Parents to Board of Education: Share the Pain

Tuesday night’s message from parents of this community to the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education could not have been clearer, more articulate, or more unanimous: It’s time to share the pain.

In the over 20 years that I have attended board meetings either as a community volunteer on committees or as a board officer, rarely have I seen such a sober consensus among such an overflow gathering.

People do not want to see the $4 million reduction in state aid (more about that in another post) imposed only upon selected teachers and custodians. They want equity in reducing the budget. The sense of the gathering last night, judging by the persons who addressed the board and who were roundly applauded after they spoke, is this:

Before laying off anyone and going through hoops to find other places to cut, do one of three things, or a combination of all three: 1. Work to rescind the looming 4.35% pay hike built into the BREA union contract. 2. Beginning with the Superindent, require that all administrators at all levels – whether in a bargaining unit or not, forego their pay hikes. 3. Address pay-to-play for athletics.

Nobody wants to see people lose their jobs while well-paid administrators and surviving teachers get a 4.35% pay increase or more.

It is unrealistic to think that there won’t be additional reductions in the future. Nonetheless, this community wants fairness, and it wants it now. This means that pay hikes scheduled for the 2010/2011 school year be canned before people get canned.

I hope the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education is listening. But there is reason to doubt. After the open-to-the-public period of the meeting ended, board members were asked for their reaction.

Before hushed listeners, only one board member, Jill Gladstone, provided her opinion. Mrs. Gladstone said that she “supports sharing the burden in this (school) community,” and “wants a top-to-bottom solution among union and non-union” members.”

I hope that the rest of the board doesn’t come down on her for having validated what every person in that room thought last night. And, I am certain, what every thoughtful and considerate person in the Bridgewater-Raritan community also believes.

To further punctuate this line of reasoning, at least two teachers came to the podium in support of the public’s comments.