In today's Journal News, the only daily newspaper left in Westchester, albeit on one leg, Carolyn Jones penned a letter to the editor pasted below:
“The Greenburgh Central 7 School Board is at it again. The voters defeated their proposed 5.88 percent tax hike last month. Their brochure before the vote said they would abide by the election results.
After the vote, the school board president said it was a bad idea to resubmit the same budget.
Yet, on Tuesday, June 21, the board is putting the exact same budget up for a vote again. No thoughts of cuts to the $363,232 for the chief school administrator or to anything else.
This show of contempt will spend taxpayer money for a needless election just to try to soothe the board members' egos.
Please go to the Woodlands gym Tuesday June 21 between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. and vote no one last time to this same 5.88 percent tax hike budget.
Carolyn Jones
Hartsdale”
I felt it important to reprint here because she accurately and succinctly makes the case for everybody to get out and vote against this budget. The school board knows that for a special election, they'll not see a big turn out, resulting in the probable passage of this previously defeated budget. What happened to our newly elected Board members? Why aren't they protesting this move? Are they looking to go along to get along like others before them? If they are, they shouldn't get too comfortable in their newly elected seats.
The 2011-12 spending by the Greenburgh School Board will increase by 1.8%, based on an estimated tax rate of $435.77 per $1k assessed value. This will result in a 5.8% school tax increase! The only "No" vote was from the President, Lloyd Newland, whom we think actually gave the taxpayers a brief thought of concern. There were three incumbent candidates who ran, and two won, Charles Bronz and Terry Williams. While they were re-elected, Monique Haygood-Massey was defeated. I think out of the three, I would have kept Haygood-Massey, but then again, I usually don't run with the herd.
It's the incumbent ones, such as Charles Bronz and Terry Williams, who will say they do it for the children, not the unions or the special interests or the salary increases. It's bull! People are struggling but the "old timers" such as these are not interested in the public or the children, just keeping their little fiefdoms in place.
We're not getting good candidates willing to run for anything anymore. The political machines make it a point to tear down good people if they aren't towing the party line. Trust me, I know how this feels. We're only getting people who follow, not lead. We see it with Bronz's successor, Alfreda Williams and now we may see it with Williams’ Town Clerk pick. Even the Democrat taxpayers should find this objectionable.
We need to get away from this partisan hatred that has pervaded and overtaken politics. We need balance in everything we do, politics included. We need people to join in, not tune out. We need to do it for the kids. I say that tongue and cheek because when things get sticky, everything is always for the kids. Reality is, we need to do it for us all.
