Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Big Spending Hurts Harrison


Published in the Jersey Journal, Aug 15th 2011

After being told to get their spending under control in 2006, it's plain to see that the mayor and the council cannot be trusted to provide the residents with services that are essential to their well-being.
They have reduced our police and fire personnel, eliminated our in-house EMT services, and put everyone's lives in jeopardy. This, at a time when every tax dollar must be spent carefully, the town, without conscience, pays the superintendent of schools an enormous salary of $275,000, which doesn't include a $100,000 bonus because the students passed a state-mandated test.
Why are we rewarding a superintendent of schools after the state designated Harrison as an Abbott District. By definition, Abbott Districts are school districts in New Jersey that are provided remedies to ensure that their students receive public education in accordance with New Jersey's state Constitution. They were created in 1985 as a result of the first ruling of Abbott vs. Burke, a case filed by the Education Law Center.
The ruling asserted that public primary and secondary education in poor communities throughout the state was unconstitutionally substandard. There are currently 31 Abbott districts in New Jersey. Then why on earth are we paying the superintendent $275,000 with an assistant superintendent at $195,000, not to mention a quite large support staff?
It's important to note that Harrison is a one-square-mile town with four schools and an attendance of approximately 3,900 students. Governor Christie was critical of Parsippany's superintendent of schools by stating the man was the face of greed with a salary of $245,000. Parsippany has 14 schools and a student population of over 7,000.
Need I make a comparison?
Who would negotiate a contract with a salary this high for a 260-day work year, with nine weeks paid vacation and sick time.
DAN KELLY
COUNCILMAN 1996-2006
HARRISON

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