Schools

Cathy Kazan Secures Appointment to be Fingerprinted Again

Fingerprinting is required of newly-elected school board members in New Jersey. She was already fingerprinted once but the agency responsible for processing them failed to do so.

Cathy Kazan will be re-fingerprinted Tuesday as part of a background check she must go through before being sworn in to the Board of Education.

The State Department of Education requires first-time elected school board trustees to be subject to a background check, which includes being fingerprinted. 

Kazan is scheduled to be re-fingerprinted Jan. 7. She worked with Lonni Miller Ryan, a legislative aide to Assemblyman Scott Rumana, to help secure the new appointment. She was already fingerprinted but Morpho Trust, the government contractor responsible for taking fingerprints and submitting information relating to the background checks, did not process the fingerprints

Find out what's happening in Waynewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Kazan tried to speak to someone at Morpho who had knowledge of her case, but was unable to get any answers out of someone. Kazan said she spoke to a supervisor who promised he would call her back but she said he never did.

"They've been dragging their feet and think that it isn't an important issue and it's important to me and to the people," Kazan said. 'People need to understand this is a problem."

Find out what's happening in Waynewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Had the background check been completed and approved, Kazan was slated to be sworn in with the other three winners, all incumbents, at the Board's reorganization meeting Thursday. The meeting was rescheduled for Jan. 9 due to the snowstorm. 

Kazan said she doubts she will be sworn in at that meeting.

"I can't imagine them turning it around in a day and a half," Kazan said. 


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