Locals find measure unecessary
By: Lacey Korevec
Some residents say legislation that would create a county superintendent of schools is an attempt to fix something that isn’t broken.
They say a proposal that would put power into the hands of a regional, county superintendent to oversee local districts’ operations would ruin the small-school appeal of Cranbury School.
The proposal is part of a series of recommendations issued Nov. 15 by four joint legislative panels as part of a special Legislative session called by Gov. Jon Corzine to address rising property taxes.
Toni Coleman and Angie Cook, PTO presidents, said changes to the Cranbury School District, including consolidating with another district, would hurt the township.
"It works so well," said Ms. Coleman. "We have such a great school district and community, it would be a shame to fix something that isn’t broken. That’s my feeling and I know a lot of people feel that way too. Cranbury should be a model for other school districts."
Ms. Coleman said the PTO would not make an official statement, but individual members have begun writing to legislators to voice their opposition to the recommendations and some parents are working on a petition.
Ms. Cook said there is no evidence that consolidation of school districts or an executive county superintendent would relieve the pressure of skyrocketing property taxes.
"There are no facts out there proving that doing this sort of stuff will save the taxpayers money," she said. "So, then why does it always seem to come up? And that’s the concern that a lot of the Cranbury parents have. We don’t want to lose control. We have a great system in place."
Ms. Cook said many current residents were attracted to move to Cranbury because of its small, accessible school district.
Jason Stewart said he is one of those residents.
"We bought a house in Cranbury before we even put our other house up for sale," he said. "I did that because that’s how important the decision to move to Cranbury was and that was all about the small community sense and the school. It’s just a fantastic school and what makes it fantastic is the fact that it’s so small and has so much internal involvement from the parents."
Mr. Stewart said he’s gotten a chance to experience a variety of school districts after he and his family moved to Plainsboro from Los Angeles nearly five years ago before finally settling in Cranbury three months ago.
"Cranbury is doing it right," he said. "It’s the perfect example of why small government can work. I’m not saying there aren’t places where small government doesn’t work. But it works in Cranbury."
He said if the recommendations up for debate end up being approved, he and his wife feel strongly enough about the matter that they would consider moving out of New Jersey.
Township resident Lynne Fox said she’s glad the PTO is working to inform residents about the current issues and it’s important that the community be educated about ideas being considered.
Ms. Fox said she has written letters to legislators because she feels the current recommendations, including a 4 percent cap on the amount that can be raised by taxes, will offer no tax relief and will hurt New Jersey schools.
"I do believe it’s important to allow your voices to be heard in these circumstances, rather than just waiting to see what happens because it’s much harder to undo."

