Dear Editor:
I am writing to express my enthusiastic support for the Kids First team of Rose Markle, Irene Sobolov, Leon Gold and Jean Marie Mitchell in this Tuesday’s School Board election. Our schools are the future of our town, and this is the team that our town needs to keep moving our schools in the right direction. They are the team that we can trust to balance the challenging goals of improving our schools while also cutting costs. As a mother of two school age children who attend the Elysian Charter School here in Hoboken, I believe that no priority is more important than providing our community with the best possible public education. At the same time, we have an obligation to our taxpayers to ensure that every dollar we collect is spent carefully and effectively, and that we collect no more than we need.
The Kids First School Board majority has made enormous strides in balancing these important priorities. They are carefully reviewing existing programs to make sure they are as effective as possible.
They are implementing high quality new programs such as the AP honors program that will help draw new students to our schools. They have also kept school taxes flat this past year despite the loss of millions of dollars in state aid. Per pupil costs have been reduced from nearly $25,000 two years ago to $20,054 this year. The ratio of administrators to teachers has significantly improved as a result of attrition. The days of having eight principals for five schools are over.
And all this has been accomplished without losing any of our fine young teachers.
Change is hard work and takes time, and it is understandable that some of our citizens are impatient. Kids First has done a remarkable job of moving our schools in the right direction, and they need our support to keep up the good work.
The polls are open from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. I urge you to cast your votes for Rose Markle, Irene Sobolov, Leon Gold and Jean Marie Mitchell this Tuesday.
Dawn Zimmer
Hoboken Mayor