In case you missed it, the NJ Legislature recently passed legislation (Bill A4394) that allows school board elections to be moved to the general election in November. The new law also stipulates that the school budget does not need to be approved by the public if the budget increase is within the 2% cap. However, referendums and supplemental budget items would still require public approval.
At its 1/18/12 meeting, the Middletown Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution to move its election, normally held in April, to November. The Board terms that would have expired this April are automatically extended until November. Five spots on the Board are up for election at that time, Joan Minnuies, Michael Donlon and Leonora Caminiti are up for re-election while new members Sue Griffin and James Cody, who filled unexpired terms of resigning board members, will be listed on the November ballot.
For the record, I'm not against moving the Board of Education elections to November per say. I think the more people that come out to vote, for or against, the candidates and school budget the better. Citizen participation is a good thing.
What I worry about however is that these elections will become much more politicized than they are now, which will take away from and could be confused with, real issues that effect local governments and school systems.
Board of Education candidates will align themselves with the political parties and will feel pressure to tow the party line and adhere to the wishes of state and local party bosses, over the best interests of those in the school systems.
To run an effective municipal campaign for Township Committee, campaigns could spend in excess of $100,000 to win an election. In contrast most school board candidates spend less than $7,000.
A town's Board of Education will essentially be up for sale each year to the special interests that donate the most to the candidates up for election , it could get messy.
Last weeks edition of the Independent has an article about the Middletown Board of Education's decision to switch it's election from April to November.
17 comments:
"Board of Education candidates will align themselves with the political parties and will feel pressure to tow the party line and adhere to the wishes of state and local party bosses, over the best interests of those in the school systems."
Well, Mike we already have that here in Middletown- that's why a highly respected and capable principal at Middletown South was fired under secretive and dubious circumstances - to appease an ired Republican crony.
For Middletown, this has another name- business as usual.
Yes, I know.
I didn't want to make it seem obvious and then get into a much more long winded post.
Thanks
That crony now serves on the BOE. So much for integrity.....it's all about dirty,ugly politics in this "burg" !
Sounds more like Camden or Newark every day. When they start waving their weapons at each other we will know that urban politics has surely arrived.
The BOE in this town has become as slick and slimy as the TC. Sharpe who did you say???
God help our kids.
Yes, it seems the person who likes to spout the phrase "elections have consequences" on this site means it in more ways than one. For some, losing an election is a mere technicality that can be overriden with the perfect combination of slander and cronyism.
The "mob like machine" of republican politics in this town seems to believe their power is boundless and their will is the law. That is clearly personified by their selfishness,their arrogance, and their tyrannical behavior.
What convinces them that they are only opposed by members of the opposite party. WRONG ! They are opposed by many citizens,both Democrats and Independents and also by citizens of their own party. No one wants to live under tyranny and that is what exists in Middletown today.
Respect is non existent for anyone who disagrees with their viewpoint.regardless of party affiliation or no political affiliation at all today in this community. They think they are unconditionally right, And the weasel in the "sixth" seat on the TC doesn't serve all of the people as he is paid to do. Only serves himself and the republican hierarchy.
Anonymous 11:17 p.m., how wrong you are trying to make your case that people unhappy with government in this town are just sore losers who express their dissent as slander.
Who, please tell us is better at slander then the Middletown Republicans?? It is a way of life especially for the crony now serving on the BOE.
Anon 3:25, I think you my misunderstood my post.
An individual runs for a seat on the board and is summarily defeated only to later be "placed" on there to fill an vacancy.
Cohorts of that individual like to come on this site with the slogan, "elections have consequences"- i.e.- we won, you didn't...tough luck.
Yet it isn't tough luck when THEY lose, is it? I wonder why it was so important to choose that individual of all people? After all, if the voters rejected him, the school board cannot say it was the will of the people. In fact, it was a slap in the face to voters.
I certainly wasn't accusing the people who voted against these self-interested hacks of slander- au contraire!
Geez, get over the Dr. Schallop thing already.
You know what, ask him what happened. Here's his info at his new position which I got with a 20 second Google search.
Dr. Shallop
Assistant Principal
Anti-Bullying Specialist
Grade 9
Contact Information for Dr. Shallop
E-mail: anthony.shallop@edison.k12.nj.us
Send the guy an email and ask him why he didn't opt to have a public hearing before they decided not to renew his contract. He had that right, why didn't he exercise it?
He could have let everyone know exactly why he was not rehired. Instead all we have are rumors and a BOE that, by law, cannot defend themselves against the rumors.
The only reason that the whole affair was so secretive is because that is the way Dr. Schallop wanted it.
Maybe you should ask yourself why that is, or better yet, ask him.
The slimy scum of cronies in that instance are classic of Middletown government. They have no shame. Not any of one of them. Remarkable how low they go to get what they want.
Gutter politics.
Not surprisingly, you took the bite 9:04. Certainly you aren't a board member or Doctor Shallop so no reason you can't speak the facts, Legion, er, Anonymous.
You seem to have alot of propaganda and insinuation at your fingertips.
I suggest anyone interested in getting a whiff of what we have at work here in Middletown do the following-
Go to facebook group "Doctor Shallop Needs Our Support !!" and read the last posts. The usual cast of characters at work speading almost verbatim the "insinuations" of anon 9:04. Of course she may have removed her posts, but they have been retained.
So odd how the same cast of characters routinely get "wronged" only to wind up benefiting. The politics of slander and invented victimhood have certainly been raised to new heights in this township.
And while this can be considered "old news" it is germane to the point Mike is making about moving the school board elections to November and the influence of politics . And as long as my children's education is impacted by those who circumvent the democratic process, I will not "get over it", much as 9:04 would like that to happen.
I did not insinuate anything.
I stated facts.
Maybe the real lesson here has more to do with how a science teacher with no administrative experience was promoted, given a 50K raise, and put in charge of one of the largest schools in the district.
Look at who was on the board when he was promoted.
Then look at who left the board and spoke at the board meeting supporting him.
Why were ex-board members such strong supporters of this guy?
Now there is an insinuation for you.
And then look who was PLACED on the board after failing to win at the polls. And who this all involved to begin with.
There is a pattern here. The same citizens with "issues" who wind up benefiting personally at the expense of other taxpayers.
The education of many high schoolers in this township has been negatively impacted to satisfy the personal agenda of one. Now we can look forward to more of the same for all the township's students.
This illustrates perfectly Mike's concerns about the impact of politics on school board elections, though like him, I am not necessarily against moving them to November. Here in Middletown, it is clear that school board elections don't really matter if those rejected at the polls are placed on the dais when someone leaves.
You are all over the place with your accusations, maam.. It's pretty clear that Shallop's replacement has very little administrative experience himself, so try throwing something else at the wall and see if it wil stick.
Funny how the recent BOE appointee and his sibling have so much input about so much that goes on today in this town..... probably cause they are tied at the hip to Gerry and Geraldine,and probably the source of all they spout off about on this blog.
The APP now requires a link to a Facebook account and that has deterred her over on that site with the multiple name tags we all know so well.
I say do away with all school board elections. Just allow parents who are unhappy with something involving their kids to kick up a stink or threaten to sue and then put them on the board to shut them up. Of course this will not serve any educational purpose, but it will allow more parents to use the position for personal benefit, and will at least give the appearance that the board of ed hasn't been infested with outright corruption.
If it's not infested with corruption,what do we call what has overtaken the current Middletown BOE ?
I think it's called Joan.
That can be fixed in November. Do not re=elect that woman...nothing but problems !
How will the move of the BoE elections, for the next four years, to November impact the BoE fiscal year? How will it impact deffered taxes? Will the BoE need to keep these taxes if it transitions from a July to June fiscal year to a January to December fiscal year? Will this mean that the Middletown township Comittee will no longer have access to BoE educational taxes?
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