The Holmdel school budget was recently defeated by a vote of 1,016 to 996. Comments by some officials seemed to discount this defeat as a "narrow defeat." Nevertheless, a defeat is a defeat.
The token reduction of $198,000 in a total budget exceeding $40 million — including government assistance — is nominal. The reduction appeared to use inflated numbers and did not address waste.
For example, tax dollars were used to pay the salaries of several past and present superintendents concurrently this past year.
If these funds are available for such extravagance, there is room to cut administrative expenses in a bureaucracy that supervises four schools.
Hopefully, our newly elected board members will listen to the voters.
We all want excellent schools, but wasteful spending is not the answer.
There is room for a genuine budget cut. A line item review by competent outside residents with professional skills, as volunteers, may be the answer.
Increased spending is not always the answer.
David K. Owens Sr.
Holmdel