued against launching an internal investigation and possibly filing a malpractice claim against its former attorney, Marc Zitomer, in response to an incident involving former Memorial Middle School teacher. The teacher was charged with harassment for allegedly inappropriately touching a student, an act reportedly witnessed by a staff member. A social media firestorm among Marlboro residents ensued, with the teacher receiving “death threats and numerous unwanted communications from actual pedophiles and creepy men.” Bomb threats were called into the school, closing all eight district schools. The teacher was found not guilty the following November.
Bellomo, no stranger to causing controversy on social media, cast the deciding vote against self-transparency of the Board, leaving it without an internal review of best practices and ethical standards.
During the board meeting, Bellomo and members debated whether school officials responded properly to the incident and expressed concern over a letter sent by Zitomer to the student's parents. The letter was criticized for allegedly blaming and shaming the parents of the allegedly molested child and was sent without approval from the Board of Education. Board members discussed the possibility of conducting an independent review of the board's and administration's handling of the case, though concerns were raised by Bellomo.
The chief concern raised exclusively by Bellomo was the verbiage of Resolution #14 (page 9-10) on the agenda. The resolution stated:
The Board will authorize the commencement of a comprehensive independent review of the district’s actions and decisions concerning the incident and subsequent management to identify procedural weaknesses and identify areas for improvement. The independent committee, selected by the board will include internal and external experts in educational governance and legal compliance. The Committee will conduct a timely and comprehensive review of the District’s and its Member actions and decisions related to the incident and issue a report with findings and recommendations for improvement and action. This review will be completed within 90 days of the adoption of this motion.
The resolution also outlined course of action with regard to the Board reviewing actions by its former attorney, enhancing communication protocols, and recommitting itself to ethical standards, and subsequent response measures, all of which confused Bellomo who said one incident — in this case, the alleged molestation of a child — “doesn’t promote forward thinking.”
“um, kind of some of the verbiage in here there's a lot in this motion, um, and to be able to agree to all of this motion is something at this point in time, um, I wouldn't be comfortable with", said Bellomo at the meeting.
Unlike several of her colleagues, Bellomo did have knowledge about the letter from Zitomer that was sent out to the parents of the alleged victim. During the April 16th, 2024 meeting where the parents of the alleged molested child raised the allegations to the Board, Bellomo openly stated she knew about the letter prior to the public board meeting, causing others to wonder why she didn’t inform her fellow Board members.
Bellomo ran as part of the Marlboro Values Protected Team in in the 2024 election. Per the team’s campaign website: “Danielle’s genuine care for the children and families of Marlboro shines through in all her endeavors. Her campaign for the Board of Education is driven by a desire to protect and enhance the values that make Marlboro a wonderful place to live and learn. Danielle’s platform is built on the cornerstones of student safety and academic excellence, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to thrive.”
Whether or not having a full investigation of the Board into the alleged molestation and legal malpractice lives up to her previous pledge of transparency is for voters to decide. Bellomo is challenging County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon for Monmouth County Clerk having only been on the Board of Education for less than two years.
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