Sunday, March 2, 2014
Election Update: Board of Education Voter Referendum
I'm still not sure how I will be voting on this. After reading some comments posted online by people who had attending the Board of Education's public information meetings concerning this referendum, I'm leaning towards voting NO. But as I said, I'm not sure just yet.
From Middletown Alerts:
Voting on the referendum will take place from 4 p.m. - 9 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11, 2014. At the January 28th voting meeting, the Board of Education approved a voter referendum to issue $19.3 million in bonds to address critical facilities needs. The remainder of the $32.2 million cost of these projects will be funded by $12.9 million in state grants. Sample ballots have been sent out by Monmouth County. Registered voters should receive them next week. If you would like to vote by mail please contact the Township Clerk’s Office at townclerk@middletownnj.org or 732-615-2015 for more information.
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17 comments:
Let's see. We have a Republican committee that ran as the "Christie Team". We have a Governor who apparently has a policy of providing aid to his supporters and punishing those who don't support him. Well lookie here, the State approves every grant we apply for and they want to give little ole Republican run Middletown $13 million.
I say take the money and run before they figure out that Christie was using educational aid the same way he used Port Authority money and Sandy relief money.
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, this is a no brainer.
Vote "Yes" on the referendum.
I have no problem taking the $13 million, it's the other $19 million that I have doubts about.
Would not trust Christie or the " Christie Team" as far as we could throw them....about anything. NOT A THING !!! NOT A SINGLE THING !!!!
Nothing is ever "FOR NOTHING" !!!
No free lunches in this deal either and don't delude yourself, Anon 9:04 !!
Mike, this work is going to be done whether we take the money from the state or not. If the 19 million scares you, you should be terrified at the more than thirty two million it will take to do this work if the referendum is not passed and we have to do it piecemeal over the next few years without the benefit of the state kicking in $13 million.
I agree with Mike, have no problem taking money but the other 19 million does concern me. I've not seen a qualified plan nor have I seen a full list of everything that is going to be fixed. I am also unsure if we are paying for things that have already been fixed.
I also agree with the other poster that nothing is ever free. When someone says it's a no brainer, you need to step back and look across the grain.
Did you ask to see plans?
Did you check the agendas and look at the grants?
Did you call the business office with your questions?
Do you think the state is going to approve a grant for work that was already done?
Did you make any effort to find out anything?
If not, that is probably why you didn't see any plans.
Mike have you attended one of the forums?
I don't know how much influence you have,if any, but if you are going to comment on the referendum I would hope that you would express an informed opinion and not simply an uniformed knee jerk reaction.
Correct me if I'm wrong but shouldn't such plans be made public? If the board of ed wants to hold a referendum, shouldn't they publish a plan? I assume you have seen the plans so please share them with us.
Anon 9:30
No, I have not attended one of the BOE forums. I'm sorry that I implied it and didn't make it clear.
I've read quite a few different opinions from people that have attended one or both of the forum and have to slightly agree with a few of that have a problem.
$32 million is a lot of money to just hand out to contractors with little or no qualified individual overseeing the overall work being done and I'm fearful of the potential waste of money.
And I have a big problem with the money that this BOE spent towards the construction of turf fields around town. If the schools needed so much work why did the BOE decide that turf fields were a higher priority than making sure that our kids had a safe and comfortable environment in which to learn? If the schools are in such bad shape how come the money that went towards the fields wasn't invested in the fixing of the schools?
That is what I have a problem with and why I'm on the fence over this.
Right on Mike and let's not forget, the grants don't expire till next year and we can vote no and force the BOE to present a better plan, a qualified plan that details all of the spending and possibly include what they plan to do with the high class sizes. Voting no does not mean the money goes away, this is not a one or nothing shot.
Mike, educate yourself. The district hired qualified individuals to oversee all of the work.
Please, don't mislead people.
If you aren't willing to invest some time in learning about this referendum beyond listening to second hand accounts of people who did, fine, but please don't express opinions without educating yourself.
(This post is from The Middletown Patch)MaverickMom, all I am doing here is trying to show that the township committee is working against the school district because they have their own agenda. Not only that, but that the current township leadership has a history of working against the interest of the school district and our students. Their blatant opposition to this referendum is no exception.................You keep bringing up Chris Aveta. Thank you. Chris Aveta epitomizes why the township committee should not be involved with decisions involving the education of our children.....................Chris Aveta took an oath and swore that he would adhere to the state code of ethics for school board members and he would be an advocate for our children on the BOE...........................He then took the trust that the public had placed in him and refused to represent our children, deciding instead to represent the township committee, who had worked to get him on the board.....................As chair of the finance committee, instead of advocating for our students and obtaining the most resources available for their education, he kept the increase to the budget at half what the state allows to impress his cronies on the committee and further his political ambitions................Because the increase to the budget is based upon the previous year's budget, the damage Chris Aveta has caused to our district is having long range consequences....................When Aveta was head of the finance committee why did he insist on an unsustainable 1% increase to the school budget? Why didn't he take advantage of the meager 2% allowed by the state and put money towards repairs?.......................Now, after the parents of Middletown have overwhelmingly rejected his politically motivated presence on the BOE he continues to do the bidding of the township committee along with Belford Bob and MaverickMom......................Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me...........................The voters made the mistake of misplacing their trust in Chris Aveta once. Don't trust him when he tells you that this referendum is not good for the district, it is......................Don't trust them when they tell you this referendum is about redistricting, overcrowding or building additions....................This referendum is about the state offering us $13 million to help with needed repairs, nothing else. Let's vote yes and take the money because after this referendum the offer is off the table and we will pay much more in the long run.
This is not true, we can vote no and get a complete plan that outlines everything the money is going to be spent on. Voting no does NOT mean we lose the state aid as this is good until next year. No one should vote yes because we haven't seen a plan or measure on exactly what is being repaired and what other monies the BOE has to put towards this to alleviate the burden to the taxpayer. This is NOT a vote no and the money is gone. Make the board come back with a better more informed plan. Also, where is the overcrowding going to be taken care of and why are they looking at redistricting and the 1 high school?
No question. Chris Aveta is not good for the BOE or the TC if he now has political ambitions ( also remember his wife serves as a appointee).
As for the TC, they have proven time and again that it's all about politics and to HELL WITH THE PEOPLE.The same could be said of others serving on the BOE who break their oath to the children of this town. Show us the company you keep and we will tell you what you are !!
Turf fields have been the ROOT of all EVIL in this town for several years and make no mistake about that ever!!
Politicians that lied to gain votes, patronage to members of politically connected families,a BOE with it's priorities lopsided,BOE members elected(and campaigned for by the TC) to serve the TC objectives, the list goes on and on.
Trust the state or this administration (both state and local), are you kidding us ????
They have proven they are about as trustworthy as snakes.
This is a vote no and the money is gone. Go to the district website and read the info about the referendum.
Wrong,anon 5:42 p.m.......stop the scare tactics.
I disagree with this proposed referendum and all of the “spin” that the BOE is putting on it! This referendum includes a lot of “WANTS” of the BOE and some needs, these needs didn’t happen overnight and the board could have and should have addressed these issues when they first occurred and not procrastinate and delay some necessary repairs for whatever their reason which will cost us taxpayers more of our hard earned money. The way I see it, the BOE already has the money that they “NEED” to make the necessary repairs i.e. in 1996 we passed a bond referendum for 78 Million dollars for major school construction including building a new middle school to replace the old one, Bayshore, that assessment has been compounded for the last 16 years and refinanced to a lower rate so they do have some surplus. They didn’t back out that assessment when they raised our taxes each and every year since, and in 2001 we passed another bond referendum for 10.5 million again for more proposed needed repairs and upgrades. Well that referendums last payment was made in 2012 but the BOE is still collecting the assessment on that referendum which has also been compounded for the last 13 years on a 10 year bond referendum. Also just about 5 years ago or so we passed a tax increase which included a percentage to replace the high schools (North and South) football fields that our children will still be paying for, so we needed roof and other repairs and the BOE “WANTED” football fields! Now what does this BOE really “WANT” this time? In addition not so long ago we passed a “School construction” tax increase to address the necessary repairs that the BOE claimed were needed.
One last issue; read the ballot carefully, the BOE “WANTS” to be able to have the full 32 Million available to them while they wait for the state to send their share. Does anyone really believe that once the BOE gets a hold of that additional 13 million that they will pay off that portion of the bonds or reduce our taxes accordingly? WE are going to be hit with the entire amount of the bonds and are taxes will reflect a much higher increase then the BOE is claiming, but if its passed there is nothing we can do except PAY.
I VOTE NO! on this referendum, when the BOE gives us a more detailed plan on exactly what repairs are necessary and the actual cost, then we as tax payers can consider a more realistic and reasonable referendum if actually needed.
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