In a letter to the editor, 41 Hoboken parents explain why they will be voting for the Forward Together team in the upcoming Hoboken Board of Education election. 
Dear editor,
With Election Day approaching, this is a reminder that there is a great deal at stake in the upcoming Hoboken school board election that affects not only parents of children enrolled in our city’s wonderful public schools, but also the Hoboken community as a whole.
As a varied group of Hoboken public school parents, some of us having never met, we are unified in our support for the Forward Together slate of candidates: Jennifer Evans, Sheillah Dallara, and Irene Sobolov.
It is difficult to capture the gratitude we feel towards these women for their years of dedication and commitment to the students of Hoboken’s public schools.
Academically, they have brought improved programming to our district like the new comprehensive afterschool program called Passport to Learning, STEM initiatives like Project Lead the Way, and an expanded Response to Intervention (RTI) program.
And as community leaders, they emcee fundraisers to support our High School track team, cheer for Connors students at their Hispanic Heritage play and serve on councils to improve the educational experiences of our youngest learners at Brandt, St. Francis and Demarest schools.
We have not seen the opposing Parents United candidates have, nor have we seen them indicate having, any history of volunteerism with our schools. And, they all have said that they have never attended a BOE meeting.
Since many of us attend BOE meetings and are very active within the schools, we are baffled to hear these candidates claim to know what’s best for our schools without participating in any meaningful way.
This apparent lack of involvement has left them woefully uninformed about the district’s budget and the innovative programs currently available to our students, specifically at Hoboken High School.
As examples, at the recent candidates’ forum that most of us attended, one of the PU candidates proposed a partnership with Stevens, not knowing we’ve had a long-standing, historic partnership.
All three PU candidates preached budget cuts, yet the slate is supported by people responsible for previous corruption and overspending at the BOE. And, when the PU candidates were asked where they would make budget cuts they could not point to anything specific.
Finally, they repeatedly criticized the schools and said the high school is not good enough for their own children. Can you imagine how awful it must feel to be a hard-working Hoboken High School student or their parents and hear candidates say they would not let their children go to school with you?
With all this, we are struggling to understand their motives for wanting to be on the BOE.
Students thrive when the community supports them. As parents we appreciate our district’s wonderful teachers and prefer to work together in partnership with them and our school administrators.
The Forward Together team constantly works to improve our public schools and increase opportunities for success for all of our district school students. Help us continue the progress and go forward together!
Please join us and vote 1-2-4 for FORWARD TOGETHER on November 8th.
Sincerely,
Gina and Ben Dobson
Dylan and Shirael Pollack
Jennifer Johnson
Kate Deer
Suzanne Schiavelli
Sarah and Chad Raynor
Manasi Khedlekar
Magda Gray
Kristina and Andrew Nash
Melanie Tekirian
Cristina Dulay
Jenny Labendz
Vera and Eric Sirota
Jackie and Jonathan Prince
Bindya Bhalla
Chetali Khanna
Peter and Sung Mee Kim
Alexis and Christopher Kelly
Linda and Arthur Kwok
Sophie Gelin
Emily and Peter Jabbour
Shefali Samrai and Balraj Singh
Amy and David Warshawsky
Diana McDonough
Ruchika Grover
Ed and Michele Daly
Dawn Fitts
Jean Marie Mitchell
Great letter. I concur.
Take a look at what Parents United did to Evans-Dallarah-Sobolov at the debate:
http://grafixavenger.blogspot.com/2016/10/debate-shock-parents-united-brings.html
Take a look at the people (rogues gallery) who back them:
http://grafixavenger.blogspot.com/2016/10/parents-united-thugs-gone-viral.html
Take a look at the “payroll” of 1,050 employees when Parents United backers had the BoE majority:
http://grafixavenger.blogspot.com/2012/02/old-guards-boe-jobs-jobs-jobs.html
Take a look at the alleged “professor” who cooks data on his graphs to hurt the reputation of Hoboken public schools since he was fired by the BoE in 2009. . In fact this fully tenured professor was teaching in Austin (and maintained an apartment there) in 2008-2009 while collecting a $144K paycheck for FULLTIME work as Assistant to Superintendent Raslowsky.
https://grafixavenger.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-crapdemic-strikes-again.html
Please vote 1-2-4
Toxic blogger links. Supporter who steals IP addresses from visitors to her site and uses them to get her jollies. Advertises that she feels like shooting someone. Kept on planning board by admin and cronies despite her threats.
Have seen this PR approach before. So you have 40 people who have derived unearned benefits from your administration and they want to continue to receive. Let’s work together without the PR spin, with transparency – without demonization – but w honesty.
I recognize names here also who have taken credit for the accomplishments of others. Another admin tactic. Drop the manipulations are threats for the sake of the children of the entire community. No more services for some and not for others. Hoboken has been used as a case study in a recently published education research test on conditions under which performance is best achieved. Hoboken is the textbook case of how not to proceed in educational structure and governance.
Look also at the legal cases Hoboken has lost in the mismanagement of individual students. A damning financial critique was also written by an executive CPA who sits on several boards.
It time to turn the page on the loosing “team”.
MTB, you’re very very angry today. Something under your skin?
C’mon, don’t be bashful!
CuriousGal and prosbus aren’t bashful. They’re both double-dippers.
Well, it takes a real scumbag (like you) to disparage 41 families for NOT supporting Parents United. What a bully! I hope all of their friends and the public school community read your ugly comment- that’s how Parents United rolls. First a flashlight in the eyes of 1-2-4, then calling 41 families parasites receiving “unearned benefits.”
Geez, you’re an ass. Those are some pretty libelous and/or ugly statements, some real hatred toward the Hoboken district school system and the families that support Reform.
Can you back up any of your charges? Got any links?
I’ve got one for you. It’s the story of a BIG Lie repeated by a Double Dipper and Parents United.
http://grafixavenger.blogspot.com/2016/10/parents-united-austins-double-dipper.html