New Jersey PTA (NJPTA) Faces Lawsuit for Removing President-Elect

The New Jersey PTA (NJPTA) is now facing a lawsuit from its own elected President-Elect. On September 18, 2025, Lisa Clarke announced in a public Facebook video statement that she had filed suit against the statewide organization, accusing its leadership of violating bylaws and unlawfully removing her from office.

Clarke, who was elected NJPTA President-Elect in April 2023, said her ouster was carried out in secret and without cause.

“As the duly elected President-Elect of New Jersey PTA, I was removed in a closed-door board meeting that voted against the bylaws. No cause. No process. No respect for your vote,” Clarke stated in her video message.

Unlawful Removal
In May 2025, allegedly under the direction of current NJPTA President Sharon Roseboro, the NJPTA board voted to remove Lisa Clarke just months before her presidential term was set to begin on November 1, 2025.

While it is rare (if it has ever happened at all) for a PTA president (or president-elect) to be lawfully removed, the process is likely lengthy and strict. It could require:

· official notification of accusations and charges,
· written presentation of those accusations,
· real and factual documentation supporting allegations,
· witnesses, and
· a hearing with all registered members of the organization.

According to confidential sources, none of these actions were taken or even considered during Clarke’s removal.

A Disturbing History
In 2024, NJPTA President Sharon Roseboro and the NJPTA Board interfered in the business of the Glenfield PTA in Montclair, NJ. One person at the center of the controversy was parent Betty Shvetz, who, with her allies, appeared to feed NJPTA false information in an alleged effort to eliminate Black leadership from Glenfield PTA's executive board, and secure an officer position for herself.

Shvetz not only appeared to coordinate with Roseboro but also gave inaccurate statements to the Montclair Local about then-PTA President Dee Thompson, a Black parent leading the Glenfield PTA board at the time. The result was a community firestorm; one that coincidentally boosted Glenfield PTA memberships and, in turn, NJPTA’s revenue.

On October 30, 2024, Roseboro coordinated an unprecedented “run-from-the-floor” election that excluded the sitting Glenfield PTA board. The outcome was exactly what critics had feared: no Black members remained in executive leadership, and Shvetz gained an executive PTA officer role she had long sought.

By the June, 2025 school-year’s end, Shvetz sent a farewell PTA statement claiming she had felt “confident” that her new team had left the PTA in a “positive place.” In Shvetz’s lengthy email that took much credit for the previous work of others, the signature listed three executive board members (all non-Black) reinforcing the allegation that the agenda was to erase Black leadership from Glenfield’s PTA executive board and only use Black members as helpers (while Shvetz served as a PTA officer).

How is excluding any one group is positive? Communicating to a mass audience celebrating exclusion seems a bit privileged in my opinion, but, to each their own.

While NJPTA openly supported the bylaw-violating October, 2024 Glenfield PTA election, it remains unclear whether state leaders knowingly endorsed Shvetz’s alleged discriminatory goal.

Retaliatory in Nature
During the 2024 Glenfield PTA controversy, Lisa Clarke strongly informed the NJPTA Executive Board in writing that any interference would violate the bylaws.

“We did not have the authority to interfere at Glenfield. Parent disputes have nothing to do with us. Local PTAs are completely separate business entities. That is the law,” Clarke stated.

According to confidential sources, when Clarke refused to support any bylaw violations or cover up intentional NJPTA misconduct, Roseboro allegedly vowed to remove her as President-Elect.

In May 2025, the NJPTA Executive board removed Lisa Clarke from her elected position in a closed-door meeting held without due process. Her name was deleted from the NJPTA website, and her access to the organization was revoked.

Let the Courts Decide
On September 11, 2025, an Essex County Superior Court judge granted a hearing. Clarke’s access currently remains revoked, and her name and title have not been restored on the NJPTA website.

Clarke’s hearing in this case is scheduled for October 21, 2025, in Essex County Superior Court.

Closing Note
As a former PTA leader who successfully raised significant funds, launched collaborative programs, and built community trust, I know the transformative impact a PTA can have when it operates with integrity and transparency. We are all learning together, and not everyone will know every rule, but intent is everything. What we are seeing from NJPTA is no mistake. Bylaws were ignored, voices were silenced, and power was wielded at the expense of fairness and equity. Parents, educators, and community members deserve accountability, respect, and a PTA that models the leadership it asks of others.

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