On Jan. 27, 2007, I filed my petition for the school election. The disclosures these past several months have clearly described the extent of political control of the board of education.
I am not naïve; I have witnessed political interference in school board elections in the past. Candidates selected by the political organizations received funds and help in conducting their campaign. For years I have spoken out against this political manipulation of the board of education. By law a board of education is an autonomous body. The theory behind an elected board is preference to an appointed board is to keep politics out of education. Once elected the trustee owes his or her allegiance to the students and residents of Secaucus and not to a political organization.
This past November the political organization faced an election contest, therefore, the infamous flyer from members of the board. The circulation of the flyer by the president of the board, her admission to lying about the incident and six board members signing the flyer for someone else is an affront to every student and every citizen of Secaucus. This behavior by six members of the board, without remorse or an apology, illustrates how far they will go to serve their political masters.
Fortunately we have three members of the board who honor their commitment as school board trustees. I wish to publicly express my respect for trustee Eleanor Reini and trustee Michael Schlemm, who publicly voiced their opposition to the behavior of the "Secaucus Six."
My three-year term being up, I had been undecided as to whether I should seek reelection to the board. The recent disclosures mandate I do so. There will be three positions on the board up for election in this coming school election. Should Michael Schlemm seek reelection, I then would hope another independent would file.
We cannot leave Ms. Eleanor Reini alone to fend for herself.
Tom Troyer
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