It looks like Highlands, Atlantic Highlands and Sea Bright borough officials anticipate a very large crowd coming out tonight at 7 p.m. to hear what’s going on with the yet more discussion on school regionalization. Hopefully, it’s all about the money.
The meeting is not being held in any one of the three borough halls; it will be held at the Charles Hesse Building in Atlantic Highlands, the former Mother Theresa School on South Ave.
If it’s a discussion of regionalization, that means attorneys and experts will most likely be there, and that means yet more money is being spent on a question that was so close to being settled last year and just needed agreement on figures.
Hopefully, tonight’s meeting will show there is an agreement on the money issues, and finally, finally, the elected officials will let the people who put them in office have the right to get this on the ballot so they can vote themselves.
But why is all this necessary? Why not simply fill in the amount of money they have hopefully agreed on and get the petition to the state Commissioner of Education. That’s all she needs to look it over, realize the savings to taxpayers and benefits to education, and say the people can have it on the ballot in November. She well knows the Legislature UNANIMOUSLY approved regionalization such as this so it would be hard to believe she would say it is not a good idea.
What else do the three governing bodies think has to be explained to the people? By this time, the people in Oceanport, Monmouth Beach and West Long Branch also should realize the tens of thousands of dollars … a ton of money, their boards have wasted in trying to block what the Legislature has put in place. They should be asking why their boards of education tried to appeal a petition before it was even a petition. Does that make any sense? Not at all, it was just very costly to taxpayers. When will it stop? Would they really waste more thousands of dollars once the petition is actually before the Commissioner?
Parents of kids in any of the schools in Highlands and Atlantic Highlands should be at tonight’s meeting to ask questions, to see why such a meeting is necessary, why the powers that be think it is going to be so well attended it is necessary to move it to larger quarters. Persons running for elected office in November should be at the meeting and voice their own opinions loud and clear on how they feel about regionalization. If they are against it, those wannabe elected officials should be asked how NOT letting the people vote on the question is helpful, cost saving, or good for any of the towns. It’s a shame one of the mayoral candidates recuses himself from any vote on school issues; his conflict of interest could certainly have been handled in a better way so the public would know how he stands. There does not seem to be any doubt, however, how his running mates; both certainly seem to think the public has the right to vote and both know a lot about education issues and regionalization.
If the public does not come out to the meeting, hear what’s being said and voice their own opinion, then they cannot come back later on to complain things were not done their way.
Education is front and center these days, as it should be. With regionalization hopefully going to be on the ballot in November, that would be at least one issue aside.
But the following Thursday, it’s the boards of education turn to have another big issue under discussion. They are meeting in executive session for the purpose of conducting the superintendent’s evaluation. It is discussion only and no action at that time. But it does make me wonder about the depth of the discussions they will be having.
Presumably they are considering whether they are offering another contract to the superintendent or whether they will let her know next month they do not choose to offer her a renewal of the contract she has had for the past two years.
Latest news, though not announced and not confirmed by the principal, is that Daniel Layton, principal of the Highlands Public School will be announcing soon that he is leaving the school district to accept a position a bit further south in Monmouth County.
That would add him to the 35 or so other teachers, supervisors and principals that have left in the two years since the current superintendent has been in charge.
The Edison school district, where the superintendent was for her last contract before coming here, remains mum on why it did not offer her a renewal after she signed her first contract there. Or for that matter, why other school districts before that never signed contractual renewal contracts with her. Possibly it is she who has wanted to move on to more challenging positions and advance her experience. But they are questions that should be asked and answered if a true evaluation is being made.
Board members should also ask why so many parents have complained about the superintendent, how many faculty members are unhappy working in the districts, and why so many parents who complain are fearful of having their names known.
It is board members, not the public, who vote on contracts. But the boards’ obligation is to respond to the wishes of the public they represent and who put them in the position to make those decisions. The public should be sure to let their elected officials know how they feel at the time of action, not only at the polls at the time of their next election.
