Dear Editor:
Recent coverage of the December 16 Township Council meeting framed the PARQ discussion as a dispute over transparency. If transparency is truly the concern, residents
deserve clarity — not competing narratives
At the December 18 meeting of the Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education, it was
confirmed on the public record that no formal offers for land, a school building, or binding
financial terms related to the PARQ redevelopment have ever been received by the Board.
That fact matters.
During the December 16 Council meeting, Paul Carifi stated that developers had previously
offered land, school construction, and per-student funding, and that the Board of
Education declined those offers without informing the public. However, no written
documentation, correspondence, resolutions, or formal proposals supporting those claims
have been produced.
The only written material submitted to the school district was a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) provided by the Township in May 2025. That document was not a
formal offer, was not presented for Board action, and did not constitute a negotiable
proposal for land, a school facility, or binding financial terms.
The Board of Education did respond formally. Through its attorney, the Board submitted a
Proposed Ordinance outlining a lawful and transparent framework for addressing school
impacts related to PILOT developments. That ordinance was not acknowledged or replied to
by the Township until 4:01 p.m. on December 15, 2025 — less than 24 hours before the Council meeting where claims of rejected offers were made.
Just to let you know, offers discussed verbally, during site tours, or conveyed to a single Board member are not formal offers. The Board of Education is a nine-member governing body, and no individual member has authority to negotiate or act on its behalf.
Since November 2023, multiple Board of Education members have attended Township
Council meetings. During that time, there has been no formal outreach or negotiation
initiated by Township leadership regarding school construction, land donation, or PILOT
revenue sharing. Council President Carifi has never contacted the Board — formally or
informally — to discuss such proposals.
It is also notable that Frank Neglia, the Council Vice President and a former Board of
The Education President understands that formal offers must be presented in writing to the
The board as a body is addressed through a public process. I don’t think any such offers were ever
transmitted.
If the Mayor or Council believes formal offers were made, the solution is straightforward:
produce them and place them on the public record.
Tim Berrios – Parsippany Resident
