Dear Editor:
• When voters go to the polls on Tuesday, they have a clear choice in school board candidates. If you think that Hoboken is ready for a team of candidates who will take our schools to the next level and who aren’t afraid to speak the truth about our runaway spending, then please vote for the Real Results ticket. That’s Kathleen Tucker, Perry Lin, Liz Markevitch and John Forsman.
If elected, we will work with board member Maureen Sullivan to form a school board majority that won’t back away from setting priorities that include fiscal responsibility, independence, transparency and an excellent education for all.
As professionals in the fields of technology, health care, recruiting and finance, we would bring a much-needed dose of private-sector experience to the board. We know what it takes to have to work smarter with fewer resources. Cutting a budget doesn’t have to mean cutting quality. Our students deserve a top-notch education and we plan to see that they get it.
We’re not giving you empty promises and vague generalities. We’ve been telling you exactly what we stand for. That’s been easy, because we have a set of core principles that will govern our decision-making. We have in common the belief that government doesn’t deserve to control one more dollar of your hard-earned money than absolutely necessary. And we believe great schools don’t happen without high expectations. We aren’t running for these non-paying positions because we want to build a power base or do favors for our friends and relatives. No, we’re running because we understand that our schools need true leadership and a board of trustees who want to get the most out of every dollar.
We stand for:
– giving you a tax cut, because spending is out of control and our school bureaucrats must learn to do more with less;
– running a superintendent search that brings a proven leader to our district;
– negotiating union contracts that are fair to you, the taxpayer;
– guaranteeing that the board’s business is conducted in the most transparent way possible;
– building on our centers of excellence, such as the high school theater department, and replicating their success throughout the district;
– giving the community a chance to participate through more volunteer opportunities;
– and, above all else, working for the goal of an excellent education for all our students.
Throughout this campaign we have taken all kinds of abuse for daring to take on the entrenched powers. Not everyone believes in democracy in school elections. But we’re proud to have run an above-board, clean campaign focused on the issues and the facts, not rhetoric and emotion. Instead of pointing fingers about what happened in the past, we told you exactly what we will do in the future and how we will do it.
On Tuesday, we hope you remember Real Results, the team that stands for higher standards and lower taxes. Please vote for Kathleen Tucker (5A), Perry Lin (7A), Liz Markevitch (10A) for the three-year terms, and John Forsman (2B) for the one-year term.
Kathleen Tucker
Perry Lin
Liz Markevitch
John Forsman