Dear Editor:
At the March 24 board of education meeting, I asked several questions, and I am still waiting for my response. One must wonder why Mrs. Randina and the Board feel they do not have to answer tax payers’ questions. The most important question I asked was: Will Mrs. Randina for go her annual 4.5 percent which is close to $10,000.00, and put it back in our budget? The DOE has already required Jersey City’s superintendent, who has a PhD, to take a pay cut from $268, 000.00 to $204,000.00 or they will not pass Jersey City’s budget. He will make $10,000. Less than our superintendent and our school system has less than 2,500 students.
I urge all to call the county superintendent’s office and ask them what happens if the budget does not pass. If the budget fails, it goes to the mayor and town council who I am sure will do a thorough audit and evaluation to be sure every tax dollar is being spent to ensure the quality of education and to protect our teachers, aides, and programs. Please remember last year after the budget passed, our superintendent and board of education gave out pink slips to several teachers. The mayor was instrumental in negotiating and getting these teachers their jobs back.
Secaucus residents deserve the right to make informed decisions on Election Day; this can only be done if their answers about the budget and other concerns are answered. Last year I asked everyone to pass the budget, because I thought it would be spent on our children and add teachers to minimize class size, I was wrong, it was spent on administration. I urge all voters to think long and hard about this year’s budget and other issues before they vote in a budget and board members that refuse to answer the taxpayers’ questions.
Accountability is everything. Let’s hold the board and our superintendent accountable this year. Remember if we constantly rewarded our children for doing the wrong thing and did not hold them accountable, what kind of adults would they become. So, we should have our board and superintendent lead by example this year, so we can reward them for good behavior, by passing the budget next year. This year they deserve a time out for poor behavior.
Sincerely,
Pat Belenski