Board of Education seeking another $10 million

Well, the Board of "Incompetent" Education in Upper Freehold has proven again how incompetent it is. Now they are going to ask us for another $10 million for a middle school that is over budget, and they have not even put a shovel into the dirt. The board wants us to say yes to $10 million more, in spite of the fact that we are paying taxes for over-assessed property.

Our property is over-assessed because of two things. First, the current real estate market has gone down, and second, our taxes went up 50 percent or more. These two things have caused our properties to go down in value and the board wants us to say yes to more taxes. If they want another $10 million, let them get it from the houses built in the last five years that did not have their homes reassessed and saw their property taxes go down. After all, they are the reason a new school is needed.

What is starting to become clear is that the board wanted a new school and knew just how much the reassessment was going to affect people. So, they rushed through a school before we got hit with the tax increase from the reassessment. They knew the land was contaminated and didn't tell us. Now they want us to bail them out and raise our taxes again. It's time the people in this town told them no, we are tired of throwing good money after bad.

To show just how in touch our mayor is with the people, he doesn't think people will have a problem with spending another $10 million. Well, if he has the money, he can spend $10 million of his money. I don't have it to give to people who have proven over and over they don't know what they are doing.

To get back to the Board of 'Incompetent' Education, it still has not found a full-time superintendent of schools. We are still stuck with Dr. [Robert] Smith. It's time he leaves. He has worn out his welcome. A few months ago I wrote a letter stating that the town should have been building a new high school based on the growth of Upper Freehold and Millstone, and telling the state to pay for 75 percent of that school, and turning the existing high school into a middle school. I still believe that would be the correct course of action, especially with how long it is taking to build this school. By the time the school is finally built, the board will be asking us to approve an addition to the new school.

When it comes time to vote to give another $10 million to a school that should not be built, say no. It's time the Board of Education starts thinking down the road and not just looking at what is needed now. The board did that with the addition to the elementary school. That is when a middle school should have been built. Then, they put an addition to the high school when they should have built a new high school and turned the existing high school into the middle school. Now they want us to build a middle school when a new high school is overdue.

The way the Board of Education works is, wait until it's too late and then it will ask for a new school, and if you say no, then you don't care about the children or you are against education. This way of thinking does not help anyone, especially the children, because in the end the children suffer. This way of thinking also makes it more expensive to the taxpayer. If you know you are going to have a certain amount of growth over the next five, 10, 15 years, shouldn't you be planning to have a school that will accommodate that growth, instead of waiting for the growth to hit and then building the same school or addition that could have been built earlier for millions less? This is one way to control property taxes. If the board members say they didn't know about the growth, then they really were not doing the job they were elected for.

Let's face it, if 80 percent of your taxes are going to education and the taxes keep soaring, the people elected to do a job are not doing it. Fifteen years ago the town knew what kind of growth was coming and they did nothing to plan for it. I would have rather seen my taxes go up a little then so that when it came time for a new school we had the money.

And one last thing, mayor. This time, do not override the vote of the people like you did with last year's school budget. Let it be sent to the state and when the state overrides it, say to the state, "You said yes, so now you can pay for it," because the people said no and we don't have the money. Start standing up for the people of this community and protecting us. That is what you were elected for.

William McNally

Cream Ridge

section of Upper Freehold