Praise, don’t blame school district leaders
By: centraljersey.com
My message to the parents and residents of Millstone Township is: if you don’t like the changes you see in the school district, don’t blame the Board of Education or the administration.
What the school board and administration have done over the past several years is shield the students and parents from as many unpleasant and negative changes as possible. Each budget that failed to pass would lead to a repeat of the debate on making "noticeable" changes so that parents would understand the impact versus protecting the students from feeling the impact. To the board’s credit, they always chose to minimize the negative impact on the students and maximize support for educational imperatives. These decisions were made despite the risk of creating or furthering the perception that voting down the budget "makes no difference."
Many voters are misguided about the purpose of a school budget vote. It is not a vote about whether your taxes are too high. Voters are supposed to be answering the question, "is it a responsible budget?" Voting the budget down does not "defeat" the budget and the Township Committee does not "restore" the budget. But this language is commonly used, adding to the confusion. An unpassed budget says the public wants another review. The Township Committee reviews it and either leaves it alone or requires cuts.
The problems with school funding is primarily at the state level, with the federal government also adding to the problems. The public’s focus on the local budget votes only serves to encourage more of the same from the state and federal government. School board members are elected, but unpaid, volunteers.
Millstone is very fortunate to have a tradition of school boards that, despite their individual differences, have always focused on students, education, AND fiscal responsibility – being much less political than other districts. This is not patting myself on the back; this was true before and after my six years of serving on the board. Millstone has been fortunate to have a history of dedicated board members and skilled administrators that have served the community well. The blame lies elsewhere for the unpleasant changes happening now. The current board and administration should be praised for their efforts in making agonizing decisions in an unforgiving situation.
Sam Qutub Millstone

