Robbinsville Mayor Dave Fried met with school district Superintendent Brian Betze, Board of Education President Tanya Lehmann and School Board member Jai Gulati via Zoom on Nov. 22 to discuss the possibility of a second public question in 2024 to help ease the district’s financial shortfalls.
The meeting was requested by the district two weeks following the failure of the $4.8 million school question on the Nov. 7 ballot by a vote of 2,300 to 1,964.
Betze said he met with the three newly-elected BOE members — Amanda D’Angelo, Harry Ray and Nadia Bandukda — after the election to “bring them up to speed,” when DeAngelo purportedly told Betze she had the votes to go back out with a $4.8 million public question—the same amount that failed to pass.
“Specifically, (Amanda D’Angelo) said they have two other BOE members’ votes to win the majority on that amount,” Betze said.
Betze asked if the requested amount for the new ballot question should be in the $2.1 million to $2.7 million range after State aid is dispersed. Gulati requested that Betze also calculate the reduction of more than 70 unenrolled students from any projected figures moving forward.
Lehmann, appeared before Township Council on Nov. 30 to relay her concerns with the potential reprise of the $4.8 million amount.
“This BOE just told the community in a letter that we heard (them) and planned to take the result of the (Democratic) process into account before going out for a new amount,” Lehmann said. “We can’t go back on our word to the community by disregarding what they told us in their vote, especially after (all current BOE members) agreed to the letter stating we’ve heard (the public), and that we would come up with something that would meet in the middle.
“I wasn’t contacted (about the $4.8 million proposal), so the lack of transparency concerns me as a Board member. Of course, you want to do what you can to support the schools as a member of the Board, but you were also elected by the community, and you represent their voices as well. I signed my name to a letter to the community saying: ‘we hear you; you voted no.’”
“If you don’t know what the need is, why are you asking for 4.8 million again?” said Councilman Witt, before later stating, “your need should be a finite number.”
Fried predicted another $4.8 million ask “would likely fail at an even higher percentage than last time” and added that “spring referendums are harder to pass than in November.”
The school district said it is targeting a March 2024 school question and the BOE is expected to vote on the matter at its reorganization meeting on Jan. 2, which is also when the three new Board members will take the oath of office.
Council President Debbie Blakely expressed her concerns with the possibility of another $4.8 million proposal at the Nov. 30 regular meeting.
“That puts us in a very bad position,” Blakely said. “If this is the number they are going to ask for, how can we get on board and support that after our residents just loudly said “no?”
“It’s also risky because if it fails again the district gets zero and then how many more teachers do we lose as a result?” Lehmann said.
Witt cited the influence of social media for the current disconnect between what is actually needed and what is desired.
“Fifty people running around yelling and screaming on Facebook and WhatsApp does not represent 16,822 people,” Witt said. “It is time to say enough with the noise. Document your need and vet your need. There’s not one person sitting up here (on Council) that wants to see our schools fail. Show us what your shortfall is and give us that documentation.”
Robbinsville High School.,
