The Bayonne BOE voted to have Trustees Joseph Broderick and Denis Wilbeck keep their titles of president and vice president, respectively, before declaring plans to tackle district funding.
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The board unanimously voted (9-0) for Broderick, who gracefully thanked the members for their continued support.
“The people up here, you don’t really see it, when you sit here, I don’t think. But which is one of the reasons why we are out here so late. The passion that the nine people show.â€
“If there is a camera in the background, you would really see a show. So I just want to thank them for voting for me and having a little faith in me,†Broderick exclaimed.
Wilbeck received the majority of the board’s vote (8-1), with the exception of Trustee Theodore Garelick.
Wilbeck also briefly thanked the members as well.
Although the board only returned from a closed door meeting at ten minutes to 8 p.m., it was back to business especially on a resolution about the district’s funding.
The resolution was about “urging Congress and the New Jersey State Legislature to provide consistent appropriations to ensure that the state and the federal government meet their financial obligations toward these statutorily required programs and services.â€
While it was a unanimous vote from the board to support the resolution, Trustee Chris Munoz publicly challenged all the officials who received a copy of the resolution on helping to fund Bayonne.
He referenced Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-32) and Assemblyman Nick Chiaravalloti (D-31) calling for a state probe into the school district last month after a $2.2 million budget shortfall was discovered.
“We already did one. They want the state to do one. Now I am not against an audit if the state is willing to pay for it.”
“But since this resolution is being sent to every one of these state officials, I know there’s cameras here so I’d like to issue a public challenge to any one of these officials to see what they have done to bring proper funding back to this district,†boldly stated Munoz.
Broderick followed up by explaining that the board members plan on heading to Trenton to see what they can do improve funding for Bayonne, one of the most underfunded districts in the state.