Category: Independent Opinion

  • Town square a rare opportunity to create downtown

    I attended the Middletown Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing regarding the town square application. I was surprised to learn that this town center approach was already considered in the early 1990s. The former head of the New Jersey Office of State Planning showed that this proposal complies with the Middletown Master Plan, Monmouth County Growth…

  • ‘Money trail’ doesn’t mean higher SAT scores to follow

    As a resident taxpayer of Aberdeen, I find the April 3 letter of school teacher Elizabeth Vogt very interesting and hope other Aberdeen taxpayers will read it. It seems she quit her position in the math department [Middletown] in the middle of the semester and followed the "money trail" to a similar position in the…

  • Road back requires passage of school budget Tuesday

    We are happy to report that very positive things are happening at High School South. We have a new very enthusiastic and very visible principal who is working day and night for our children and our school, and a dedicated staff working with our parents to make High School South the best it can be.…

  • Obituaries

    Greater Media Newspapers prints obituaries as a free community service, at no charge to the families of the deceased or to the funeral homes that provide the information. JAMES CANTRELLA, 87, of Hazlet died March 31 at home. Born in Newark, he lived there until moving to Hazlet in 1955. He was a third-generation barber…

  • Do the equation before voting on school budget At the last Matawan/ Aberdeen school board meeting in March, the superintendent announced the number of students in the district was expected to increase by 1.7 percent in the new school year that starts J

    Do the equation before voting on school budget At the last Matawan/ Aberdeen school board meeting in March, the superintendent announced the number of students in the district was expected to increase by 1.7 percent in the new school year that starts July 1. At the same meeting, Matawan and Aberdeen school board members approved…

  • Holmdel needs leaders like board candidate Liz Allocco

    This year’s Board of Education election is a key element in determining the direction of Holmdel as a community. In a rapidly growing district, the Holmdel Board of Education is faced with the challenge of maintaining the high quality of education while balancing the needs of an ever growing, culturally diverse student population. Board members…

  • Budget committee members ask for show of support

    The citizens of Middletown need to come together. Our school system is in trouble, our kids and our community are at risk. We need to pass the budget on April 16. When we speak of "our" kids, we speak of the community’s children. A school community which Mr. Ronald J. Riccio, the impartial mediator, stated…

  • They’ve waited too long

    The comments made by Middletown High School North students at last week’s Middletown Board of Education paint a horrendous picture of conditions at North. A student survey presented to the board indicates that 41 percent of students have a poor opinion of their school, 90 percent or almost all don’t think their school is properly…

  • Strickland deserves your support for Holmdel board

    Karen Strickland and I have been friends for over five years. What impressed me about Karen when we met was her total sincerity and commitment. When I needed help, she was there with a smile. As a mother with a kindergartner starting the Holmdel schools, I looked to her for leadership; she had older children.…