On April 15, Edison residents will have a chance to elect three school board members. I respectfully make the following request to all candidates.
1. We, the voters, need to be able to make informed decisions. The debates and fliers are nice, but the format does not allow explanation of nuanced positions on substantial issues. I applaud candidates Veena Iyer, Gene Maeroff and Aimee Szilagyi for setting up a Web site, www.changeedisonboe.org, and I hope that other candidates will follow their lead.
2. According to an article in the Home News Tribune on Feb 8, only six out of nine current board members are eligible to vote on the superintendent’s contract because of “conflict of interest.” So, it is possible that a contract opposed by majority five members (and supported by minority four members) may still pass 4-2 if three of the opposing members can’t vote. We have heard of similar potential “conflict of interest” on other important decisions such as teachers’ contracts. It defies common sense that any person without the right to vote on crucial issues would contest for a position that requires a lot of time commitment and pays no salary.
I request all candidates to disclose these conflicts before the election so that we can factor it in our decisions.
3. The incumbents also need to explain their decision on Ms. Toth’s dismissal. The matter is certainly well within the board’s prerogative and if they felt that the decision was in the best interest of the school district, they were right to do so. However, two questions remain unanswered:
• Ms Toth’s contract was extended from three to five years less than two years ago, and we need to understand what went so wrong suddenly that we are paying Ms. Toth almost half a million dollars to sit at home.
• Even if Ms. Toth’s performance dipped slightly during the year, could the substantial amount be better used to institute extra arts classes, advanced placement (AP) courses, sports programs, hire more counselors and thus improve the overall quality of the students’ experience?
Rakesh Sinha
Edison