Why did Pequannock librarian resign? Fights over budget, politics shake up a library board

The Pequannock public library is supposed to be a center for learning and reading.

More recently, it's become known for something else − a divisive fight over the library's budget and the alleged politics of a new majority on the library board of trustees.

That majority, appointed by the township mayor and council, has taken heat for suggesting the library return an as-yet-unspecified portion of its $800,000 annual budget to the municipal government, money that critics say is needed by the library program.

In June, township librarian Debbie Maynard resigned after 10 years on the job to protest the board of trustees' actions. Former trustee Joyce Forde-Muller, meanwhile, has started an online petition to rally opposition to the board.

In an interview, Forde-Muller laid out two goals: "All library money should be spent on the library and not on town programs" and hiring a new librarian "who shares the old librarian’s visions, values and ethics and serves the whole community not just a select few.”

The petition currently has about 1,100 signatures.

A Moms for Liberty connection?

Maynard and Forde-Muller also raised concerns about the trustees' alleged ties to Moms For Liberty, the national conservative movement that has lobbied to remove some LGBTQ+ and race-related materials from schools around the U.S., arguing they are sexually explicit or biased.

There's no evidence the Pequannock board has tried to push such an agenda at the library. But two of the four recently appointed trustees are married to candidates who ran unsuccessfully for the Pequannock Board of Education the last two years with the endorsement of the Morris County Moms for Liberty chapter.

Library board President Christina White, appointed to the panel in 2021, is married to Edward White, who sought a school board seat the following year. On the Facebook page for his "Freedom for Families" campaign, he outlined principles that include "Families teach age-appropriate sex education, not government teachers" and "Schools need to get back to basics − the three Rs −reading, writing and arithmetic. Empower students to succeed in life."

In an email to the Daily Record, Christina White said she was not a member of Moms for Liberty but did not comment further on the topic.

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Joanne McShane, a library trustee appointed this year, is married to Sean McShane, who ran unsuccessfully for school board last year on a slate that hit similar themes as Edward White's campaign. Joanne McShane did not respond to requests for comment.

Pequannock Mayor Ryan Herd and Kyle Russell, the town council's liaison to the board, also didn't respond to messages seeking comment. In June, Herd lost a bid for the Republican nomination to keep his seat, finishing behind two other candidates who will now run in November.

Librarian resigns in protest

Forde-Muller, in her online petition drive, wrote: "We are also seeing the Library Trustee Board stacked with new members appointed for partisan political reasons, rather than as responsible stewards and advocates of the library’s mission. Instead, they are there to rubber-stamp Town Council demands for library money to fund pet projects." Those projects include a new township pickleball court, she said.

Maynard said she felt she had no option but to retire. "Moving on was not what I thought was in my future," she said in an interview, "but I couldn't stay and be aligned with a group that thought so little of the library and focused only on how to return money to the town for municipal projects."

The seven-member library board recently hired an interim library director while it pursues a full-time replacement.

In response to interview requests, White referred to a statement the board issued June 19 that denied any of the library's current budget has been transferred back to the town.

"The only known year the Library Board transferred funds to the Township was from the 2022 budget surplus, which was approved by a prior Board of Trustees," the statement said.

Public libraries in New Jersey get funding through state property taxes. The 2022 transfer was "in accordance with state law," the board statement said. According to the trustees, the law requires the library to return money to the town when it has a surplus of more than 20% of its operating expenses at the end of the budget year.

The debate over library funds

Although library funds haven't been repurposed toward the town since 2022, recent board meeting minutes confirm a standstill in addressing the surplus.

Some board members have expressed interest in putting the surplus back into the town budget for municipal projects. Others oppose it, saying the library needs the funds for capital projects such as repairs, redesigning the space and upgrading technology and programming.

During a March 20 trustees meeting, some residents complained about the board's lack of urgency in making a decision. According to the minutes, Pequannock resident Paul Mahler said that "he has been attending Library Board meetings for about a year and he sees consistent delays, a change to the power base."

In an interview, Maynard said that, despite her recommendations, the town council and mayor appointed trustees who were spouses of the board of education candidates supported by Moms for Liberty. "When Mrs. Christina White became the board president this year, one of the first things she asked me was when can we return money to the township."

Forde-Muller also expressed concerns about the trustees' political motivations. She worries that repurposing surplus funds is just the beginning.

Next up: November council election

She aims to gather 5,000 signatures on her petition, so she can show it to the town council, the library board and publish it in local newspapers.

In November, two of Pequannock's five council seats will be up for a vote. Incumbent David Kohle and Vincent Siracusa, both Republicans, will be on the ballot, along with Democrat Michael Mancuso.

"We are not going to stand down for this and elections will come up and people will see who is on the board, the town council, and what the majorities are, and vote accordingly." she said.

Email: NFlanagan@gannett.com