The disgraced New Beginnings team is working very hard to try and stay under the radar. A few obvious observations. First, same people attacking and writing letters. Second, same homes have lawn signs as before. Is it just a coincidence or are the Teaneck voters going to be tricked into electing a TNB candidate. The election is not looking good for one of our dedicated incumbents. As my fellow blogger pointed out, why should we get involved in this election. Let the chips fall......
But then we remember, that the majority of our taxes are controlled by the Board of Education. What about the future of Teaneck's youth? Can we afford to just leave them in the hands of certain individuals. At a time when gang violence is rising in our schools, it is our responsibility to elect strong leaders that will not ignore or avoid problems, but will address them head on. Go with who you know.
11 comments:
In Salem, they called this a witch hunt. Glad to see this blog taking the high road.
Joe Harris's lawn is supporting Pruitt, Rodriguez, and Fischer. TNB lives.
Muahahahaha!
I'm waiting for the announcement that, in addition to incorporating the Bergen Insider, The County Seat will also be incorporating this blog.
Strangely, Mayor Katz seems to be supporting Dr. Pruitt. Is he also a part of the TNB cabal? Now things are starting to get clearer.
anonymous 11:10
What are you talking about?
In choosing our elected officials, we often have to balance injecting energy and new ideas into our governing bodies against a proven ability to accomplish the required tasks. Thankfully, in this year’s School Board Elections, we can have the best of both worlds with our two incumbent candidates. Barbara Ostroth is running for a 5th term as a board trustee. During her tenure, we have seen the district complete an extensive building program on time and under budget. We have also seen a full restructuring of the high school curriculum, with a raising of graduation requirements to well above those required by the State of New Jersey. We have seen the implementation of two smaller learning communities – the TEAMS Academy and the Arts Academy – to support those students with special interests in math, science, and technology as well as in the fine and performing arts. We have put into place a program designed to address something no district nationwide has been able to accomplish – namely, to tackle the heretofore vexing problem of the achievement gap between persons of color versus the rest of the school population. Barbara has been intimately involved in the details of all of the above, and she continues to exert a leadership role in the implementation of these programs. Her ideas to improve the selection processes for the Academically Gifted programs, to form alliances between the district and various segments of our community to better the education of our students, and to improve the mentoring of our students will serve us well in the next years.
Finally, Barbara has always been willing to take on the necessary but often frustrating and thankless task of lobbying our state and federal legislatures to ensure that they return to us at least a portion of what we pay into those governing bodies. She continues to work closely with our administration, our teaching staff, and our parents to ensure that we provide the best education possible given the fiscal restraints that we face as a district. Her voice of optimism, combined with a hard-headed pragmatism of how to get things done, are necessary in the next three years as we proceed with the implementation of the ACT Initiative.
Dr. Henry Pruitt is running for a second term as a Board Trustee. In his first term, Dr. Pruitt has pushed tirelessly for the advancement of the education of all of our students, especially those students who have heretofore often been neglected or overlooked. His efforts to improve the rigor in our curriculum, as well as the assessment of programs both old and new, have helped to push the ACT Initiative implementation to its current level, and promise to continue to keep us moving forward in the coming years. Henry’s championing of teaching algebra to all 8th graders (and putting the resources in place to help those who might struggle with that decision) promises to put our students in a more competitive position when it comes time to apply to college. Furthermore, his willingness to point out that which makes us uncomfortable, and to hold us to the standards that we all profess to have, is absolutely necessary in this time of change.
Do they agree with each other? Often not (though I think they would both be surprised to find out how often they do agree). Do I agree with either of them at all times? Definitely not; there are times when I agree with neither of them. Do they have the best interests of our children, as well as our communities, at heart at all times? Absolutely! Their ability to work through their differences towards the common goal of bettering the education of our children, while exercising fiscal restraint for our taxpayers, will hold us in good stead in the coming three years. We urge the Teaneck voters to return Ms. Barbara Ostroth (Line 1) and Dr. Henry Pruitt (Line 5) to the Board of Education for the coming three years.
Finally, we also urge that the Teaneck voters vote YES on the school budget. At a tax levy increase of 2.92%, a full 1% below the rate of inflation, this budget actually saves money for the taxpayers of Teaneck. Moreover, the budget provides $1,000,000 in funding to programs designed specifically to address the student achievement issues of the district. We need to fund the education of our youth. Yes, education is expensive, but it pales next to the cost of ignorance.
David L. Diuguid, MD
Caryn R. Diuguid
Most who know us, already know that my wife and I are supporting Barbara Ostroth in tomorrow's Board of Education election. When I met Barbara she was not a board member, but she was already actively working to improve the quality of education in the Teaneck Public Schools. Barbara and my wife Janet became allies in their constant drive to improve the quality of public education in Teaneck.
While the entire "Board Member Code of Ethics" is important, I have always felt the reason most candidates run can be summed up in:
"I will make decisions in terms of the educational welfare of children and will seek to develop and maintain public schools which meet the individual needs of all children regardless of their ability, race, creed, sex or social standing."
Ms. Ostroth’s actions as a board member have made it clear that she has always understood and been guided by this. It is not surprising that Barbara has the support of Mayor Katz, as well as former Mayors Kates and Ostrow.
I urge everyone to vote for Barbara Ostroth on Tuesday April 17th
… and quoting from Barbara’s flyer
"SUPPORT OUR SCHOOLS! Vote “YES” for the 2007-2008 Budget."
School Board Election Results (unofficial)
Barbara Ostroth ran a good clean campaign.
Regarding the TNB and the Council... are you really talking about the same Council that shoved a new Plan down our throats, trying until there was an outcry to railroad us with artificial timetables and a preselected but apparently incompetent consultant? Is this the Council and Katz that are putting millions into the police department while they plan to sell the property it's on?
TNB couldn't do any worse.
Ostroth absolutely ran a good clean campaign and I appreciate her many years of hard work and good service. I hope she will find other ways to remain involved for the good of the town, and the children.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Post a Comment