I attended a recent WW-P Bored of Education meeting. I hope you as a WW-P taxpayer were present. The $13 million construction package was a done deal so if you did not attend, it would have made little difference.
Wow — what a lineup! Prior to the main event ($13 million FREE with NO TAX IMPLICATIONS) and undercard being the 2014-’15 proposed budget, a presentation was made about harassment, intimidation, and bullying (HIB).
1. If the HIB program were truly effective, shouldn’t it successfully result in elimination of HIB or its going out of existence? Hah! The bureaucracy never wants to surrender a program.
My first public question was: How much does this program cost? I was immediately reminded this was public comment alone: no cost information provided. I guess public program information within the district should not be public?
Perhaps the WW-P Board itself is guilty of HIB and needs some organizational rehab?
2. A 15-minute PowerPoint and narrative presentation by Dr. Aderhold for the $13 million new addition was quite comprehensive but way too fast for the average pilgrim. I complimented Dr. Aderhold. Why not? The entire district should have seen this plan for the last couple of years and let it evolve over time with input from multiple stakeholders.
3. I inquired if the meeting last night was being videotaped for rebroadcast on the West Windsor and Plainsboro community access TV channels. Begrudgingly I was told it was not. Rebroadcasting the meeting seems a cost-effective and responsible protocol to reach the community prior to board action.
If the objectives of videotaping, which I proposed a decade ago, were met to (a.) educate, (b.) inform taxpayers and members of the school community, and (c.) provide clinical opportunities for the high schools’ broadcast and TV curriculum, it is still being ignored by the new board’s regime. What a shame the process couldn’t be win-win.
4. I asked who was the Board of Education liaison to West Windsor Township. I was reminded it was comments only.
5. I asked if a mailing of the $13 million proposal was done to all West Windsor and Plainsboro taxpayers’ and residents’ households? Reluctantly it was whispered, “no.”
6. There was no discussion of the financing particulars despite the district having an assistant superintendent for finance whose responsibilities remain nebulous and carefree: Take last year’s budget and spend up to an additional 2 percent without any voter input. This reminds me of a Marx Brothers serial.
7. What are the plans for the current board palace in Dutch Neck? Perhaps a cricket farm or cricket field? Silence has been rendered on both issues.
In summary, there was way too much information to be discussed and reviewed in a single meeting. Add to the mix a delayed start of the meeting and a delightful HS-North Jazz Band to kick off the festivities.
Had I known, I could have brought some popcorn instead of the usual taxpayer-provided amenities. Results would have been the same: Mr. Weale, your two minutes are up! I kept talking and the board kept NOT listening. (In West Windsor Township municipal meetings, one can speak for three minutes.)
After throwing myself out of the meeting, I conversed with the security guard seated in the front lobby to protect the board from unruly people like me. Schools are no longer a bastion of freedom and learning. Rather, they have become armed camps full of cameras, technology, and institutional indifference.
Pete Weale
