The Superintendent Needs to stop Manufacturing False Crises She then Pretends to Resolve while Blaming the Community.
Yesterday Shauna published an article that pointed to the very words the Superintendent said at the last budget meeting that reasonably led to many in our community believing cuts to AP classes were on the horizon. When you take those words and past actions into consideration (the poorly informed attempt to remove French), a petition was the only reasonable action students and parents could take, and it may very well have saved those AP Classes. We also saw this with the OPRA Custodian Position – the misinformation about the District being “flooded” with OPRA requests when in reality the District experiences a fraction of what the Township handles on a daily basis.
Soon after, another email going on and on about the Superintendent’s commitment to protecting athletics was sent to Governor Livingston’s parents citing “rumors” in the community about cuts. Again, those “rumors” have a very credible starting point. The Superintendent and Business Administrator cited 150k in cuts to the athletics budget. Granted, it was made clear that the proposed cuts were to staffing; however, as Mr. Sincaglia pointed out, it is really hard to figure out how the District would save that amount of money by looking at Assistant Coaches alone. It was reasonable for anyone looking at the budget to wonder how the District arrived at that 150k. Fearing cuts to other aspects of the athletics program was also reasonable given the unclear, barely coherent Budget presentation. Again, parents reacting to their concerns very well may have prevented planned cuts.
Don’t be afraid of being accused of spreading “rumors” and “misinformation” – it’s a tactic to keep you scared and silent. You have a right to talk about the budget and, when it is unclear (and it remains unclear) to make educated assumptions and discuss them.
My guess is all of this theatre is meant to distract away from several realities:
- The ongoing costs of the poorly planned reconfiguration.
- The massive increase in central administration.
- The ballooning of unnecessary legal fees that the BOE can stop tomorrow.
Please show up tonight. Ask Questions. Be Unafraid.
Clip Connected to Athletic Cuts:
Related Content:
FORMER BOE PRESIDENT JOHN SINCAGLIA COMMENTS ON THE BERKELEY HEIGHTS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGET
2 thoughts on “The only Source of Misinformation in our Community is District Administration”