Dear Editor:
I want to congratulate the winners of the election and thank them for volunteering their personal time to help run the city’s education system. I also want to congratulate the residents of Jersey City for turning out in such large numbers for the Board of Education vote. And I personally want to thank all of you who took the time to go to the polls and vote for me. My goal in running was to drive changes to the way the Board runs the Department of Education and increase the use of business management best practices. I proposed that the Board consider the residents and children of this city as their “customers” and strive to deliver quality services to us at low cost that best meet our needs. I also proposed that we have visibility to measurements of success, similar to a “report card”, not just for our schools, but also for the Superintendant, the Board, the administrative staff, budget, etc.
We need complete transparency. Through the course of this brief campaign I was encouraged that other candidates took up this theme. In addition, during the candidate forums I heard many great innovative ideas to improve the education system while greatly reducing costs. As residents we now need to stay vigilant and make sure that the Board delivers on some of the great rhetoric we heard. I am willing to do my best to support the board with my expertise, and intend to become more active at board meetings. I hope others I met during the past few weeks will join me.
Art Zigman