No BOE Ethics Investigation of Crawford

The school board won't pursue allegations of  after closed session discussions revealed a lack of evidence of any impropriety.

Crawford, and fellow member , read statements at Thursday night's board meeting, indicating that the issue had been resolved.

"The board considers this matter to be closed,'' Crawford said, before he and Choffo stood and shook hands.

Choffo had accused Crawford–although he didn't mention him by name–of accepting "expensive gifts'' from Gov. Chris Christie's office in exchange for an early glimpse of the contract of Superintendent of Schools LeRoy Seitz.

Christie has repeatedly blasted Seitz and the board because the contract exceeds the $175,000 cap imposed by the governor for adminstrators in districts the size of Parsippany.

Christie's office said that Crawford paid for a Jets ticket from State Ethics Commissioner Andrew Berns so his son could attend the game with Berns' son, who is a friend and classmate at Parsippany High School.

The governor's office denied that Christie had examined the contract before it was made public.

Choffo's statement at the meeting recapped the fact that he had raised the issue in December, "based on some information given to me by a resident.''

Crawford said he was glad the matter had been resolved, adding that he and Choffo are now on good terms. "I'm glad were were able to shake hands,'' he said. "We've had some very constructive conversations about school board issues since then.''