To the editor. From Anne Phillips; Brigantine Taxpayers Association.
In the spring of 2012 we wrote a letter to the President of the Brigantine Board of Education which was subsequently printed in The Beachcomber News. In it, we expressed our recommendation for lowering the amount of property taxes we all pay to support our local school district by reducing excessive supervisory personnel (we have two principals and one superintendent, plus a business administrator), in a district with a continuing decline in its number of students.
We received a response from the president which supports the continuation of the status quo.
We believe it is timely to revisit this issue. The position of superintendent is currently being filled on a temporary per-diem basis by a former principal in our district while the board continues its search for a person able to take this position for a longer period of time.
We quote some words from our 2012 letter. They are still, if not more, relevant today.
“Today, many factors, such as a down economy and housing market, technology, changes in population and in the public’s expectations, are leading to a turning point in the way government, including public schools, operates. Everything has to be on the table in terms of making any public operation more cost-effective, while, in the case of public schools, benefiting both the students and the taxpayers.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars of tax revenue can be saved with a reduction in excessive supervisory personnel in our school district while fulfilling well all the duties and standards of overseeing our school district. We urge the board to consider this recommendation now so that costs will be reduced in future budgets.”
Now, again, as the board prepares its 2013 budget, we urge the board to consider our recommendation.
Anne H. Phillips
Brigantine Taxpayers Association
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