A South Jersey school district is being sued for allegedly refusing to release settlement agreements in lawsuits tied to sexual abuse by a former teacher now serving a prison sentence.

John Paff, who publishes the government-transparency site Transparency NJ, filed the public-records lawsuit against the Lawrence Township Board of Education after it denied his request for copies of settlement agreements in three civil cases.

Paff said he is seeking only the financial terms and believes victims’ names can be redacted.

“I don’t care about any of that,” Paff said. “I just want to know how much money [the school board] paid.”

He added that he routinely requests such agreements without issue.

“I ask for these settlement agreements routinely, like every week, and I get them without anybody ever denying them,” Paff said.

The underlying lawsuits stem from allegations that Derek Hildreth, a former Lawrence Township teacher and coach, sexually abused students in the late 1990s and early 2000s — allegations that led to criminal charges and a prison term.

Hildreth was sentenced in 2013 to 20 years in state prison under a plea deal in which he pleaded guilty to four counts, including three first-degree aggravated sexual assault charges and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

As part of the agreement, 29 additional charges were dismissed.

At least six victims were included in a 33-count indictment against Hildreth, who initially faced 30 years in state prison.

Hildreth is eligible for parole in 2028, according to New Jersey prison records.

The abuse spurred three lawsuits filed in 2012, 2017 and 2020.

Paff contends the settlement agreements in these cases are government records subject to disclosure under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act. In the lawsuit, he says the board rejected his request by citing exemptions for victims’ records.

In a written response to Paff, the district’s records official said the school board does not have a copy of the settlement from the 2020 lawsuit and that documents in the other two cases are protected by a non-disclosure clause and potentially, a confidentiality order.

The case asks a judge to decide whether settlement agreements resolving lawsuits against a public school district must be released under OPRA with appropriate redactions.

The school board did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A major winter storm that has already dumped a foot of heavy snow in some parts of New Jersey is expected to continue overnight, creating significant travel hazards for the Monday morning commute.

Winter storm warnings remain in effect until 1 p.m. Monday for nearly all New Jersey counties. The warning was canceled for Cape May County on Sunday evening after temperatures rose enough for a transition to rain.

“Wintry precipitation in its current form will continue through into the evening, then begin to wind down and end by around midnight or so,” the National Weather Service said. “Some guidance has hinted at some light snow occurring again Sunday night into early Monday morning before ending.”

Statewide temperatures will be well below freezing overnight, and any wet roads have high chance of refreezing, the weather service said.

“Monday morning will be very cold, in the low teens to mid 20s across the region,” the weather service said. “Roads and sidewalks will remain frozen or refreeze tonight, resulting in a hard slush or black ice.”

Hundreds of school districts throughout the state announced closures on Monday to dig out from the storm.

A state of emergency remains in effect for all 21 counties.

Ridgefield in Bergen County and Wayne in Passaic County both had reports of 12 inches of snow as of 5 p.m., according to the weather service.

A layer of ice between 0.10 to 0.25 inch remains a concern across a wider area along the I-95 corridor and areas just south and east.

Arctic air will remain in place with temperatures below freezing through next weekend with multiple cold fronts.

High temperatures will largely remain in the teens and 20s throughout the week, with low temperatures in the single digits to several degrees below zero.

Wind gusts are expected to reach 30 to 35 mph at times throughout the week, with wind chills ranging from the single digits to teens during the day and zero to minus 10 degrees at night in most areas.

With such a prolonged period of below-freezing temperatures, the new snow is not expected to melt much.

Aside from a slight chance of snow Thursday, dry weather is expected through the extended forecast period.

Current weather radar

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New Jersey American Water wants to increase its customers’ water bills to help fund more than $1 billion in water and wastewater projects.

The investor-owned utility said the average customer could expect to pay an additional $10 per month if the request is approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. That could make the average monthly residential water bill rise to $93.89.

Customers served by sanitary wastewater systems would see an average increase of $8 per month. Households that receive both services could see a combined impact of about $18 per month, depending on their service area, meter size, and usage.

New Jersey American Water said the rate increase is essential to improve aging infrastructure, replace dangerous lead service lines and address toxic chemicals such as PFAS. President Mark McDonough said the revenue would ensure the company can deal with problems before they become acute.

“This rate case is really aimed at the investments we’re already making to stay ahead of problems,” he said. “If we do good planning and we’re proactive in prudent investment, we can really keep our customers receiving safe, reliable water and we maintain the affordability that we have.”

The request comes roughly 16 months after the company increased rates by more than $5 per month.

Water infrastructure across the U.S. is aging, and according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the nation needs at least $630 billion over the next 20 years for stormwater and wastewater projects alone. When combined with drinking water upgrades, water providers need a total of more than $1 trillion.

“Rate increases are definitely something that we see all around the country because of upward pressure on rates that’s driven by the need to invest in aging water systems,” said Larry Levine, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council’s environmental health program.

Water providers are faced with new federal regulations requiring them to remove toxic chemicals such as PFAS from drinking water, replace lead pipes and to reduce wastewater discharges into waterways. Though the federal government under the Biden administration set aside billions of dollars to upgrade water and sewer infrastructure, providers say more funding is needed.

Pennsylvania American Water similarly filed a request with the Pennsylvania Utility Commission in November to fund $1.2 billion in water and wastewater system upgrades. If approved, the average water customer would pay an additional $14 per month on their bills.

While some rate increase is expected, it is unlikely that New Jersey American Water will be awarded the full request, said Brian Lipman, director of the New Jersey Division of the Rate Counsel, a state agency that advocates to keep costs affordable for ratepayers. He said the agency does its best to ensure rate increases are necessary to support infrastructure investments without unduly impacting consumers.

In an effort to alleviate the burden on rate payers, New Jersey American Water is seeking approval from the BPU to expand access to monthly bill discounts through its H2O Help to Others program. The company is asking to automatically enroll customers who partake in energy assistance programs like the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP. If approved, New Jersey American Water would be the only utility in the state to offer automatic enrollment in water bill assistance.

“Water is so fundamental to sustaining life,” McDonough said. “We think it’s very important to have this kind of forward thinking program to be able to help those folks who may need some assistance.”

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill issued an executive order last week that aims to pause further rate increases for energy. However, no similar action has been taken for water bills and there’s currently no state-run program to help residents pay their water bills.