Leadership, accountability for results and transparancy are lacking at both the Board level and the paid staff level. There is no excuse for keeping the taxpayers of Montville Twp. in the dark as to why we have no Superintendant on duty.
Posted by
Anonymous
on
February 23, 2008 6:52 AM
Perhaps parents who have children in Montville Township's public schools will form a Charter School funded with the current school tax to provide the quality math and science programs that the leading national colleges and universities in the United States expect from arriving freshmen. The program could be designed so that there would be no net increase in the school portion of the tax.
Posted by
Anonymous
on
February 23, 2008 7:37 AM
THIS IS A JOKE. SOMEONE FROM THE SCHOOL BOARD OWES AN ANSWER TO WHY HE TOOK A 30 DAY LEAVE. JON ALIN??????
Posted by
Anonymous
on
February 23, 2008 4:56 PM
This board of ed is so arogant!
We pay most of our taxes for schools and they dont even tell us what is going on.
Posted by
Anonymous
on
February 23, 2008 9:54 PM
The Mayor of New York City now controls the NYC public schools. This change is resulting in substantial improvements. Perhaps the Montville Board of Education needs help from the Township Committee.
Posted by
Anonymous
on
February 24, 2008 7:14 AM
Thanks to Ron Soussa for informing the community. Not one newspaper has carried this story.
Posted by
Anonymous
on
February 24, 2008 12:06 PM
There is no story for the newspapers to run. Anyone heard of privacy laws? How about FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act)?
Under our privacy laws an employee -- yes, our superintendent is an employee -- is entitled to his privacy.
Under the FMLA he is entitled to this leave of absence. In fact, thank you to the board of ed for handling this properly.
If the board were to release the nature of the leave they would have been on the losing end of a lawsuit. If they had denied the leave, they would have been on the losing end of a lawsuit.
Instead of bashing Jon Alin & the rest of the board, let us all say thank you for avoiding unnecessary legal expenses and monetary damages!!!!
Posted by
Anonymous
on
February 24, 2008 9:25 PM
Let's wait and see if the Superintendent is back at work in his office this week (Thursday Feb 28th) since the 30 calendar days will be up in a few days. There may be much more to this story.
Posted by
Anonymous
on
February 25, 2008 6:55 AM
The FMLA gives 12 weeks leave. I am not privy to his contract, but it is possible that his employment contract grants additional time. Stop looking to make an issue where the is none.
Posted by
Anonymous
on
February 25, 2008 12:51 PM
Thanks, but I don't think I was informing the community. Actually it was the other way around.
I learned about it from several emails and thought there was enough concern to warrant a blog topic.
Posted by
Ron Soussa
on
February 25, 2008 12:56 PM
Residents deserve timely answer Sunday, February 24, 2008
2 Comments To the Editor:
At the Feb. 11 Mount Arlington council meeting, the borough attorney stated that town meetings are not the forum to answer residents' questions. Perhaps this is. I would like our elected public servants to respond to the following:
1.Why does the attorney say residents' specific questions are too time-consuming?
Exactly what are they being paid for, and when they ran for elected office, did they think it would not require work/dedication/time? Why is their time more valuable than mine, when I'm sitting waiting to get information, and I also have to go to work the next day to pay my taxes to pay their salary?
2. Why is the mayor allowed to take questions about toll hikes to Trenton so the governor can be held accountable, but residents cannot question where their tax dollars are going?
3. The borough attorney stated, "Residents can be charged up to $15 per hour for requesting archived information." If our questions were answered at meetings, residents wouldn't have to fill any OPRA requests.
4. Why are some elected officials being asked to vote on issues without prior information or discussion?
5. Why has one council member been instructed to request information only from the mayor? When questioned twice by residents, the mayor answered: "I don't think that's something I'm going to respond to right now."
6. Why can questions be asked on the phone; or in person at borough hall to salaried staff, but not asked at town meetings or within e-mails?
We (as residents) need to unite! Remember the result when our police were in jeopardy of shared services? Tell the governing body: You work for us!
VERONICA SILKES
Mount Arlington
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Timely Answer? Sun Feb 24, 2008 7:24 pm I don't think the issue is a timely answer, but simply an answer. I've been at these meetings, and there is definately an issue with getting answers. "I'll take that underconsideration," or "Thank-you" is the standard mayorial answer if a question is asked, aloong with an "how dare you question ME" attitude. Who died and made him dictator?
He is rude to citizens, yells at citizens, and simply refuses to speak to citizens. He refuses to use e-mail because it is documentable (per a public meeting, go listen to tapes of the meetings if you don't believe it).
If a paid civil servant behaved in such a fashion, he or she would be reprimanded, if not fired. I too wonder if he behaves this way at work.
The new reply answer when submitting OPRAs is that the request is "overbroad and vague". I asked for reciepts from the local Holiday Inn and Marriott from 2002 to the present because of a rumor that when there is a snowflake, the administrator refuses to go home (the arduous trek to Florham Park) and stays on taxpayer dime at the hotel. I was told the request was overbroad and vague. Seems a pretty straigt forward request to me. All bills in the last 5 years (I submitted it in December, 2007). We shouldn't have ANY spending at these places, and if we have any, it should be minimal. Since, according to the 3 state agencies I've contacted, everyone uses an accounting program that is essentially a database, and producing bills is a matter of using a tax ID and hitting print, I have to wonder what they are tryinng to hide.
I hired an attorney to challenge the NUMEROUS "overbroad and vague" rejections I received.
Another trick used is to delay responding until the 7th day of the GRC deadline, even if some items in the request are "on demand" items such as bills (oh, why did we send flowers to the administrator's boyfriend, and spend more money on the boyfriend than we spent the previous month on flowers sent to a hospitalized employee? Ask to see the 2005 August Angel florist reciepts.). The letter then says to contact them if you want the items. Of course, sending a letter rather than giving someone a call and informing their request is ready gives them a few more days. It's a disgusting game. I think they hope that if they make the process hard enough, and expensive enough, people won't ask questions, and will lose interest.
Oh, and they appear to run these requests through an attorney, which wastes even more taxpayer money. When I questioned the assistant clerk as to why I wasn't given "on demand" documents, as defined by the GRC, she told me she had not looked at the GRC website in a "long time" but relied on the attorney. OK... it's her JOB to know this stuff, and she apparently doesn't know the rules to make a decision without an attorney, and doesn't consult the GRC (agency which oversees the open puiblic records process) rules? Or, is the attorney consultation merely a way to send unnecessary money that way, as well as a delaying tactic?
I'm also not sure why some of this stuff, like bill records, isn't on-line. But, then we'd know how quickly the mayor used 3,000 business cards, and details of the other questionable spending, like sending an employee retiring in 6 weeks to a week long conference in Atlantic City. Did I mention the request to attend the conference was submitted in the same meeting as the resignation? When I questioned the taxpayer value of this "retirement junket" the borough administrator told me "he knows people." What kind of an answer is "he knows people"? It was a vacation at the expense of taxpayers, many of whom cannot afford almost a week, including 3 meals a day, at an Atlantic City casino. And, at a conference that keeps no attendance records unless the attendee needs certification hours (have the e-mail from the conference administrator confirming the lack of attendance in response to my question asking for attendance records).
People need to wake up and pay attention. Start attending the meetings, and start asking questions of specific council members. It's your money they waste. Your lack of interest permits the waste of taxpayer dollars. And, believe me, you would be suprised at for what you are paying.
Posted by
Anonymous
on
February 25, 2008 4:01 PM
Thank you. Please post a link, rather than pasting the whole page, if possible.
The guidance counselor quit not long ago after only a few months.
Posted by
Anonymous
on
February 25, 2008 5:14 PM
Has anyone else noticed the the Hilldale Website has not been updated all year. What a joke!!!!!
Posted by
Anonymous
on
February 25, 2008 9:28 PM
Yes, I noticed that in the fall & was told by the Principal that they were working on getting it updated. Apparently, whoever was working on it was dismissed from that duty and no one else has filled the position, because it still has not been updated. It is a disgrace. The school websites are supposed to be a resource for up to date information. I also mentioned it when I completed the online district survey.
Posted by
Anonymous
on
February 26, 2008 10:13 AM
So now we have 6 running for Board of Education to fill 3 seats. Just a question. Of 3 of the incumbants, 2 have spouses that are either present or former PTO Presidents and rumor has it that 1 has a wife that sells products to the Parent Councils. Are all the taxpayers being fairly represented since they pay all the bills no matter if they have children in the district or not and does this represent a conflict of interest for those Board members.
The Board of Ed is an inbred organization run by small preassure groups who no matter what their motivation wind up in a climate where legitmate discussion can't take place. Elections bring out less than 20 percent of registored voters and most citizens even though 70 percent of their tax dollars go to the Board don't bother to express an opinion. Why shouldn't a Board act the way this one does if no one is going to hold them accountable. Look at their history. You have a Board Attorney who has taken $1.2 million out of the district with no oversight. You have a Board Pressured to move to new offices which have cost the district $600,000 in lease expence and they still don't have a real solution for a home. The Board of Education's job is to look after the Educational well being of Montville's Students but also it is their job to do it in the most ecconomical way possible. People tend to get elected by virture of the support of these small pressure groups and they only need to keep them happy to stay in office. Conflicts, abound and are never judged. It will take some very strong people to change all of this.
Posted by
Dan Grant
on
February 27, 2008 6:19 PM
I have heard at least 3 different rumors why Dr. Bowen was on leave. Yes they were rumor's but I am suprised that as of today he is back. Can anyone give me the facts as to what is going on with the teacher contract negotiations? Is it all about insrance costs? It sure doesn't seem like they are getting anywhere.
