I can only hope that all those residents of Highlands, Atlantic Highlands and Sea Bright who are able to walk, drive, or somehow get up to Henry Hudson Regional School at 7 Wednesday evening make every effort to do so. It’s the school regionalization question and the report, finally, commissioned by the tri-district.
My pain and fear is that the elderly, the handicapped, the disabled, and those who cannot go because of family or work obligations find some way to get to see and hear exactly what the tri-district plan is. A plan that not even those board of education members who approved and brag about it have yet seen. They will see it for the first time tomorrow at 6. IN executive session.
This is the 21st century. First of all, let’s embrace the technology of it beyond fancier cell phones, faster cars, more appliances that take the work out of housework. Let’s embrace the technology of the21st century that lets a disabled person participate in a public meeting, have their say on what they are going to have to pay for, and even ask questions. It was magically done when the Governor mandated it during Covid; it can be accomplished in schools where they are smart enough and spend enough money gearing students for college, life work, and great things for the future. Surely, they could also accommodate the people’s right to know.
As a journalist, I readily admit to being a cynic…it makes for a better journalist. And I have to admit, the secrecy, the stories true or untrue, about when the tri-district report was supposed to be done, is done, or will be done have added to my cynicism.
Add to that everything that has happened because there are two reports: the Porzio report, long since released, long since available for discussion, is the topic at meetings, and long since available to read at home; and the tri-district report, which I repeat, the board of education members who authorized it haven’t even seen yet! That’s tomorrow. At 6 p.m. In executive session. Only if a quorum of the members of each of the three boards show up for it. Nor are they going to approve or disprove it tomorrow night. They can’t. They’ve advertised they aren’t taking any action at the meeting.
Nor can even the mayors, let along the mayors and council, or horrors, the taxpayers, be in on tomorrow’s meeting. No sirree, that’s in executive session, just for the three boards’ members. But only if each has a quorum there.
So let’s take a look back at the history of this regionalization question and how it’s impacted our charming communities and wonderful people.
Two towns, Highlands and Atlantic Highlands, have members on council, or board of education, who may or may not recuse themselves from the question that will impact the area for generations to come. In Highlands the councilman whose wife is a board member doesn’t quit going to meetings or taking action where he can and should; he simply recused himself when he perceived a conflict of interest on one matter…regionalization. He didn’t quit doing what the people elected him to do.
In Atlantic Highlands, there are a couple of different ways that same possible conflict is being handled. In one case, a wife of a councilman simply quit her board position, quit the position she was voted into and promised to do for three years and made it clear she did it so her husband the councilman could vote on regionalization…the right thing to do, she said. Don’t think there would be any surprise if she ran for that position in November, if all the questions on regionalization should be off the board and council tables. But that’s a personal opinion and time will tell. She was a good, a hardworking, and a very involved and concerned board member… Up until she quit.
The other council/husband and wife/board member possible conflict, there’s been total silence. Both spouses have apparently participated in every discussion among their respective elected officials, and no one knows if either, both, or neither will either quit as the other Atlantic highlands board member did, recuse as the Highlands councilman did, vote and become involved, or do something different.
Doesn’t the public have the right to know all this? Should not the tri-district have involved their attorney..is there one attorney for all three boards or does each have its own…. long before this to get some of these easy questions answered for their members before all gathered into discussion?
That raises another question. Does the wife, who can attend tomorrow’s meeting, share the report with her husband? Does the husband share the information with the rest of Council? Do husband and wife go quietly and happily to bed and never discuss anything about the meeting? Who knows?
The cynic in me wonders whether it is all part of a pre-planned conspiracy for other action should the regionalization with Sea Bright get approved on a ballot and board members don’t want to act in a way the voters want. So they challenge the voter action in court. More delay, more tax dollars spent, more lack of action at the local level. A decision ultimately made, perhaps, by politicians far removed from our quiet, beautiful, friendly, close-knot communities.
Then there’s another question about makeup of the boards of education and councils…
They’ve changed since the plans were first discussed. Even the school districts’ regionalization committee has changed since it all began. A new board member has been appointed in Atlantic Highlands and has only been there a month or so. Is he as capable of answering questions put before him at the Wednesday night informational meeting? Is every board member on all three boards prepared to answer? They haven’t yet voted to accept what they spent the money on. For that matter, will the public be allowed to ask questions, make statements, seek more information? Will all the experts be there who drew up the plan so they can explain in detail the resources they used to devise it?
There are those in Sea Bright who say officials thee have never been asked to provide anything information about money, future projections, possible new construction, proposed master plans, or anything else that might impact long range planning. How can experts include that community in their study if they don’t have sufficient information? Yet Dr. Beams said yesterday Sea Bright is included in one plan being presented Wednesday night.
I am not advocating waiting because there’s no rush, as one very likeable and knowledgeable former board member said. I don’t have the trust in state government she has, and do not want the state to make decisions in the future that these very terrific communities could make for themselves with a vote in the ballot box. I am not advocating waiting for some time in the future or more months of workshops that would delay a November ballot if there is proof, and the Porzio certainly appears to show that proof, that money will be saved, taxes will be lowered and education will be enhanced and even more comprehensive, coordinated and more inclusive than it is. Hopefully, Tuesday night the board members who authorized the study and the people of all the towns who are eager to hear, will get similar or even better ideas from this second report.
And to the votes, taxpayers, residents, of all three towns. It is up to you to attend the meeting, inconvenient as it may be, get all the facts you can, and ready yourself to make a decision you can live with and in which you can be proud to say you participated. Otherwise, you have no right to complain if taxes are high, education is low, or politicians who don’t know us make the decision for you.
Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you. Thomas Jefferson said it first.
I could not agree more.
