Bridgewater-Raritan: School Budget Gets Nod; Two Incumbents Win, Third One Loses

In what appears to be a ringing endorsement of the overall direction of the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education and its Administration, voters from the Township and the Borough cast their lots overwhelmingly in favor of the school budget. 

Mathur and Lerner, upon learning of the final vote tally. (Photo/R.Bergeron)

Out of a total of 5,473 votes cast, the budget easily raced past the finish line by a margin of 893, with all voting districts in favor, including absentee ballots.

Bridgewater incumbents Arvind Mathur and Evan Lerner also won over contenders Barbara Kane, Lisa Giranda and Elizabeth Eisenger Lande.  Al Smith, a nine-year veteran representing Raritan, lost to newcomer Ann Marie Mead. 

The margins of victory were not slim.  Mead won overwhelmingly by more than 2 to 1, while Lerner and Mathur garnered 2178 and 2092 votes, respectively.  Barbara Kane placed third with 1642, while Lisa Giranda was next with 1,366.  Elizabeth Eisenger Lande, an active Bridgewater mom, yet a newcomer to the political scene, did well with 1,140 votes.

Last-Minute Chance to Vote for your School Board Choices

There are about 2 hours left for you to register your preference for candidates running for three open seats on the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education.  If you think that this is just a humdrum election, don’t be misled. 

Peter Starrs will receive the unofficial tally at the Wade Bldg. tonight.

This is one of the toughest contests in years and, even though it’s approaching the level of a mini-slugfest, it is refreshing to see that this election is not uncontested.  The principal reason for that statement is that there are compelling issues that were held up for public examination by some of the sparring opponents which, without competition, would never have come to light in this election. 

More about that later.  More importantly, the polls are open until 9:00 PM this evening, so why don’t all y’all get out there and do your stuff for the Gipper.  He would want you to vote, no matter what your choices may be.

Official school budget information and candidates’ profiles may be seen here by clicking here.

The final tally will be tracked after the polls close at 9:00 PM in the conference room of the Wade Administration Building in Martinsville. Any and all citizens are welcome to come and observe the results as they come in.

Unions, Educators, and the Community

In trying to understand the role of union leaders and their priorities within education, it’s useful to hear directly from the source.   One such example is that of the National Education Association’s top attorney, Bob Chanin – now retired – who addressed the NEA at its annual meeting in July, 2009.  Below are excerpts from that speech.

“Despite what some among us would like to believe it is not because of our creative ideas. It is not because of the merit of our positions. It is not because we care about children and it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child. NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power.”

“And we have power because there are more than 3.2 million people who are willing to pay us hundreds of millions of dollars in dues each year, because they believe that we are the unions that can most effectively represent them, the unions that can protect their rights and advance their interests as education employees.”

“It’s for the Kids?” Not so Fast!

One of the phrases which I could never cotton to very well, yet one which I have heard expressed countless times in my association within, as well as outside of the educational communities of the Bridgewater-Raritan School District, is this one:  “It’s for the kids.” 

NJEA Headquarters, Trenton, NJ

It always seemed to grate against my view of common sense because, when articulated, it was usually done within the context of a proposal for an increase in the budget; or, just as often, as bargaining units were either in the midst of negotiating for salary increases or rebuffing a call to share in the burden of shouldering – however minimally – the escalating costs of health benefits.

How, I wondered, that here in New Jersey, where the cost of education is the highest in the land, and where 80% of those costs are directly related to salaries and benefits, could it possibly be in the best interest of “the kids” to keep pushing for a total compensation package that is no longer reasonably sustainable without breaking the back of the local tax base and the budgets of individual families?

Bridgewater-Raritan School Board Candidates Disclose Contributions

Signs for Bridgewater's School Board candidates compete for space.

The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) is responsible for assuring that candidates who run for office submit certain information.  One of those requirements concerns the amount of contributions made to their campaigns and the names of those contributors. 

Additionally, candidates are required to keep a record of their expenses, should there ever be any questions.

With respect to campaign contributions, candidates are required to fill out Form C-1 with the Commission, depending upon the amount and timing of those contributions.  This is a matter of public record, and you can easily view this information online at the Commission’s website by clicking here.  Enter first and last names in the dialogue box, click on the “Search” button, and follow the directions.

To make it easier for you, a summary of the candidates running for three open seats on the Bridgewater-Raritan School Board, their contributors, and their contributions appears below, as disclosed on Form C-1 online.

Spring Break with Family

I welcomed spring break because it gave Priscille and me a couple of days to be with our two granddaughters, Margot and Monique, in an informal, relaxing setting.  Margot is completing her high school freshman year in Hamilton, and Monique starts middle school next September. 

A mom and her son view flooding along White Bridge Road, Millington, NJ

There is nothing like getting immersed into the lives of your grandkids to find out what the generation beyond that of your own children 

is thinking and talking about.

It’s a learning experience that gives grandparents a meaningful insight into the minds of the upcoming generation.

I find that it’s always better to intersperse talking with fun and activities.  Priscille and I don’t go out of our way to plan what we do during those visits.  In fact, we don’t do much planning at all.  We just go with the flow and come to an easy consensus among all four of us as to what we will do on any given day.

School Board’s Negotiations Committee Awaits BREA Counter-Offer

At Tuesday evening’s work session of the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education this week, Mr. Jeffrey Brookner, its President and head of the Negotiations Committee, provided a succinct status of the ongoing talks with the Bridgewater-Raritan Education Association – it represents the teachers and certain other school district employees.

Jeffrey Brookner, listens to input at Board Mtg. (Photo/R.Bergeron)

He confirmed that the Board’s Negotiations Committee had not met as scheduled on Monday, April 11^th, because the BREA had requested additional time to formulate its strategy.  The last meeting between the two groups took place on March 22. 

Brookner stated that the Board had previously presented an offer to the BREA, and that the Board was now awaiting the union’s response, or counteroffer.  A phone call to his office seeking more clarity and information had not been returned at the time of this post.

Today, in an early afternoon discussion with Steve Beatty, President of the BREA, the district’s largest bargaining unit, he said that his association had been waiting for additional information from the Board’s attorney, “before we could accurately and thoughtfully respond.”  He added that late Monday afternoon, the information had been received and was now being reviewed.

Pressed for more specificity, he would only say that it was in regards to “salary and benefits.” When asked if he would disclose for public knowledge the offer(s) and counteroffer(s) that might be on the table, Mr. Beatty declined to provide that information.  (It should be noted that the Board of Education has taken a similar stand, at least up to this point.)

B-R School Board Candidates at Televised Forum; Teachers Union Requests Cancellation of Negotiation Session

B-R High School student Patty Lyczkowski moderates the forum.

Candidates' Night at the High School:  This evening, at the Bridgewater-Raritan High School, five candidates running for two open seats in Bridgewater; and, two other candidates running for one open seat in Raritan went before TV cameras to make opening and closing statements about their candidacy,  and to answer three pre-determined questions provided by the Council of Schools.

The event was moderated by Patty Lyczkowski, a Bridgewater-Raritan High School Student who did an excellent job in keeping the discussion down to its time limit. 

The event was taped in a closed studio, but was made available for viewing live to any member of the public who wished to witness it in a separate room, via closed circuit TV.  After the taping, the candidates joined the viewers in an informal ‘Meet-and-Greet’ discussion for the few who attended the viewing.

Mayor Flannery Graces the Men’s Club

Once a month, the Men’s Club of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux Church in Bridgewater hosts an early morning breakfast – (7:30 am!).  For the most part, it’s a guy’s thing which gets some of the parishioners together for coffee, camaraderie, and eats. 

Mayor Flannery discusses her tenure in Bridgewater Township

At least several times a year, though, there are regularly scheduled, informal events which become graced with the presence of our better halves – the women of our parish, and other ladies from the general community. 

This misty morning, while most of the township was still nested securely under the bed covers, Mayor Patricia Flannery, accompanied by her husband Jim, gave an informal talk about her time in office, with emphasis on her tenure as Bridgewater’s mayor.

As most of you may already know, Mayor Flannery has decided not to seek another term in office, wishing, instead, to recapture some of the personal time which the demands of that office have required of her. 

This woman is not a complainer, though, and it became evident as she spoke, that she has brought to her office a high degree of personal enthusiasm for her responsibilities and a genuine desire to do what is right for the township.

Government Shutdown Would Cancel Washington Festival

Little bells of spring along the Capital Crescent Trail in Bethesda, MD

Tomorrow, April 9, thousands of people are scheduled to converge upon the Nation’s Capital.

They plan to line up along Constitution Avenue from 10:00 am to noon to watch the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade®, an annual event in which – together with floats and balloons – marching bands from throughout the country will appear to proudly demonstrate their skills and love of country. 

Any school teacher, administrator of music arts, or band parent can tell you how much time, planning, practice, organizational skills and money goes into one of these trips.  Band parents are especially proud to see their kids perform; and the kids? . . . well it goes without saying.

Board Officers Add their Views on Collective Bargaining with BREA

On March 22^nd, Messrs. Krenetsky and Beatty of the BREA’s Negotiations Team responded to questions about the status of their talks with the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education.

Following that discussion, I spoke with Mr. Jeffrey Brookner, President of the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education and, at the end, with Mr. Evan Lerner, Board VP, concerning the same talks noted above.  (Both are members of the School District’s Negotiations Team.)

Question:  Will you provide specifics about the status of the current negotiations with the BREA?

Responses:  Mr. Brookner said that “The (Negotiations) Team had discussed whether or not to have a public statement at this time and decided not to.”  

BREA Leadership Offers its Views on Collective Bargaining

As discussed in the last post, several members of the BREA Negotiations Team and several representatives of the Bridgewater-Raritan School Board agreed to speak with me concerning collective bargaining now underway.  The last three-year contract with the BREA ends on June 30^th, 2011.

I spoke separately to each group.  Mr. Joseph Krenetsky is the Negotiations Chairman for the teachers, as well as for other school district employees represented by the BREA.  Mr. Steve Beatty is the union’s President.  An excerpt of that interview appears below:


 Question:  What can you tell me about the status of the labor negotiations with the Bridgewater-Raritan School District?

More on Disclosure and the Collective Bargaining Process

As mentioned in yesterday’s post concerning the collective bargaining process currently underway between the Bridgewater-Raritan Education Association and the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education, there are at least two key public policy issues at stake.

The first is the question of public disclosure concerning collective bargaining negotiation sessions, while the second is the matter of the timing and frequency of that disclosure.

On March 8, at a sparsely attended work session of the Board at the John F. Kennedy School in Raritan, Board President Jeffrey Brookner, upon questioning, explained that there is no legal requirement preventing the Board from disclosing results of joint labor negotiation sessions between it and the BREA. 

Collective Bargaining Needs Sunshine

Administration Bldg. of the Bridgewater-Raritan, NJ Schools

A major public policy issue is brewing on the local scene:  It concerns the collective bargaining process which is now in full swing between the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education and its largest labor union, the Bridgewater-Raritan Education Association.

Negotiations take place behind closed doors, and the public gets virtually no input into the process.  Moreover, you are not being kept sufficiently apprised of the particulars, such as the offers and counter-offers being placed on the table by both sides. 

I cannot stress enough how important the outcome will be upon this community and upon the $129.5 million budget which will be placed before you, Bridgewater and Raritan voters, on April 27^th.