Yes or No? 1 Mayor Says NO

Broullon “I am definitely voting NO”

“I have never told anybody how to vote, nor will I.” said Mayor Carolyn Broullon when asked about the special election on September 26 called by the boards of education.

“But I will tell them how I vote!” she added.  “And in that special election, I am definitely voting no. It simply doesn’t make sense for either Highlands or Atlantic Highlands to approve regionalization without Sea Bright.”

Absentee voters have already received their ballots for the September 26 election, which will decide whether, quite simply, the boards of education of Highlands and Atlantic Highlands should be discontinued, and in their stead the Henry Hudson Regional Board of Education would then be the sole board of education for the K-12 schools in Highlands and Atlantic Highlands.

A Yes vote then eliminates Sea Bright from the regionalization at this time, and Highlands and Atlantic Highlands taxpayers would be voting to forfeit the several million dollars their inclusion would bring to offset taxes in both towns.

Atlantic Highlands resident Mark Fisher has been following the regionalization issue since it first began several years ago.  In a recent explanation on his e-mail page, which he invites everyone to join, Fisher recently listed the results of either a Yes or a No vote as follows:

IF YOU VOTE “YES”

Voting YES is endorsing a regionalization plan that has NOT been the 3-town plan discussed for the last four years;

Voting YES would mean approving only 2-town school regionalization WITHOUT Sea Bright students being included;

Voting YES would go against expert advice by NOT bringing a portion of $2 million+ revenue from Sea Bright “as soon as possible” into Atlantic Highlands coffers for expanded educational programs and tax rate stabilization, as advised by experts on this subject;

Voting YES forms a PK-12 district that could accept students from other school districts in the future;

It is unknown whether Oceanport and Shore Regional Boards of Education would withdraw their lawsuit if regionalizing without Sea Bright is approved by Atlantic Highlands and Highlands voters.

IF YOU VOTE “NO”

Voting NO will send a message to the Monmouth County and New Jersey Commissioners of Education that Atlantic Highlands residents do not want to move forward with school regionalization unless Sea Bright, and their funding, is included;

Voting NO will send a  message to the individual “Tri-District” Boards of Education to re-focus and bring Sea Bright’s students into the Tri-District “as soon as possible”;

Voting NO will send a  message to the Tri-District BoE’s to now move toward 3-town school regionalization with Atlantic Highlands to receive a good portion of the $2 million+ in additional funding from Sea Bright;

Voting NO keeps everything as it exists today: two-towns, three Boards of Education.

It is unknown if Oceanport and Shore Regional Boards of Education would withdraw their lawsuit if regionalizing without Sea Bright is voted-down by Atlantic Highlands and Highlands voters.

Fisher, whose personal motto is “Trust, but verify” agrees with Boullon’s  habit of not telling anyone how to vote, but feels it is important for people to understand the ramifications of Yes or No votes.  He invites anyone to join his group for information simply by e-mailing a request to  ahnewsbymarkfisher@gmail.com

Broullon also urged voters to be sure they either vote absentee or go to the polls on September 26 between noon and 8 p.m. to cast their ballots. Failing to vote means not expressing an opinion and failing to take action which impacts taxpayers and parents in both towns.

How Will You Vote?