The New Providence Board of Education listed a three-year security officer deal as a one-year contract with no cost on its public agenda, according to records obtained by NJ21st.

The nonprofit outlet first reported Aug. 30 that the Shared Services Agreement for Special Law Enforcement Officers was missing from the Aug. 11 Board of Education agenda packet. The agreement was still absent from the Aug. 31 packet. In a Saturday, Sept. 5 newsletter, NJ21st's John Migueis reported the pattern continued at the board's most recent meeting.

NJ21st obtained the agreement through an Open Public Records Act request to the Borough of New Providence. Borough records show each SLEO position pays $38 per hour for an estimated 183 days at eight hours per day, totaling $55,632 per officer annually. The projected combined cost for three officers is $179,664, with the board's 50% share calculated at $89,832.

The Borough's 2026 budget included an estimated $87,000 reimbursement from the board.

None of those figures appeared on the Aug. 31 agenda. The agenda described the agreement as one year, though it runs through June 2029. In one item, the officers are called SLEOs; in the next, they are called School Resource Officers.

NJ21st reported that residents reviewing only the agenda would not know the estimated cost, the split of additional expenses or that the deal extends three years. The agreement also divides training and uniform costs and assigns the board responsibility for certain school security equipment and supplies.

The same Aug. 31 agenda listed $3,296,420.26 in bills for board approval without the backup bills list in the online packet. Throughout the agenda, supporting documents were described as "in the hands of each Board member" or "on file at the Board office," according to NJ21st's review. The board's meeting structure places public comment after all finance, education, personnel and policy votes.

No public response from the seven-member board or Superintendent Dr. Lauren Zirpoli to the transparency concerns has been reported.

The accountability pattern extends beyond New Providence. NJ21st has also been investigating how Berkeley Heights is spending a $3.5 million bond passed last year as an emergency storm response. OPRA records show over $1 million committed to a Springfield Avenue streetscape project, as we reported Thursday, Sept. 3. The Berkeley Heights township website confirms that project is under construction, with the bid awarded to Cifelli in November 2025.

The Aug. 31 New Providence BOE meeting's vote outcome on the SLEO agreement has not been publicly confirmed.