Controversial Monroe, NJ superintendent insists she didn’t violate school ethics laws

🔴 Superintendent slapped with reprimand

🔴 Chalks it up to a clerical error

🔴 Previously exploded on a parent who called her a bully

MONROE (Middlesex) — A top school official in this New Jersey town violated state ethics laws but won't face any real consequences, according to documents reviewed by New Jersey 101.5.

The NJ School Ethics Commission found on Tuesday that Chari Chanley, the superintendent for Monroe Township schools, recommended her son for a substitute teaching job in the district.

State law forbids school officials from overseeing any matter involving immediate family to prevent conflicts of interest.

However, the superintendent said the violation was the result of a clerical error.

Violation was not intentional

Chanley's son was one of more than 160 names on a list of recommended substitutes presented at a school board meeting last August, the commission said.

The superintendent said she wasn't aware that her son was on the list.

While Chanley admitted to the commission that she should have scrutinized the list more closely and recused herself, she also said her son was hired as a substitute for the district in February 2021. Chanley took on the role of acting superintendent later that November.

"As all substitutes are required to be approved each school year, this was not a promotion nor new position. As noted by the Ethics Commission I did not act intentionally, as an error was made. To that end, I state that I did not act unethically," Chanley said to New Jersey 101.5.

While the commission found Chanley violated ethics laws, it agreed that she didn't do it on purpose.

"The Commission finds that, based on the record, Respondent did not act deliberately or intentionally, and she did not realize her son’s name was on the list of substitute teachers," the decision said.

What does it mean?

The commission decided that Chanley should be reprimanded.

It's the least serious result of a violation. Other possible outcomes could have included censure, suspension, or removal from her position.

A reprimand means that the commission acknowledged a violation took place but didn't think it was worth a formal punishment.

Previously exploded on a parent who called her a bully

Chanley is a controversial figure in Monroe.

Nearly 2,700 signed a March 2023 Change.org petition to the state Department of Education calling for her removal. It claimed the district "suffered" under her leadership and blamed her for an increase in bullying.

The same month, Chanley went viral for an explosive confrontation with a grandmother who called her a bully at a school board meeting.

MORE: Monroe, NJ Superintendent explodes after parent calls her a bully

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