What a novel idea! Why can't Middletown do the same? Could it be that Mayor Scharfenberger is afraid that the meeting will get out of hand and uncontrollable like the ones that had angry residents protesting the installation of turf fields at West Front Street Park?
At Monday night's Township Workshop meeting after being questioned by a resident, former mayor Pam Brightbill stated that she was against holding a public meeting on the school budget, which runs contrary to what School Superintendent Karen Bilbao stated after learning that the school budget had been defeated two weeks ago.
Why wouldn't you want residents input on something that will have such a large and potentially adverse effect on the lives of so many people that live in the community?
I think instead, Scharfenberger and Brightbill would rather lurk in the shadows and issue inflammatory press releases and letters to the editor, taking a page out of Chris Christie's playbook by stroking the anger of residents against the teachers union in order to gain some sort of political advantage come November.
They didn't even tell other members of the Township Committee that they planned to meet with four members of the Middletown Board of Education before the workshop meeting Monday night.
Committeeman Sean Byrnes was never informed of the meeting but found out about it over the weekend because someone from the Board of Education asked if he would be there. And newly elected Committeeman Steve Massel announced during the workshop meeting that he had not been informed of any meeting either.
So what are Scharfenberger and Brightbill up to? Why the need for secrecy, is it because there really isn't anymore dollars left in this bare-bone school budget left to cut after Governor Christie already eliminated $11M from it and they are afraid that if they hold open meetings people will see through the ruse of pitting residents against the teachers and their union.
I guess we'll have to wait and see, just like those other members of the Middletown Township Committee, until after Gerry and Pam meet with members of the Board of Education once again later today to hear what type of cuts THEY recommended to the school board.
1 comment:
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