Dear Editor:
We would like to announce our candidacy for the four seats on the Hoboken school board and ask you, our neighbors, for your vote. Running under the banner “Real Results,” we promise quick and effective action to improve our schools and get the system’s bloated budget under control.
We believe that Hoboken’s traditionally low expectations for its schools must be dramatically raised so each student has the chance to reach his or her full potential. At the same time we will tackle the system’s enormous waste – money that never reaches a classroom but instead goes to employees with little to do, and benefits that are far out of line with the real world. At nearly $25,000, Hoboken still spends the second-highest amount of money per student of any K-12 district in the state and almost twice the state average.
Despite this, the current board is not making any meaningful budget cuts for next year and is not planning any tax cut. This year’s tax levy – the amount of revenue raised from Hoboken property owners – was $36,764,796. The expected tax levy for next year is: $36,761,743. That’s right – the expected levy is only $3,053 less than last year’s. “Real Results” promises to cut more than $3,000 out of a $60 million budget.
Together, we will bring a wealth of business and management experience to a board that’s now woefully short of real-world knowhow. Hiring executives, negotiating multimillion-dollar contracts and overseeing top administrators are what a school board does, and the board needs people with the skills for these crucial tasks.
Leading our ticket is Elizabeth Markevitch, who’s lived in Hoboken 20 years and has attended school-board meetings since 1995. Her daughter will go to Hoboken High in September. Liz is a former director of the Boys and Girls Club of Hoboken and the founder and president of a firm that recruits staff to fill technical jobs.
Perry Lin, a graduate of the Millburn public schools, moved here in 2004 and bought a home a year later. He is the northeast regional manager of a medical device company and has 10 years of experience in sales and management in health care and technology.
Kathleen Tucker grew up in Chester and has been a Hoboken resident since 2004; she and her husband purchased their home in 2007. She works as a designer for a New York marketing and media agency, where she focuses on how customers interact with health care industry websites.
John Forsman has called Hoboken home for five years. He and his wife became homeowners three years ago and plan to raise their family here. They’re members of St. Francis Church and he’s helped organize the Hoboken Rotary Club’s spelling bee for fourth-graders. A Monmouth County native, John is a financial adviser and health care specialist for a major financial institution.
Voters deserve a real choice on Election Day and "Real Results" will give them that choice. We ask for your vote on April 20.
Elizabeth Markevitch
Perry Lin
Kathleen Tucker
John Forsman
Perry Lin said...
"The Real Results plan to deal with this is far different than Kids First. Our plan would require a re-registration of all district students immediately. Much like how the city manages parking permits, we would verify residence either through property ownership records, apartment leases, and/or utility bills. We do not need to hire investigators but we do need to ask the appropriate questions."
Fact:
The HBOE currently verifies residence, through leases and/or property records and utility (or other) bills. Btw, would you please provide a cost analysis of the 3-4mm we would save by getting rid of the 200 out of district students, you claim there are attending our schools? Kindly, submit the names of ten out of district students, who are currently attending our schools. Sad, that you didn't bother to take the time to review the district policy for registration.
Lin Spin:
"they approve a new custodian union contract with 10.5% salary increases over 3 years while only receiving approximately $14,000 in healthcare givebacks. And these givebacks would have occurred anyway if Christie's plan to force public service employees to contribute 1.5% of their pay towards benefits is enacted."
FACT:
Kids First increased the hours by 30%, went from triple time to time and a half on holiday weeks (not actual holidays) and negotiated the first school union contract to pay towards traditional healthcare, all of this for 3.5%. Would you work 30% more for a 3.5% raise? It is obvious that you know very little about collective bargaining and PERC committees. Btwm the boe doesn't work according to "ifs". You really need to do some more research.
Lin spin:
"They come up with excuses, like blaming fixed salary & benefit increases for their inability to deliver reform."
FACT:
These aren't excuses, these are facts. We'd all like to live with peter pan and the easter bunny, but until fantasyland comes to Hoboken, the rest of us need to live in reality.
Lin spin:
"The voters approved a $59.4 million budget last year. This year's budget proposed is close to $59.8 million."
FACT:
The budget has NOT been proposed, yet.
Real Results:Lots of spin, no facts.
" money that never reaches a classroom but instead goes to employees with little to do"
WOuld you please identify those employees? or is this just a lotta spin on something you know nothing about.
"a board that’s woefully short of real-world knowhow."
What does this even mean?
"Despite this, the current board is not making any meaningful budget cuts for next year and is not planning any tax cut."
Kids First preliminary budget has cut the budget by 2.25mm. KF is cutting the budget.This is quite a monumental achievement especially, considering there was more than 2.3mm in state and fed.aid cuts and 1.8mm in increased costs (due to prior contract negotiations and increase in ins. costs). Furthermore due to the choices and cuts made by KF, the state will no longer be sending a fiscal monitor to oversee the district.
Kids First increased cusodial work hours by 30%,had overtime changed from triple time to time and a half and negotiatited to have custodians pay toward traditional healthcare. The first school union in Hudson county to do this. Running a campaign based on lying to the public is a mistake. I think Real Results needs to do a little more reasearch, before they start looking more foolish.