For the May 13 issue.
East Windsor Alliance not telling whole budget story
To the editor:
The co-founders of the East Windsor Alliance for Property Tax Reform admitted in their letter two weeks ago ("Officials should take note of message sent by budget vote," April 29) that they "should not be proud of rejecting a budget that affects our children," and yet that was the first step in the agenda outlined in their Web site.
It’s a shame to have orchestrated something you can’t be proud of doing. Personally, I have every reason to be proud of the work that the school board and district administration put into the development of the budget, and I’m proud to continue defending it.
The alliance claims to want to help the school board "manage expenses and contracts more efficiently without negatively impacting quality of education." This is a quote from the Web site. It also says that it wants to "facilitate the flow of information." But the Web site fails to inform us on the effects of school budget cuts and the negative impact they could have on the quality of education and the everyday lives of our kids.
It would be easy for them to include Web links to school district sites and news articles mentioning how budget cuts have been implemented in other communities. How about discussing the hundreds of dollars that families in some districts pay to bus their kids to school? Or the additional money they pay for their kids to participate in athletic activities and music programs? Or the layoffs of teachers that increase class sizes and eliminate programs? Or the deferrals of critical building repairs?
These are not just "red herrings" that Mr. Manulkin warned us about in his letter two weeks ago ("Don’t believe what you hear from school district officials," April 29). They are real stories that are tied to the real assault on public education in this country. Let’s put the whole story out there and "better educate the taxpayer." Then see if we can avoid the misinformation that was used to advance a terribly misdirected agenda and begin to work together for the children.
Vice President
East Windsor Regional School District
Board of Education
Residents were loud and clear in support of schools at meeting
To the editor:
Several hundred people attended Tuesday’s joint meeting of the Hightstown and East Windsor councils to hear public comment on the school budget. For more than three hours, taxpayers and students came to the microphone and urged the councils to keep the budget intact. The audience’s response was overwhelmingly positive. If the mayors and council members were looking for a public mandate, they got it: this community wants to support our schools, at the necessary cost.
It isn’t because we like paying taxes. It’s because we know that the property tax problem wasn’t caused by the schools, and it won’t be solved by slicing bits and pieces out of an already lean budget. It’s also because we’re realizing that we have a competent new superintendent and school board who are able to collaborate with teachers, administrators and parents to make our schools great again.
Ninety percent of our registered voters didn’t vote on April 19. Seven percent of our electorate defeated this budget, and just one of those voters spoke up at Tuesday’s meeting. If there were any others there, they left silently. On this night, taxpayers spoke up loud and clear: We want to invest in the future of our school system, knowing it is now in capable hands. Let’s fight for property tax reform together, not at the expense of our kids.
This event reminded me, yet again, why we love living here.
Hightstown
Resident appeals to mayor to not cut school budget
To the editor:
Dear Mayor Patten,
I am writing to let you know that my husband and I support the school budget that was unfortunately voted down.
We live in Hightstown and have an 8-year-old son in the Walter C. Black School. This budget has no fat to be trimmed. If cuts are made, all of our children will suffer!
As a member of the "Mom Network" I have been speaking with many parents, and despite the number of votes cast at the polls, the overwhelming majority feels passing this budget as it stands and supporting Mr. Bolandi as he tries to take ownership and correct the problems in our district is the right thing to do. I hope I can count on you as our mayor to do the right thing for our community.
Thanking you in advance.
Hightstown
Music and arts programs need the money budgeted
To the editor:
It is time we take a hard look at where money has been going within our school budget. Our schools are sorely lacking in a great many areas. The worst appears to be in the music and arts departments. Our instructors are exhausted because they are seriously overburdened.
My son constantly speaks about how hard his choir teacher has had to work without the benefit of a good piano. The department cannot get the funds necessary to maintain instruments that are extremely old. Programs that ought never to have been cut are gone. We have no string department, which is very sad considering the proven academic benefits of string instrument study. A good orchestra and band program has the potential to raise funds as well.
Our instruments are ancient and some are beyond repair. For those children especially who cannot afford to own an instrument of their own, this is disastrous. Sousaphones are being held together with duct tape and spit, bassoons with paper clips. My daughter, who is a music major, was given a saxophone which was "the best of the worst." It was in sore need of repair. I had to bring the instrument in and have the least amount of repair done that would make it playable as I can not afford to do more. This is something for which our music program should have funds. This is sad.
The board and community need to be aware of the fact that our music and arts programs are extremely important to our children and our community as a whole. Without them our children will be little more than one dimensional people with blinders, no imagination and no real communicative skills not to mention the benefits to all academic skills and especially to those children with learning difficulties.
The risers on the stage for the choirs are rickety and the pianos are beyond repair. The band shell is falling apart. This is an accident waiting to happen. This is terribly wrong. Money has been promised to remedy these issues. It is vital that these monies be allocated to alleviate these problems.
Yes, the budget has been voted down. Now get over it and get constructive. We know what needs to be done in any case. It is time to move forward and find creative ways to use what we have and to be aware of where every penny is going in the process. Our children deserve better and so do we as a community.
As far as taxes go, we should do the same thing that New York City did and take the fight to the highest courts, if necessary, until we finally win the proper and most fair disbursement. It can be done! The ruling just came down that the state has been ordered to finally give the schools of New York City their fair share. If they can do it so can we.
East Windsor
Property reassessments would hurt seniors
To the editor:
We are keeping informed and find quite interesting the analyses and positions of the East Windsor Alliance for Property Tax Reform. The intents are certainly commendable.
However, there is one issue which does concern us. The phrase "fairness in taxation" translates into property tax re-evaluation. Yes, bringing older evaluations up-to-date might look commendable, but the fact is that the greatest change upward in taxes will fall on seniors, who can least afford large increases in their cost of living in this community.
Are we going to drive more seniors out, so that there may be some reductions for persons, couples earning far more? Is it "fairness in taxation" to ask the grandparents among us to cover the rising costs of education? Most of them, like us, are quite willing to do our share, but at what cost? Losing our homes here should not be the price.
East Windsor
Students grateful for exchange trip experience in Spain
To the editor:
Recently we had the opportunity to participate in an exchange program to Spain. We experienced a different culture, were immersed in the language, met new friends, and had an extraordinary time!
We flew to Madrid and from there we flew to Burriana, where we stayed with our host families for the duration of our trip. Rather than staying in hotels, we stayed in the homes of our host families and had the opportunity to go to school and saw how education is approached in Spain.
We experienced their celebration of La Semana Santa, Las Fallas, played with young bulls, visited different castles and palaces, and touched the Mediterranean Sea. We also visited Barcelona, Toledo, Valencia, and Madrid.
We would like to take this opportunity to extend our appreciation to Mrs. Donna Ratner, Mrs. Barbara Hogan, chaperones, the East Windsor Regional School District, and to everyone else who made our exchange to Spain possible and a success.
Natalie Nunez
Kaitlin Radziwanowski
Kelly Reyes
The writers are East Windsor residents and students at Hightstown High School.
Dog owners grateful for resident, animal hospital
To the editor:
On Wednesday, May 4, I received a call at work from Mary Ann, the manager of the Twin Rivers Animal Hospital, to inform me that they had my dog, Maxine, and believed that she had been hit by a car. I couldn’t understand, as Maxine is a house dog, and is never left outside.
As it turns out, for some reason Maxine clawed and bit her way through the screen in our second floor bedroom window, and fell out of it. She hobbled her way to the middle of Probasco Road where she was rescued by Vanessa Greene. She and an officer from the EWPD brought Maxine to the vet’s office, where Mary Ann searched for her owner (Maxine was not wearing a tag, only a collar with her name), and was able to reach me.
We can’t even begin to thank all of the parties for their role in this event. First to Ms. Greene, who went out of her way to help our little Lhasa Apso. Thank you a million times! In the past week, we have thought of all of the possible ways this could have turned out had it not been for the kindness of this woman. We know that there were several cars that passed by Maxine on that day, who did not show the care exercised by Ms. Greene. If the world was filled with more people like Ms. Greene, we would all be very fortunate.
At Twin Rivers Animal Hospital, Maxine was cared for by Dr. Pepetti, a veterinarian whom we had not seen before. We were impressed with the level of care she received, but even more so with the extra steps that were taken on our behalf. Dr. Pepetti himself actually called me at work to let me know how Maxine was doing. He also called another animal hospital to make an appointment for an orthopedic consultation for her broken toes (thankfully the only injury from the fall), and called me back to inform me of the time. We only wish our own doctors were so thorough! The entire staff at the vet’s office was wonderful, especially Mary Ann, and Kristen, who gave us the information about Ms. Greene.
Anyone who has a pet can imagine the ordeal this has been. Maxine is a member of our family, and we are touched by the efforts of some many people to get her back to us safely. We can never thank them enough for what they have done.
East Windsor

