Dear family, friends and neighbors,
As we hunker down with typically the coldest and snowiest days of the year, I'm going to cut to the chase and ask you to join me in voting no on January 25th.
The truth is, The District has more to do to improve the educational excellence, before embarking on such a large capital project - 100% financed by the taxpayer (renters too). Up until the last four year of my City Council tenure, I was quite knowledgeable of former Board of Ed members and their strategic plans. These leaders were working towards the right strategies which in large part wrestled the District away from outside political influence which stifled educational excellence for far too long, and led to Dr. Johnson's hiring.
But the competition is fierce, with many educational options in the area. Our High School has not kept pace and has more work to do. It's not accurate that new facilities translate into educational excellence. Building a $241 million plus facility in hopes parents will send their children is not a strategy. If the educational value vs facilities mismatch isn't enough to vote no, consider the following.
I understand the parents of Hoboken's public school children for wanting to support this project with so many of our local charters and County High Schools making facilities investments. But the community as a whole, including the District parents, should be aware and concerned with Hoboken's political history. The manner in which this plan is being introduced is steeped in Hoboken's ugly past with zero transparency, zero quantifiable justification and a whole lot of voter suppression. It's hard to imagine that we have truly gone back to the days of organized corruption.
Consider the following statements about this plan.
1) BOE (and I believe certain council members) knew about this plan first quarter last year (and earlier - 2019), and consciously chose to hide it from the public
2) inadequate cost justification when less than half the bond amount could renovate existing facilities to meet their needs
3) 100% tax supported (a 20% tax increase, up to $1,500 more on average in school taxes for 25 years per household)
4) referendum slated for an obscure time of the year to suppress voter turnout
I would say the recent NJ.COM article really sums it up, and provides really good statewide perspectives. I encourage everyone to read the article.
And if this isn't enough, it is shameless that this District leadership, Administration and Councilmembers feel empowered to pit parents of Hoboken's school children against all of Hoboken's taxpayers. As a councilman, I alway felt it was important to bring the community together on divisive measures like this referendum - and trust me, I experienced many of them.
I am happy to take any questions or comments on either side of the issue.
Thanks, Peter Cunningham
