Dear Editor:
I can very well understand and accept, under proper circumstances, cooperation between the Board of Education and the Township Government on a specific project, the object of which is to benefit the people of Secaucus. However, a willingness to cooperate should not be misconstrued by the mayor to mean that the Board is there to do his bidding, as he sees fit. I urge Mayor Elwell to remember that we are an elected Board of Education (selected by the people) not an appointed board (selected by the mayor). The main basis for an elected board is to prevent political involvement or control of our education system.
Two months ago, when sworn into office as a school board trustee, I was subjected to criticism from other board members for raising the issue of political influence in our school system. One member actually lectured me claiming that my raising this issue was in “bad taste.”
Now, in two short months, politics has raised its ugly head, directly from the mayor in his shameless attempt to interfere with a dictate to the Board. After the Finance Committee unanimously voted to recommend a new insurance broker, the mayor interceded. The issue was removed from the agenda, taken from committee and placed before the Board as a whole. It is obvious that the mayor did not like the insurance broker unanimously selected by the Finance Committee. The mayor wanted “his” choice to get this contract. According to a story appearing in a local weekly newspaper various board members had acknowledged receiving a phone call from the mayor. Was this the mayor campaigning for his choice on this issue to come before the Board at a special meeting?
I must compliment those members of the Board (three absented themselves) who appeared at the special meeting, refused to surrender their independent thinking and voted their conscience in rejecting the choice of the mayor.
I sincerely hope that the trustees who voted on this issue at the special meeting are not embarrassed by this letter. This is not my intent. However I feel compelled to publicly inform the mayor that we, the members of the board, are not marionettes dangling from strings attached to your fingers. We have minds of our own and a voice of our own. Just stay out of school board matters; I believe that you have enough problems where you are.
Tom Troyer