To the Editor:
Why Not Cut Pay
Of Administrators?
There has been much written about the WW-P School Board’s decision to go ahead with the outsourcing of the custodial and maintenance services within the school district.
As a taxpayer I am very concerned about where the money will come from to reach a balanced budget, as mandated by the state. The firing of the staff is supposed to bring it down by $1.5 million but there is no word of what the private custodial staff will cost. I am sure it will be a wash or maybe save a couple hundred thousand dollars. This now leaves so much more that needs to be cut.
Parents, there is only so much that they can do before they start to cut or make you pay for the things that your child likes to do. Many school districts in New Jersey have “pay to play” for sports, where you pay to play, you pay for the coaches, the uniforms, and transportation to the games. Clubs will probably have a price to participate. The musicals will be covered by parents for the opportunity of their child to be in it, pay the director and staff, costumes, and music. Band and orchestra events in and out of school might be paid for by parents — it can go on and on.
I am disappointed that in July of this past year the School Board voted for raises for many of the administrators and staff at the Board office, when they knew a report of firing the custodians and maintenance workers was coming out in August. I am disappointed they did not hold everyone accountable for taking some cuts before hitting the lowest-paid workers in the district.
I spent 30 years in the Air Force, and the best leaders were the ones who led by example. I think that the administration could do a lot to save face and have more support if they gave back their raises and demanded all who got one did the same. They could give back some of their 19 plus holidays, return some of their bereavement days, and vacation days. Until they start to show that this money issue is serious, by giving up their money, then I do not think that the support staff or teachers should be expected to give anything back.
As taxpayers we should demand accountability from top to bottom. If they do not act in good faith; we are all “voters.” We can vote for or against the budget and also whether to replace the school board members that are up for election.
We the taxpayers must hold the School Board accountable and should expect our administrators to lead by example. They too must share in the pain of budgetary cuts.
Mary Alden
Plainsboro
Across-the-Board Cuts Needed
In School Budget
Perhaps the Board of Education will respond directly to you, the WW-P News readers? My messages — with historical information and supporting documentation — are perceived as spam, I believe. Why? No one from the School Board addresses any, much less all, of the questions.
The sky is falling! The sky is falling! There is a financial crisis with our school budget afire and the board, administration, and teachers’ & supervisors’ unions address this collective fiscal conflagration by ignoring it.
An across-the-board cut is the most equitable way for everyone to share the fiscal pain. All it takes is someone with leadership skills. Instead, we are seeing a financial duel in which all parties are mortally wounded.
When one looks at the last 20-plus years of school budgets, it is clear the WW-P Board of Education has not acted in the best interest of WW-P taxpayers. We are past the time of needing some give-backs from the schools to abate our onerous property taxes.
Pete Weale
Fisher Place
Petition to Record
Antenna Objections
The West Windsor Township Council will soon consider a revision to its ordinance on cell phone antennas, which should be of concern to everyone who lives near the power lines that criss-cross the municipality. Cell phone antennas are non-conforming industrial uses in residential zones, and the Council will be asked to expand those uses so that each PSE&G and JCP&L tower can have one or more cell phone antenna arrays on it, and, for each antenna array, equipment on the ground.
We object to the noise that they will bring and the proliferation of industrial equipment in the air and on the ground right next to our homes. Every cell phone company that operates in West Windsor boasts good to excellent coverage here — no more antennas are needed. None should be allowed within 1,000 feet of our homes. If you agree, please visit our website at www.ipetitions.com/petition/nocelltowersnearhomeswestwindsor/ and sign our petition. We will present the petition at a Council meeting.
Amy Chanson, Jane Lifset,
William E. Andersen
Pedestrians Have Rights
Sadly, many people are misinformed on the law in New Jersey with regard to vehicles yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks. (WW-P News, January 22, “Clear the Way and the Law for Pedestrians.”) As we are meant to have learned when taking the test for a New Jersey driver’s license, the law unambiguously states:
“A motorist must stop and remain stopped for a pedestrian who is crossing at a crosswalk (marked or unmarked) until the pedestrian completes his/her crossing” (NJ Driver Manual, Chapter 8). Further, on his last day in office former Governor Corzine signed into law legislation strengthening and increasing the penalties of this provision. See https://wwbpa.org for further details.
I am a wheelchair user and can assure your correspondent that I do not “dart out into an unprotected crosswalk daring an oncoming motorist to abruptly stop.” However, having given vehicles sufficient time to stop safely, I can be halfway across an intersection, and vehicles still do not stop, or even more egregiously will pass a vehicle that did stop. The real question is: Where are the police to enforce state law?
These are the facts: of the 50 states, New Jersey has the highest population density, higher in fact than any European country. Drivers must recognize that we do not have the open highways of Wyoming or Montana, be aware of speed limits, pedestrians, and cyclists, and obey the law.
Michael Ogg
Trustee, West Windsor Bicycle
and Pedestrian Alliance
Drivers Need Education
I have news for the person who wrote implying that pedestrians should be prepared to risk death when walking in our town: Motorists must yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. Failure to yield carries a $100 fine and a 2-point license penalty (39:4-36). (www.state.nj.us/lps/hts/pedestrian.html)
People who walk into crosswalks in front of cars are not “activists.” They are within their legal rights. However, as a mom who walks and bikes with her kids to school, I tell my children never to trust that a car will stop. I tell them to pretend they are wearing Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak.
The solution is not for pedestrians to stay off the streets (as the writer of last week’s letter seems to suggest) but for all of us to work on changing the mentality of drivers, whose eyes certainly ARE capable of seeing pedestrians if only they put in a little effort. Drivers notice pedestrians in New York City and many other places around the U.S., so they can learn to do it here, too.
We need our West Windsor and Plainsboro police officers to enforce pedestrian laws and speed limits. We need better driver’s education and re-education. Perhaps we need harsher penalties against drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians. We definitely need bike lanes and more sidewalks around town.
Pedestrians are not going to go away. Drivers, please look out for us, and for our kids. You don’t want blood on your hands.
Catherine Zandonella
Princeton Junction
Eden’s Thanks
On January 16 Eden Autism Services celebrated its 22nd annual Eden Dreams gala, Dreams of Arcadia, at the Hyatt Princeton.
I want to thank our 20 individual and corporate sponsors as well as our dedicated steering committee, led by Janet Quartarone and Peter Franco. We must also recognize the outstanding Hyatt staff; the staff of Event FX, who provided the beautiful decor; Howard Design Group and Ancraft Press for donating the design and printing of all printed materials; and everyone else who helped to bring our event to life. Also, thanks to the individuals and businesses who generously donated silent auction prizes.
Finally, we appreciate our friends and neighbors who attended and supported Dreams of Arcadia. As Eden celebrates its 35th Anniversary, the generosity of our community makes it possible for Eden to realize its dream.
Thomas P. McCool, Ed.D.
President & CEO,
Eden Autism Services
