Dear Editor:
As a member of the Board of Education I am offended that information still in committee and not presented to the full membership of the board for discussion and review, was leaked to the press.
I refer to the recent article which appeared on the front page of The Secaucus Reporter (December 16) announcing a bond issue for school expansion with estimates ranging from $15 million to $25.
On two occasions prior to the appearance of the article I had received a telephone call from two different reporters asking for my comments, as a board member, on the referendum the district had planned for August of next year. I had informed both reporters that since the Building and Grounds Committee had not submitted its report to the full board membership I had no knowledge of the bond referendum. It is embarrassing, to say the least, that newspaper reporters get information before board members do. Who is their pipe line?
Since the article made reference to the issue of land sale to N.J. Transit and quoted the Township Administrator (spokesman for Mayor Elwell) it would not be unreasonable to conclude that the pipe line is town hall. If this is so then we have an even larger problem. That is, that someone from the board is talking board business to someone in town hall. This is a no no.
Also embarrassing was reading that the president and vice president of the board were not on the same page and gave contradictory statements to the reporter.
As a board member I do not know that there will be a bond referendum submitted to the voters. This matter must be substantially discussed before any action is taken. What I do know is that there will be no money spent unless the voters of Secaucus first have the opportunity to discuss this issue and then vote on it. Not like increasing the term of office for the mayor and members of the council without giving the voters of Secaucus their right to vote on such an issue. Was this done because the last referendum placed before the people to increase the term limits was defeated by the voters?
Tom Troyer