From the Star-Ledger Editorial Board regarding the Perth Amboy School Board’s firing of Superintendent Janine Caffrey:

The school board was way out of line in removing Caffrey in the first place. To get the flavor of this fight, know that the man leading the charge against her, board president Samuel Lebreault, is under investigation because he applied to get free lunches for his kids in school, even though he knew he didn’t qualify. Caffrey says he also repeatedly pressed her to make patronage hires and was furious when she refused.

One more snippet: One of the board’s complaints against Caffrey is that she wrote an op-ed that appeared in The Star-Ledger outlining how the state’s antiquated tenure law hurts students. So it seems that speaking your mind on a public issue is, for this school board, a firing offense.

Board member Kurt Rebovich Jr. is considering his legal options in response to alleged threatening remarks made to him during the board’s private meeting on Monday.

Rebovich said that board member Israel Varela said: “I will go after you just the way I went after Joseph Vas, and I will not let you live and breathe.”

Rebovich, who took the comment as a threat, said he is working with his personal attorneys to explore his legal options, such as ethics or criminal charges.

Vas is the former Perth Amboy mayor serving federal prison time on corruption charges.