In a letter to the editor, the Save Our Schools West New York Board of Education slate says they want to rid the board of outside political influence.
Dear Editor,
Allow us to introduce ourselves; we are the S.O.S. (Save our Schools) Team, we are a politically independent team running for the West New York School Board on November 7th. You can find our names on column J of your ballot next to 1J, 2J, and 3J.
We are Nicholas Behncke (1J), Alex Navas (2J), and Melinda Saunders (3J). We are your neighbors in West New York. We are parents with children in the West New York school system.
We are running because it is time to start working alongside other parents to reclaim our schools. We recognize that removing politics from the West New York Board of Education is essential to accomplish that goal.
On November 5th of 2013, the people of West New York already voted to do so, when a referendum overwhelmingly passed to transform the School Board from a Mayor appointed one to a democratically elected one.
Mayor Roque opposed the referendum from the very beginning because he knew that once he lost control of the Board of Education he would lose control of over $140 million of the schools’ budget available to his corrupt administration.
Hence, the “Children First†team was created.
It assures corrupt politicians in our town can keep a firm grip on the decisions of our elected School Board. Voting “Children First†means voting for more overpaid political appointees to our Board of Education. It means more hiring of crony politician’s friends instead of the better qualified professional.
For the record, the Roque administration and his friends in the Board of Education have already been accused of such things on a report that was compiled by the NJ State Department of Education and the FBI (Yes, the FBI!) on April of 2013.
Again, we are the S.O.S. Team, and we want to get politics out of our democratically elected School Board.
We believe that ridding the Board of Education of political influence is only the first step necessary to improve our school, to have an efficient administration that will maintain our schools clean (not with asbestos or lead in the water), serve proper food, with the latest technology and with innovative ideas to push our children into a brighter future.
If you too believe that change is needed in our schools, please start by voting for us. Together we can make a difference in our community. It is as easy as 1, 2, 3. We are Nicholas Behncke (1J), Alex Navas (2J), and Melinda Saunders (3J).
Sincerely,
The S.O.S. Team