HIGHLANDS –
Last Tuesday night’s four hour long meeting on school regionalization of the three boards of education in this borough and Atlantic Highlands raised a lot of questions and criticism of how the public was treated by Mayor Carolyn Broullon who was present throughout the meeting and spoke during the public portion.
The mayor said that while the public was aware the boards would go into executive session at the very start of the meeting, “we did not expect to be in the hallway for almost two hours.”
No Answers
“ A meeting that started at 6:30pm ended at 10:34pm, “ she said, adding “ A decision was made with sparse public engagement, yielding a completely different method than was previously discussed just six months ago. The taxpayers of Highlands and Atlantic Highlands need to get some answers before we consider voting on this ballot measure.”
The boards unanimously voted to pass a resolution calling for a special election in September on whether Highlands and Atlantic Highlands three schools should regionalize in a K-12 school. At the same time, the board took no action on a second regionalization on the agenda and now have two regionalization requests before the Commissioner of Education: one to include Sea Bright in the regionalization, as they boards unanimously agreed last August, and the second which does not include Sea Bright.
Just Spend those Dollars
Calling for the election in September rather than the regular November election means added costs, Broullon pointed out. Yet the boards refused to listen to the many residents who asked for a delay in the decision for a special election in order to get more information. Waiting another month or two in an effort to involve more public and municipal engagement would not have changed a September election date, she pointed out, but added “But one also has to ask, what is the cost and who is going to pay for a special election two months before the general election? Us, the taxpayers are. “ Noting that statistics show fewer people turn out for special elections than regular elections, she queried “why would the Boards want fewer people voting on this ballot measure in September then would vote in the November general election?”
Simple Math isn’t so simple
Concerning the regionalization question itself, and whether there is sufficient knowledge among board members in all it entails, the mayor noted that during the meeting “ When I asked the members of the boards if any of them knew what the towns valuations were, I was met with no answers, just blank stares. When I told them that Highlands assessed value was over $1 billion dollars this year, an increase of an amazing $145 million over last year, again, they just stared at me. I feel it is incredibly dangerous to the future of our taxes that they voted on a funding formula based on an allocation of 0% enrollment and 100% Equalized Value, when they had no clue what the assessed value actually was.”
Broullon urged more residents to start attending board meetings and hold board members accountable for their actions. “Highlands residents need to understand that for the 22-23 school year, the elementary school and the borough’s share of Henry Hudson school costs to educate fewer than 300 students cost as much as “running a town of 5,000 people.
Accountability
“The Highlands Council is fine with being accountable for its actions and answers all question in a respectful manner,” the mayor added, referring to the manner affairs were handled at the Tuesday meeting “The board members need to be ready to answer to the people who elected them. The people elected and want to hear from their board members, not a paid attorney nor a superintendent.”
Rude, Degrading, Condescending
Aside from the long term impact regionalization will have on taxes and education and the need to have all the facts before any decisions can be made, the mayor added that her first takeaway from the meeting was “ how rude, degrading and condescending the boards’ attorney was to the taxpayers that he gladly receives payments from. The manner in which he addressed residents was beyond deplorable. And the fact that the board members did nothing to stop this repeated disrespect was disgusting to watch.”
That disrespect was added to the fact the taxpayers were removed from the room and made to wait in the overheated hallway without a chair or cool air to breathe when the board went into executive session. “The board attorney came out after over an hour later saying they needed at least another 45 minutes and asked if anyone needed a chair. The two Highlands Police Officers on site for the meeting handed out chairs to all who needed them. It will be Highlands miracle if the 100+ AH-H-SB residents do not get Covid-19 after being jammed in the hallway for nearly 2 hours.
