Judge blocks Milltown school board member from taking oath

Egnita Pardo, a member-elect of the Milltown Board of Education in Middlesex County, has been barred from taking office due to a claim she filed against the board in 2017. Pardo was elected to one of three seats on the board by 65 votes last November.

According to the ruling from Administrative Law Judge Joseph Ascione, the existence of Pardo’s claim against the board represents a conflict of interest, since by joining the board Pardo would gain access to confidential information related to her own claim.

“In balancing the interests of the parties, the potential harm to the Board, is that once Respondent is seated on the Board and gains access to otherwise confidential information, such information potentially could compromise the Board’s legal position regarding Respondent’s claim against it,” Ascione wrote.

Ascione thus concluded that Pardo must “resolve her right of reimbursement… prior to her duty to the public which elected her to be a member of the board of education.”

But Pardo said that the claim, which she filed on behalf of her child, was withdrawn last month, and that the board has since been uncooperative in assisting her make sure the claim is properly resolved and does not impede her ability to take the seat.

“The ward is asserting that I have an inconsistent interest with my position, due to a court claim notice I filed on behalf of my child in May 2017, a claim that I have not pursued,” Pardo said in a video posted to Facebook. “I am astonished that the board has maintained its stance, despite my formal withdrawal of the complaint on December 15, 2021, and has taken legal action to prevent me from taking my seat on the board.”

Pardo went on to question why, exactly, the board has shown such fervor in blocking her from the seat to which she was duly elected.

“I question the board’s motive to block me from being seated despite my continuous efforts to resolve the matter,” Pardo said. “What motivates this board so passionately that it will go to such lengths to go against the electorate? What do you fear?”