J.F., on behalf of minor children, G.F. and L.F. v. Wood-Ridge Board of Education, Bergen County, 10/13/26 (#407-26)

407-26
OAL Dkt. No. 05655-26
Agency Dkt. No. 101-03-26
New Jersey Commissioner of Education
Final Decision
J.F. on behalf of minor children, G.F. and L.F.,
Petitioner,
v.
Wood-Ridge Board of Education, Bergen County,
Respondent.
The record of this matter and the Initial Decision of the Office of Administrative Law (OAL)
have been reviewed and considered. The parties did not file exceptions.
Upon review, the Commissioner concurs with the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) that G.F.
and L.F. are entitled to a free public education in the Wood-Ridge school district. The Commissioner
further concurs with the ALJ that the petitioner does not owe the Board tuition.
Accordingly, the Initial Decision is adopted as the final decision in this matter, and the petition
of appeal is hereby granted.
IT IS SO ORDERED.1
COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
Date of Decision: 	October 13, 2026
Date of Mailing: 	October 13, 2026
1 This decision may be appealed to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:6-9.1. Under
N.J.Ct.R. 2:4-1(b), a notice of appeal must be filed with the Appellate Division within 45 days from the date of mailing
of this decision.

New Jersey is an Equal Opportunity Employer
State of New Jersey
OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
INITIAL DECISION
OAL DKT. NO. EDU 05655-26
AGENCY DKT. NO. 101-03-26
J.F. ON BEHALF OF MINOR CHILDREN
G.F. AND L.F.,
Petitioner,
v.
BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE BOROUGH OF
WOOD-RIDGE, BERGEN COUNTY,
Respondent.
Krista Haley Rue, Esq., (Rue Law Group, attorneys) for petitioners
Daniel R. Roberts, Esq., (Kenney, Gross, Kovats and Parton, attorneys) for
respondents
Record Closed: August 6, 2026 	Decided: August 25, 2026
BEFORE BARBARA SINGER, ALJ:
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Petitioners G.F. and L.F., who are over five and under twenty years of age, are
domiciled in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey. 	Are G.F. and L.F. entitled to a free public
education in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey? Yes. Public schools must be free to anyone who

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 05655-26
2
is over five and under twenty years of age and is domiciled within that school district.
N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1(a).
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On February 9, 2026, respondent, the Wood-Ridge Board of Education, issued a
Notice of an Initial Determination of Ineligibility to J.F., asserting that her children were
ineligible to attend school in Wood-Ridge because they are not domiciled in Wood-Ridge.
J.F. then requested a hearing with the board of education. On February 26, 2026,
the board held the hearing. 	On February 27, 2026, the board issued a Notice of Final
Ineligibility to J.F. concluding that the children were ineligible to attend school in Wood-
Ridge because they were not domiciled in Wood-Ridge.
On March 20, 2026, J.F. filed a petition of appeal with the Commissioner of
Education.
On April 8, 2026, the board filed an answer with a cross petition seeking tuition
reimbursement.
On April 9, 2026, the New Jersey State Department of Education, Bureau of
Controversies and Disputes, transmitted this case to the Office of Administrative Law
(OAL) for a hearing as a contested case under N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 to -15, and the act
establishing the office, N.J.S.A. 52:14F-1 to -23, for a hearing under the Uniform
Administrative Procedure Rules, M.J.A.C. 1:1-1.1 to -21.6.
On July 27, 2026, I held the hearing. On August 5, 2026, the board submitted its
written summation, and on August 6, 2026, J.F. submitted her written summation. 	On
August 6, 2026, I closed the record.

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 05655-26
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FINDINGS OF FACT
Based upon the testimony the parties provided, and my assessment of their
credibility, together with the documents the parties submitted, and my assessment of their
sufficiency, I FIND the following FACTS:
J.F. and S.A., her husband, have two children together, G.F. and L.F. 	Both
children attended the Catherine Doyle Elementary School in Wood-Ridge during the
2025-2026 school year. L.F. was five years old and G.F. was nine years old at the start
of the school year.
The family home in Wood-Ridge is in S.A.’s name. 	The family moved to Wood-
Ridge from Jersey City in 2020. The former family home in Jersey City is in J.F.’s name
and remains in her name because she still owns it and leases it out. In fact, she has been
leasing it out since the family moved to Wood-Ridge from Jersey City in 2020.
In late 2025, the board conducted a residency investigation. 	The investigation,
however, was an investigation in name only. 	The investigator, Jerome Onnembo, a
special law enforcement officer with the Wood-Ridge Police Department, did not know
the number of times he visited the Wood-Ridge home or the dates of any visits. He claims
that he recalls one visit, a welfare check, but he provided no proof of that visit. 	In fact,
Onnembo produced no proof of any visit and no report of any investigation. 	Moreover,
Onnembo admitted that his welfare check was the only time he left his car to investigate
whether the family lived in the home. Ultimately, Onnembo concludes that the family does
not live at the home because he parked outside the home from approximately 7:15 a.m.
to 8:10 a.m. on numerous but unspecified occasions and he never saw anyone leave the
home. He only saw packages on the porch and mail in the mailbox.
The reason Onnembo never saw anyone leave the home between 7:15 a.m. and
8:15 a.m. when he was parked outside the home is because J.F. and the children leave
the home before 7:15 a.m. As J.F. explained at the hearing, she and her children leave
at approximately 6:00 a.m. in the morning because her mother lives approximately 25
minutes away in Englewood, and she must assist her mother because her mother suffers

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 05655-26
4
from a stroke and needs the assistance. As a result, J.F. and her children not only leave
the home early but also often arrive at school late. 	S.A. also leaves the home at
approximately 6:00 a.m. for work.
Additionally, J.F. explained that she and S.A. had marriage difficulties starting in
the fall of 2025, so J.F. and the children would spend more time, including overnights, at
her mother’s home. On February 9, 2026, the day of the welfare check that was recorded
on the home’s Ring doorbell camera, S.A. was out of the country on a nearly two-week
trip. J.F. was at her mother’s home that day and took L.F. to an urgent care center near
her mother’s as that location was closest to where she was.
At no time did J.F. abandon the marital home. 	At no time did the children set up
bedrooms elsewhere or move to another location. 	The Wood-Ridge home was and
continues to be the family home. The parents reconciled after a few months.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
A person over five and under twenty years of age is entitled to a free education in
the district in which he or she is domiciled. N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1(a). “A student is domiciled
in the school district when he or she is the child of a parent or guardian whose domicile
is located within the school district.” N.J.A.C. 6A:22-3.1(a)(1). Domicile is defined as the
place where a person has his true, fixed, permanent home and principal establishment
and to which, whenever he is absent, he has the intention to return. 	N.J.A.C. 6A:22-
3.4(a). 	State v. Benny, 20 N.J. 238, 250 (1955), D.L. v. Board Of Educ. Of Princeton
Regional School Dist., 366 N.J. Super. 269, 273 (App. Div. 2004). The determination is
based on the totality of information and documentation. N.J.A.C. 6A:22-3.4(c).
There is no conflicting documentation. 	The BOE concern over how the water
company lists the names on the bill is meritless. The investigator’s report is non-existent.
His recollection of visiting the home and seeing snow laden walkways on the day he
picked up packages and checked the mailbox, is contradicted by the Ring doorbell video
showing clear walkways. His recollection of this investigation is minimal, especially with
respect to dates of visits. 	As S.A. generally leaves for work early and J.F. brings the

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 05655-26
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children with her to her mother’s home to assist in the morning, the children do not always
leave from the Wood-Ridge home to go directly to school. Furthermore, when they go to
their grandmother’s house first, they arrive to school from a different direction than their
home.
Therefore, I CONCLUDE that G.F. and L.F. are entitled to a free public education
in the Wood-Ridge school district.
ORDER
I ORDER that the petitioner does not owe the respondent the cost of tuition for an
out-of-district student.
I hereby FILE this initial decision with THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION for
consideration.
This recommended decision may be adopted, modified, or rejected by THE
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, who by law is authorized to make a final decision in
this matter. If the Acting Commissioner of the Department of Education does not adopt,
modify, or reject this decision within forty-five days and unless such time limit is otherwise
extended, this recommended decision shall become a final decision under N.J.S.A.
52:14B-10.

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Within thirteen days from the date on which this recommended decision was
mailed to the parties, any party may file written exceptions with COMMISSIONER OF
THE 	DEPARTMENT 	OF 	EDUCATION. 	Exceptions 	may 	be 	filed 	by 	email 	to
ControversiesDisputesFilings@doe.nj.gov or by mail to Office of Controversies and
Disputes, 100 Riverview Plaza, 4th Floor, PO Box 500, Trenton, New Jersey 08625-
0500. A copy of any exceptions must be sent to the judge and to the other parties.
August 25, 2026
DATE 	BARBARA SINGER, ALJ
Date Received at Agency: 	8/25/26
Date Mailed to Parties: 	8/25/26
BCS:id

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 05655-26
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APPENDIX
Witnesses
For Petitioner:
K.P., petitioner
L.S.
For Respondent:
Anthony Albro, Superintendent of Schools
Jerry Onnembo, School Resource Officer
Exhibits
For Petitioner:
P-1 	W-2 Wage and Tax Statements for 2023 for J.F.
P-2 	NJMVC Interim Driver License for J.F.
P-3 	Stamped Visa page from L.S.’s passport and Copa Airlines flight itinerary for
February 4, 2026, and February 25, 2026
P-4 	Veolia Water NJ bill stubs
P-5 	Envelope with mail from Wood-Ridge Memorial Library
P-6 	Veolia Water NJ bill for July 30, 2025
P-7 	Birth Certificates and school program registration forms for G.F. and L.F. for a
September 5, 2025, start date
P-8 	NJ Youth Soccer Player Medical Release Form for L.F., dated May 11, 2026
P-9 	NJMVC Change of Address Acknowledgement for J.F., date of change
February 13, 2026
P-10 	PNC Bank statement for J.F., January 8-February 4, 2026
P-11 	Veolia Water NJ bill for January 29, 2026
P-12 	AM/PM Walk In Urgent & Primary Care notes, and screen shots of text messages,
all dated February 9, 2026

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 05655-26
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For Respondent:
R-1 	Initial Notice of Ineligibility, February 9, 2026
R-2 	Final Notice of Ineligibility, February 27, 2026
R-3 	Attendance Records for G.F. and L.F, September 25, 2025 -June 19, 2026
R-4 	Sun-West Mortgage Statement, January 16, 2026
R-5 	NJMVC Change of Address Acknowledgement for J.F., date of change
February 13, 2026
R-6 	Not in evidence
R-7 	Veolia Water NJ bill for January 29, 2026
R-8 	Not in evidence