Courageous Roselle Teacher Who Spoke Out Against the NJEA’s Spending $45 Million on Spiller’s Vanity Run Claims the NJEA Is Retaliating Against Her

At the end of the primary election campaign this spring, teachers were finally finding out that $45 million of their annual dues were funding NJEA President Sean Spiller’s vanity run for governor. At the time, Sunlight saw many comments from unhappy teachers on Sunlight’s Facebook feeds but none would go public for fear of retaliation by the NJEA (see below). But as we reported on May 22, a courageous Roselle teacher, Dr. Marie Dupont, wrote an open letter to Spiller that was published in NJToday.news* under the headline: “Roselle educator challenges New Jersey teacher union President Sean Spiller.” Now Dr. Dupont says she has indeed suffered retaliation and has filed a formal complaint with the NJEA.  She is clearly at a disadvantage to the powerful NJEA and we urge the New Jersey press corps to help her “speak truth to power.” Will they?

First a reminder about what Dr. Dupont wrote back in May. She accused the NJEA of “prioritizing Spiller’s political ambitions over the needs of rank-and-file members.” She noted the NJEA was using $35 million** of union dues for Spiller’s gubernatorial campaign while local Roselle educators had been working without a contract for the whole school year. She pointedly asked: “What have you done for us lately, Mr. Spiller? When teachers are working under expired contracts, without raises adjusted to the cost of living, how can we in good conscience reward silence with votes?”

The article quotes another Roselle teacher about the disconnect between NJEA leadership and rank-and-file teachers: “We pay dues expecting representation, not political endorsements.” Tellingly, the teacher requested anonymity “due to fear of retaliation.”

Now it looks very much like the anonymous teacher’s fear was well founded. Dr. Dupont recently shared with us a formal complaint she filed with the NJEA. In it she wrote about her “profound concern” about how she was treated  at the 2025 NJEA Summer Leadership Conference in Atlantic City. Dr. Dupont says she signed up for the conference and received confirmation. But once at the conference, she was told to leave by NJEA staffer Thomas Hardy, whose “sudden approach was done in a manner that was abrupt, humiliating, and unsubstantiated at the time.” She then gets to the crux of the matter:

The timing of my removal, immediately following my public engagement on matters of union accountability, including questions about the NJEA’s $35 million gubernatorial endorsement spending, raises serious concerns about retaliation, targeting, and the union’s commitment to democratic participation and transparency. [Our emphasis.]

She goes on to request a formal apology for the “public embarrassment and the abrupt denial of access to an event for which I had rightfully registered and attended in good faith,” which caused her  “significant emotional distress.” She also asks: “What protections exist for members who raise difficult but essential questions about NJEA operations?”

Sunlight is not in a position to judge what occurred at the conference, but we do know that Dr. Dupont legitimately questioned the NJEA’s priorities and was courageous enough to go public with it. And we do know that Dr. Dupont says she was retaliated against and has filed a detailed complaint with the NJEA.

The NJEA likes to claim it’s a democracy where members have avenues to express concerns, but their treatment of Dr. Dupont appears to belie that. But the question is: can the powerful NJEA be held accountable for its actions?  Dr. Dupont is clearly at a disadvantage.  We would let Dr. Dupont speak for herself and urge the New Jersey press corps to help her “speak truth to power,” as the saying goes.  Will they?

*The article was mysteriously taken down without explanation, but Sunlight kept a hard copy.

**In the end, the NJEA spent $45 million of dues backing Spiller: $40 million to Super PAC Working New Jersey and $5 million to Super PAC Protecting Our Democracy.