| Author |
Message |
    
Admin
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2001 - 10:39 pm: |     |
For Dave,
Do you believe that Maplewood taxpayers should be given the right to vote on the school budget?
What role do you believe the TC should play if one at all, in affecting BOE decisions concerning our school district - ie. busing. redistricting etc. |
Dave
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 - 12:08 pm: | |
This was an interesting part of last night's debate. Perhaps David can respond?
Perhaps Fred can elaborate more on why he is in disagreement with David and Marie on the issue and how South Orange comes into play? |
Davidhuemer
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 6, 2001 - 1:07 am: | |
Yes, I favor a direct vote on the school budget.
The Township Committee should not be involved in educational policy. That's the job of the Board of Education. The Township Committee can do a lot of good by publicly committing to having our schools be 21st Century models of diverse, suburban public education. We need to hire hundreds of staff members over the next 10 years. Good educators want to work in a supportive community. We will hire better teachers of our children by being supportive.
In addition, understanding what resources we need to effectively educate all our children will inform our advocacy for a just level of state aid. Raising the percentage of state school aid from current levels (roughly 8-9 %)to the levels of fifteen years ago (roughly 13-14 %) would mean 2-3 million annually for Maplewood. That dwarfs any other means of relieving residential property taxes.
The Township Committee is also the ideal entity to coordinate efforts of our schools, community groups and the recreation departments of Maplewood in order to eliminate waiting lists in the After School Program and other popular recreational offerings. |
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