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Updated – July 11, 2024

A controversy at Westwood Regional School District led to the decision that pride flags would not be permitted to be shown outside of school buildings. Jill Mortimer, the Westwood Regional School District Superintendent, stated in a letter that only national and state flags should be flown outside of the building. 

However, this decision was not made due to differences in ideology, as Mortimer writes:

“Please note, I have no objection to the Pride flag, and I am in no way ‘banning’ it … the High School displays a large Pride flag in the lobby of the school every June.”

Mackenzie Fox, a high school senior and student representative of the district, created a petition on Change.org to change the district policy banning pride symbolization. The petition states:

“This sign is the first step to us being a truly inclusive and welcoming community.” 

As of this publication, there have been no more updates to this issue.

Westwood Regional School District also revealed through their LGBTQ-affirming policies that they would keep a “transgender” student’s status a secret from parents/legal guardians. In policy “5756 – TRANSGENDER STUDENTS,” the following excerpts may be observed:

• “The school district shall accept a student’s asserted gender identity; parental consent is not required … There is no affirmative duty for any school district staff member to notify a student’s parent of the student’s gender identity or expression.”

• “In the event a parent objects to the minor student’s name change request, the Superintendent or designee should consult the Board Attorney regarding the minor student’s civil rights and protections under the NJLAD. School staff members should continue to refer to the student in accordance with the student’s chosen name and pronoun at school and may consider providing resource information regarding family counseling and support services…”

• “The Principal or designee should have an open, but confidential discussion with the student to ascertain the student’s preference on matters such as chosen name, chosen pronoun to use, and parental communications.”

Published – May 31, 2024

On March 18, 2024, Westwood Regional School District (WRSD) adopted a transgender policy that includes LGBTQ terms and encourages staff members to keep gender transitions from parents.

Policy 5756-Transgender Students states:

“The Board believes students, teachers, and administrators should be provided with common terminology associated with gender identity … It is recommended school personnel discuss with students the terminology and pronouns each student has chosen.”

The policy also says:

“There may be instances where a parent of a minor student disagrees with the student regarding the name and pronoun to be used as school and in the student’s education records. In the event a parent objects to the minor student’s name change request, the Superintendent or designee should consult the Board Attorney regarding the minor student’s civil rights and protections under the [New Jersey Law Against Discrimination].”

In May 2024, the district also updated policy 2240-Controversial Issues, which states:

“The Board of Education believes that the consideration of controversial issues has a legitimate place in the instructional program of the schools … The Board will permit the introduction and proper educational use of controversial issues provided that their use in the instructional program is related to the goals of the course of study and level of maturity of the students.”

In an unrelated story on April 18, 2024, NJ.Com reported that WRSD offered the superintendent position to a finalist “but the current superintendent says she’s no longer leaving after clashing with the school board over alleged ‘unbecoming conduct.’”

The source continued, “[WRSD] Superintendent Jill Mortimer publicly announced her intention to retire last August, citing a desire to travel … [She] has worked in the district for nearly a decade [and] became superintendent in 2021 … [I]n a 14-minute emergency school board meeting, both the board president and Mortimer’s attorney said she no longer intends to retire, complicating the district’s currently leadership situation.”

The article included much back-and-forth between Mortimer and the district. A former board president reportedly “demanded a psychiatric evaluation of Mortimer” after she returned from back surgery in the summer of 2023. Mortimer — who was allegedly ‘behaving erratically’ in her role — was also facing disciplinary action, according to NJ.Com. 

Mortimer published the following statement on the district website. 

The School Board Watchlists will continue monitoring issues in the Westwood Regional School District. Please send tips, updates, and information to [email protected]. 

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Westwood Regional School District has 2,813 students enrolled in Pre-K through 12 across seven schools.