WEST NEW YORK — On Dec. 20, Former West New York Board of Education President Cosmo Cirillo and his lawyer, Edward. T. Rogan, filed a petition against the WNY BOE challenging his removal as president and subsequently from the board entirely.
According to the State of NJ’s Office of Administrative Law, overseen by Judge Tahesha Way, on Dec. 1, Cirillo filed a Motion for Emergent Relief and Amended Petition that sought the removal of current board president Adrienne Kole-Sires and his own reinstatement. It also states that Cirillo believes his removal from the board was in violation of NJ Statutes surrounding board of education policies.
Cirillo claimed in the petition that he and the West New York educational system would be “irreparably harmed” if he were not to be reinstated.
West New York Mayor Felix Roque has been battling Cirillo, an ally of previous Mayor Sal Vega, for over five months.
The state had issued two letters — one in August and one in November — requesting that Cirillo step down. The state found that Cirillo’s full-time job as a clerk with the West New York municipal court conflicted with his board membership and was in violation of the Code of Conduct for Judiciary Employees. — Gennarose Pope