Frum School Board Candidate Forced Off School Campus – Twice

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boruch-blausteinLakewood , NJ – A local frum school board candidate was ceremoniously escorted off of a local public school campus, twice last week, by Lakewood Police Department officers.

On Thursday, Boruch Blaustein, a Chicago native who now lives in Lakewood and is a yungerman at Beth Medrash Govoha, attempted to visit the Clifton Avenue Grade School, a public school located at Clifton Avenue and Sixth Street, and was asked to leave the school.

Mr. Blaustein explained that he was there legally and could not be forced off the premises. This information was passed through dispatch by Chief of Police Rob Lawson. Officer Gary Przewoznik was advised that if Mr. Blaustein refused to vacate the premises, Mr. Blaustein was to be placed under arrest for trespassing. The school principal told Mr. Blaustein that he could not do a walk-through of the school at that time. According to a police report, “the principal was attempting to explain to him that he was in the middle of dealing with a crisis with one of the students and it was not a good time.”

Furthermore, the police report states, Officer Przewoznik “explained to Mr. Blaustein that if the principal said he must leave the building, then he has to go.”

At that point, Mr. Blaustein told the officer that he had spoken to Board of Education attorney Michael Inzelbuch, who said that he has a right to walk through the school. Mr. Blaustein also presented a visitor’s pass he had received, allowing him to walk through the school.

Mr. Blaustein said he would call down the media to document the fact that he was being sent off the grounds of a public school without reason. The police officer said that he “was not afraid of him” and that he would place him under arrest by order of the Chief of Police for trespassing on school property. Finally, Mr. Blaustein was escorted off the school property.

The incident was recorded by the mobile video equipment of police car #3380.

On Friday, Mr. Blaustein went to visit the Ella G. Clarke Public School. Mr. Blaustein signed into the visitor log and, when approached by police officers who were called to the school, explained that he was running for the local school board and had spoken to the school board attorney who told Mr. Blaustein that he could do a walk-through of the school.

However, the school principal would not permit Mr. Blaustein to enter the school during learning hours because Mr. Blaustein is not a parent of a child in the school, and, according to police, because “he was not familiar with his intentions.” Present at the scene were four officers, Patrolman Robert Smith, Patrolman Robert Meyer, Patrolwoman Susan Mannik and Patrolman Chase Messer.

Mr. Blaustein had, in the interim, spoken to an additional Lakewood attorney, who, like Mr. Inzelbuch, stated that it was completely legal for him – or anyone else for that matter – to visit a local public school during school hours to view the grounds and the school building. In addition, Mr. Blaustein had made it clear that his visit was related to his candidacy for the school board, whose elections will take place on Isru Chag, April 27.

Mr. Blaustein, during a visit to Police Headquarters on Third Street, requested a copy of the video of Thursday’s incident, but was told that there is a $75 charge per video. When Mr. Blaustein later returned with the money, he was told by an officer that, in that short interim, the case had been placed under internal review and that the video could not be released.

{Matzav.com Newscenter}


37 COMMENTS

  1. what is the police response?
    What are the school’s hiding that they cant let a school board candidate to visit the school – twice?!

  2. Blaustein (according to the lead sentence to this story is merely a **candidate** for membership of the school board. In other words no one has elected him to that body, and so he has no legal ‘locus’ in school premises.

    In simple language, Blaustein was trespassing.

    Kol hakavod to Chief of Police Rob Lawson and Officer Gary Przewoznik

  3. “When he returned later with the money”. Like 75 dollars? He should have swiped his credit card! It cost more in gas to go home and come back!

    Also, why are elections on isru chag when half of lakewood won’t be back or in the mood to vote? Strange.

  4. I live in south jersey and was in Lakewood court that day and was very impressed with the Way Boruch Handled himself and the way he went about filing the police report. Every Ben Torah should be Mikadesh Shaim Shomayim like he was, calm and dignified even the way he spoke to the lady cop with so much Derech Eretz!

  5. Yea there is more to the story.
    The schools are afraid of what might be uncovered.
    There is no legal reason that he was denied.

  6. Attorney Larry Loigman says that it is required of schools to allow visitors to visit their schools.
    THE POLICE VIOLATED THE LAW.

  7. Kudos to Boruch! He is an erliche ben Torah, a very bright young man with his head on straight. he is a talmid of prestigious yeshivos and is well read. There is nothing wrong with what he did. And if he is running for the school
    board to save the taxpayers some money, good for him.
    Reb Boruch, stay strong.

  8. boomslang – you are dead wrong. maybe study the law. The law is that anyone may visit
    a public school! anyone! not only a school board candidate. what they did here
    was disgraceful – and anti Semitic.
    Are you telling me that if Bill Hobday or Larry Avrin came that they would have thrown them out? Never!
    This was simply anti Semitism. They see a yeshiva guy and their hatred built up. If I was Boruch Blaustein, I would file a grievance against the school, the principal and the Police Department.

  9. Boomslang
    You are wrong any Lakewood taxpayer has a right to enter so the public school building so long as they have a visitors pass and are not interrupting the classes. That is the law. Verified by the board attorney Mr. Michael Inzelbuch.

  10. looks like the LPD and the school district – beyachad – have themselves embroiled in another beauty. they can’t stop tripping over themselves.

  11. To #5:

    Get your facts straight. It says that EACH video has a 75 dollar fee. He had requested two videos so it was 75 dollars each and 150 dollars total. Also, whether he had the $$ is not relevant. Why did they not honor his request? How does it become an “internal matter” in a couple of hours?

  12. People should line up to do spot inspections and they won’t be able to give an excuse that its a bad time..Because it’s always a bad time

  13. There are signs on the school. They are written in English. A language which he may not be familiar. They say “NO TRESPASSING”. What would happen if someone walked into your childs school out of the blue? I hope your school would act in the same way.

  14. From the inside, behind the scenes i have heard that the police know they goofed on this one, they and the school district knoiw this is a political nightmare for them. the question is how they will spin it to cover themselves. they had no right to reject Blaustein’s presence. Even the police couldn’t claim he did anythign wrong. then they started obfuscating and hiding the video, so it is, as I was told, a political nightmare for them

  15. #18, He walked in and signed into the guest book. Is holding a visitor’s pass still considered trespassing??? Think twice before you comment next time.

  16. If walking through the school involves entering classes while they’re in session, then this guy is a bit off. I wouldn’t want anybody “observing” – disturbing – my child’s class without a good reason that would benefit the children.

    If he wants to see the school, he should be a mentsch, and contact the school ahead of time. Teachers have classes, principals have paperwork and pupil conferences, secretaries have letters to type. Why should he be free to just walk in whenever he feels like it and disturb classes and work? He doesn’t even have children in the system. He’s just looking for things he can criticize in his campaign literature, not looking out for the good of the pupils in the system.

  17. Where I live once school is in session you can not walk your child to class. Forgotten lunches leave them at the front office. Given the character of people in this day and age why would you want a stranger walking around the school. Anything can happen in the hallways or bathrooms or side exits. Did you not hear of the child in Oregon who disappeared walking to class??!! The parent dropped the kid off at the school door or inside the school.

    I am not justifying the treatment of the person in the story. As a parent the safety of children overrides any adult’s right to wander through a school.

  18. hey # 18……its called a public school for a reason.its paid for with our tax money,as apposed to private which is private money get it?!so its open to the PUBLIC!!!

  19. to the people who are saying that they would not allow a stranger to wander the hallways of their yeshiva or school during school hours, YOU MISSED THE BOAT. this is a PUBLIC school. get to KNOW THE LAW.

    I am very happy that all you menahalim and prinicipals and administrators dont let anyone from outside to walk your schoolos, but that is because it is a PRIVATE school. you can dioctate and decide who to let in and who not. But in a public school, the law ALLOWS one to visit.

    And he did call. and he did get a visitor’s pass, which is ALL THE LAW REQUIRES. speak to a lawyer. stop criticizing without knowing the law.

  20. It would seem appropriate that there is an existing policy for a non parent to vist a Public School.
    If Mr, Blaustein or any other person is running for school board they would have a pressing need to survey the scene.
    It seems Mr. Blaustein acted appropriately and the city employees the principals and police seemed not to care about the law or feel responsibility to the citizens.

  21. You don’t need to go in the school, just stand at the intersection of E 7 and Somerset av at the time of dismissal, and watch how many scores of buses leave the school virtualy empty. Now, you will understand where so much waste goes.

  22. I like #21’s idea. How about a steady stream of HOMEOWNERS/PROPERTY TAX PAYERS walking through to observe; not just the Jewish segment, but the retirees and everyone else who overpays (It’s almost $30k per child in NJ)for the public school education for the children of illegals.

  23. I know my comment will be unpopular but I want to say this just highlights why we are better off without all these frum candidates.Right or wrong in the end the police and the media will the last word.Therefore we much better off without these type of situations that only cause gratuitous problems.Ask yourself are you really better off now that all these all these frum people are on the BOE?

  24. The fact that Blaustein had a legal basis to enter is irrelevant. The fact that he acted like a mentch is also irrelevant. There is a deeper problem here, and that is the attitude that unzer frummer Yidden have caused to be cultivated in the hearts and minds of the goyim, when dealing with us. These people have spoiled it for those of us who have legitimate gripes and even have the law to back us up.

  25. Oldtimer:
    “he should be a mentsch” You have no right labeling a Talmid Chacham publicly like that. Frum representation on the School Board protects the interests of the many Lakewood residents who pay property taxes to fund those Public Schools. Remember:” Taxation without Representation”?
    Shabbat Shalom

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