Lincoln Park, New Jersey Board of Education refunding members after background checks

Background checks are commonly conducted to investigate individuals applying for government or civil service employment positions. In Lincoln Park, New Jersey, trustees who wish to serve on the town's Board of Education (BOE) must submit to this process, according to Suburban Trends. The news source reports that the town's BOE has employed fingerprinting and background checks as conditions of employment for some time, but that it recently approved changes to its policy regarding these practices. On August 23, the board passed a resolution stating that board members would be reimbursed for any expenses they had to pay as a result of these checks. According to the original law, all elected and appointed members must undergo a background check within 30 days of their assumption of the BOE office. The news source reports that these checks typically cost $80.25, as of August 2011. Jerry Green, a state assemblyman who sponsored the bill, emphasized the necessity of these measures in educational positions. "It only makes sense that those who are ineligible to teach in New Jersey's schools be prevented from presiding over them," Green told the news source. The Lincoln Park BOE consists of seven elected members tasked with outlining school district regulations, in addition to hiring the Superintendent of Schools and School Business Administrator.