Committee To Assess Outcome Of Hillsborough Schools Criminal Probe

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — A new Hillsborough Board of Education committee has been formed to review the results of an investigation into past district purchases probed by local authorities after an audit into the school district's finances found "multiple instances of concern."

Announced by newly-re elected board president Paul Marini at the board’s Thursday reorganization meeting, the investigation remediation ad hoc committee will meet to assess the impact of the outcomes of the investigation once the results of the investigation are made available.

The committee will be chaired by board member Jean Trujillo and include Elaine Jackson, Jane Staats and Marini. Once the investigation is assessed, formal recommendations will be made by the board regarding actions to be taken.

The committee will also present a "public-facing" report which will then be presented to the board of education for approval and disseminated to the public. Policy revisions and creations may also be recommended as a result of the committee’s assessments, Marini added.

The investigation, launched in late 2021 by the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office and the Hillsborough Police, was prompted by a sudden resignation from the district’s former Business Administrator Aiman Mahmoud, followed by the resignation of Assistant Business Administrator Luisa Rodriguez and School Superintendent Dr. Lisa Antunes.

A subsequent audit report in April found “a number of actions taken over the course of the previous year that were either in conflict with the fine practices, especially as it relates to overtime and bid thresholds," said Marini at board meeting last year, adding that another item of concern included the issuance and timing of disbursements or money that was never released.

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