THOMAS LICCIARDI V. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF MOUNT OLIVE, MORRIS COUNTY, 12/5/08, (#472-08)

#472-08 (OAL Decision: http://lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/oal/html/initial/edu07232-08_1.html)
THOMAS LICCIARDI, 	:
PETITIONER, 	:
COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
V. 	:
DECISION
BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE 	:
TOWNSHIP OF MOUNT OLIVE,
MORRIS COUNTY, 	:
RESPONDENT. 	:
SYNOPSIS
Pro se petitioner challenged the Board’s demand for legal fees, the appropriateness and
proportionate amount of these fees, and the propriety of the Board’s threat to withhold his
diploma unless payment for the legal fees was made. 	Petitioner was one of several students
disciplined in the aftermath of vandalism incidents which targeted the Mount Olive Bus
Transportation Garage in efforts to delay or cancel school the following day. The Board sought
the authority of the Commissioner to collect the reimbursement of attorney fees.
The ALJ identified the issue in this matter to be whether the Board can collect attorney fees
incurred pursuing disciplinary action against a student arising out of acts of vandalism and can
condition the receipt of a diploma on such payments, and found that: 	no statute authorizes the
Commissioner to award counsel fees to a school district arising out of its pursuit of disciplinary
action against a student; N.J.S.A. 18A:37-3 does not provide authority to the Commissioner to
grant attorney fees; 	and a Board cannot withhold or threaten to withhold diplomas in order to
collect discipline-related counsel fees. 	The ALJ denied the Board’s request for an order
directing petitioner to reimburse it in the amount of $1,196, and ordered that the Board be
enjoined from withholding or threatening to withhold petitioner’s diploma or transcript unless
such payment is made.
Upon a full and independent review, the Commissioner adopted the Initial Decision as the final
decision in this matter.
This synopsis is not part of the Commissioner’s decision. It has been prepared for the convenience of the
reader. It has been neither reviewed nor approved by the Commissioner.
December 5, 2008

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 7232-08
AGENCY DKT. NO. 146-5/08
THOMAS LICCIARDI, 	:
PETITIONER, 	:
COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
V. 	:
DECISION
BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE 	:
TOWNSHIP OF MOUNT OLIVE,
MORRIS COUNTY, 	:
RESPONDENT. 	:
The record of this matter and the Initial Decision of the Office of Administrative
Law (OAL) have been reviewed, as have exceptions filed by the Board of Education (Board)
pursuant to N.J.A.C. 1:1-18.4 and N.J.A.C. 1:1-18.8, to which petitioner did not reply.
In its exceptions, the Board contends that the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ)
erred in ordering the Board to grant petitioner his high school diploma, since petitioner did not
specifically challenge the Board’s withholding of such diploma and the ALJ made no finding
that the Board’s action was arbitrary and capricious, as is required in order for it to be overturned
by the Commissioner on appeal. 	(Board’s Exceptions at 2-5) 	The Board further contends that
the ALJ’s analysis with respect to attorney’s fees is inapplicable to the matter at issue, which
concerns the cost of an underlying disciplinary appeal, not the cost of the present litigation.
According to the Board, N.J.S.A. 18A:11-1(d) – which authorizes it to do all things necessary for
the proper conduct of its schools – fully entitles it to charge a student for fees which the student
caused to be incurred, and the Commissioner is unquestionably empowered to order recovery of
operational 	costs 	associated 	with 	a 	board’s 	“handling 	of 	matters 	related 	to 	the 	proper
administration of its District” – including legal fees, which are expressly included within the
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“administrative costs” category of the Department’s Comparative Spending Guide, Indicator 8,
referenced in N.J.A.C. 6A:23-1.2. (Ibid. at 5-8, quotation at 6)
Upon review, the Commissioner finds that the Initial Decision fully and fairly
addresses the Board’s arguments as presented at the OAL and reiterated on exception, and is
unpersuaded by the Board’s objections as summarized above. While the Board may be literally
accurate in its characterization of petitioner’s written pleadings and the findings of the ALJ, there
can be no question but that the central issue ultimately litigated in this matter was the Board’s
conditioning of petitioner’s receipt of a high school diploma on his payment of legal fees
associated with his disciplinary proceedings; moreover, while the ALJ may not have specifically
held the Board’s action to be “arbitrary and capricious,” he clearly did find it – in a discussion
that carefully distinguishes such fees from “attorney fees” in the usual sense – to be without
lawful basis and, hence, unsustainable.
Accordingly, for the reasons expressed therein, the Initial Decision of the OAL –
denying the Board’s request for reimbursement from petitioner of $1,196 in legal costs and
enjoining the Board from withholding or threatening to withhold petitioner’s diploma or
transcripts until such reimbursement is made – is adopted as the final decision in this matter.
IT IS SO ORDERED.*
COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
Date of Decision: 	December 5, 2008
Date of Mailing: 	December 8, 2008
* This decision may be appealed to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court pursuant to P.L. 2008, c. 36.