Plagiarism Possible Again on Bedminster School Site

A letter published on the Bedminster Township School website welcoming students back to school in September was edited Friday because it may have been plagiarized from another school, according to an article on NJ.Com.

According to the article, the page was modified at 3:09 a.m. Friday, and, prior to that, the letter was a word-for-word replica of portions written by a superintendent in Santa Clara, California, in 2011.

The article said that Santa Clara Superintendent Bobbie Plough said she does not know Bedminster Superintendent Carolyn Koos, but that the letter appeared to be portions of her own.

Another message written at the start of the new year was taken down from the township website after others said it had comments similar to a letter written by Bettendorf Community School District Superintendent of Schools Theron Shutte, in Iowa.

Koos said Thursday that it is all a misunderstanding because of her accidental lack of attribution to Shutte when she originally posted the message.

This letter has also been taken down from the Bedminster School website.

Koos declined to comment Monday on the situation, and said the board of education is investigating.

Board president Louis Casella said they are looking into the issue.

"The board is looking into the information surrounding this issue and will provide information when appropriate," he said.