Bridgewater-Raritan’s Board of Ed. Takes it on the Chin

Last night’s BR-BOE meeting was not merely somber, it was downright sour. The large contingent of citizens who packed one section of the high school cafeteria on Garretson Road did a collectively good job of taking the administration and the board to the woodshed for a public spanking.

The gulf between the BR-BOE/administration and the public has widened. If a plebiscite were put to Bridgewater and Raritan voters now, it would be rejected: This board has, without intending it, ticked off just about everyone who showed up to speak last night.

The change of mood can be traced directly to the failed proposals of March 13 and April 17. The first was for a $17.4 million expansion project, and the second for a total $133 million budget (including debt service of $5.5 million). This new sentiment may also be related to a campaign waged by two of the new board members, partly around dissatisfaction with math and language curriculums. The April election saw all three incumbents swept out of office, and resulted in a cut of $1.6 million to the 2007/2008 budget.

Last night, the chickens came home to roost when twenty-five mostly outraged speakers stepped up to the lectern. Most made a last-ditch appeal to save the jobs of the assistant librarians. Several strode to the mike to make sure that, should the board change its mind, the $ would not come out of athletic programs. Others also made a point of addressing the math and language arts curriculums, issues which were part of the election campaign of freshman board members, Jeffrey Brookner and Jill Gladstone.

It became clear to this observer that the die was cast earlier in the meeting when Jeffrey Brookner, on behalf of the three-person Finance committee, reported to the board that his committee had completed “a comparative analysis of the various alternatives” and, “at a lengthy meeting yesterday,” no changes were recommended. The Board took no further action on the status of the librarian aides.

Note: See Kara L. Richardson’s front page news story of June 13, at http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage. After today, click “News” on the information bar, and then click on “Past Week’s News” on the drop down menu.