Let's get the facts straight about the board members

I was prompted to write this letter because of the comments, information and misinformation floating around recently regarding the Sparta Board of Education and plans for a new school. I especially felt a need to write due to Daryl Savage’s letter, which appeared on April 6. I am a former board member who served for six years and was on the board during the incident Savage mentioned, in which half the board sued the other half. I want to clarify some things. First, Paul Johnson was not the board president at that time. Secondly, the lawsuit arose because actions were taken by half the board to fill an open board position with a candidate sympathetic to their agenda. It was subsequently determined by a judge that the actions taken to install this person failed to conform to New Jersey law. School board members are elected volunteers who receive no compensation for the hundreds of hours they donate to the township. They are entrusted with two things people hold very dear — their children and their money. The board member must balance the educational needs of the students against the finances of providing that education. This is difficult, especially with burdensome state laws and lack of state funding. I believe every board member begins his/her term with the best intentions of making a difference for our schools. However, they soon see that alone they have no power and the only way to accomplish anything is by building a consensus to achieve a majority vote. They also quickly learn that state laws often forbid many of the common-sense solutions to our problems, like levying a fee on home developers to build new schools. Board members seldom hear from people in town who think they are doing a good job, but only from those (often few) vocal citizens who wish to express their opinions. I have sat through meetings where the only audience was the newspaper reporter. When issues are hot, people come to the meetings, but they lack knowledge or understanding as to the facts behind the situation. In my experience, the media is no help. I do not know if this is due to the media pushing its own agenda of stirring up controversy, or simply incompetent reporting. I urge all citizens, board members and the administration to stop the insults and arguing and work together towards a solution that makes sense for the town, and not for anyone’s personal agenda. I also ask citizens to get behind the board members and tell them how you feel. Otherwise, all we will hear is what the vocal few say. Even a hundred people at a meeting is a small percentage of the voting population. Donald Parriott Sparta