To the Editor:
I want to personally thank the editor of the Herald and the dedicated staff who have written about the Middle Township School Board (MTSB). We count on a free, unbiased press to inform us of what is going on in our world.
The MTSB constantly states that they operate Middle Township schools at one of the lowest costs in Cape May County. What they don’t mention is the abysmal reading and math scores that our students demonstrate in the testing/evaluation process.
For example, Elementary School #2 student math proficiency is 15% and student English proficiency is 30%. Middle Township schools rank in the bottom 50% of schools in N.J.
The MTSB blames COVID and students who enter our schools who don’t speak English well as the cause of the problem. The state has cut millions in state aid to education. The extra COVID money has been spent. The board has rejected consolidation with Dennis and Woodbine townships.
As a taxpayer, I wonder what will be the next excuse the MTSB will give for why our children are not scoring higher in the testing process. I think this area should be the primary focus of the MTSB, not wasting taxpayer dollars.
Also, very concerning and unknown to the taxpayers, the Performing Arts Center has been operating at a deficit for years. The school finance auditor finally agreed, in their annual audit report, that this money should be promptly paid back. The amount is 385,162.56 as of 6/20/2023.
This, according to the David Salvo, superintendent of schools, will be paid back over the next five years. This is money the taxpayer will be responsible for.
The cost of the alternate election date was approximately $43,000 to cover expenses associated with the election. The MTSB gambled that the referendum measure would be passed and those costs, called soft costs, would be absorbed by the bond money. This will now have to be paid by the taxpayers.
At a recent MTSB meeting, it was revealed that there are additional soft costs of approximately $100,000 that the taxpayers will be responsible for, as the bond issue failed to pass. Again, the taxpayers will be paying for this, not the people that made this poor financial decision.
The MTSB attempted to limit voter turnout for the recent referendum by changing the date of the vote from the regularly scheduled upcoming election to a vote on Sept. 17, 2024, making it approximately seven weeks earlier.
It is no secret, in my opinion, that by doing so they hoped, as usually happens, that a very small percentage of voters would turn out for this early election, conducted with voting limited to four hours. This strategy failed miserably.
The problem can be cured by electing new leadership on the MTSB in the upcoming election. Stephanie Thomas, the current president of the MTSB, is running for reelection. She was the chairperson on the PAC committee and on the finance committee for many years.
George DeLollis, the current chairperson of the finance committee, has elected not to run for reelection. Linda George was not reelected in the last election. She is now running again for a seat on the MTSB in the upcoming election. Four of the old board members are now gone.
The current superintendent, David Salvo, is retiring in July 2025. The next superintendent of the MTSB will be chosen by the MTSB.
Middle Township voters, pay attention, ask the tough questions and decide who you want to spend over 50% of your tax dollars and who you want to choose the next superintendent.
