State suspends Edison BOE member Anjana Patel for 30 days for ethics violation

By Alvin Wu
Domestic Affairs
State suspends Edison BOE member Anjana Patel for 30 days for ethics violation

Anjana Patel's portrait as a board of education member. EDISON BOARD OF EDUCATION/Handout

EDISON, N.J., Dec. 27 (ZFJ) — Anjana Patel, a member of the Edison Board of Education (EBOE), received a 30 day suspension from the state on Dec. 12 for an ethics violation.

The state School Ethics Commission (SEC) found on Oct. 28 that Patel violated the School Ethics Act by failing to file her Personal/Relative and Financial Disclosure statements on time.

Patel was elected to the board of education in the 2023 general election as part of the Students First team and was sworn in as a board member starting January 2024.

According to the SEC ruling, Patel, as a returning school official, was required to file the disclosure statements with the EBOE secretary by April 30, 2025. She filed the statements on April 21, but her filing was rejected after the deadline.

The SEC sent reminders to Patel and the board secretary from July to September advising her to file complete disclosure forms, but she did not do so. She was served with an order to show cause from the commission and did not respond.

As a result, the SEC recommended Patel’s removal from the board. However, if she filled complete forms before the state commissioner of education adopted a final decision, she would only receive a 30 day suspension instead.

On Nov. 3, the SEC advised the state commissioner that Patel filed the requisite disclosure forms and did not appeal the commission’s finding. So, the state commissioner suspended Patel, effective immediately.

The suspension can be appealed to the superior court’s appellate division if a notice is filed within 45 days of the decision’s mailing date, Dec. 15.

EBOE president Jerry Shi, a member of the Students First team, said in a statement to the ZFJ via text message that the state’s penalty was a disproportionately severe “overreaction” for the given violation, writing that “[he] filed two ethics charges involving what [he considers] more serious violations about five years ago” and has yet to receive a response from the SEC. He also said that the system for submitting disclosure forms is defective.

“I had to submit my Form 5 five times to get it through—three of those submissions were completed in the Business Administrator’s office with his assistance,” said Shi. “Other Edison BOE members also had to submit multiple times. Clearly, the system needs fixing first.”

The ZFJ is waiting for Patel’s comment after the holiday season is over.

Update 2025-12-31, 01:02 - Added Shi’s statement to the ZFJ via text message.

References