“In 2012, the voters of Ridgewood elected me to the Board of Education and in two subsequent elections, I was reelected. In all, I will have served eight years on the board, the last three as Vice President. It has been a challenging and rewarding experience to serve as a volunteer Trustee of our District. I want to thank the Village residents for offering me this opportunity.
During my three terms, Ridgewood’s schools have maintained and, in many instances, increased their standing as one of the top systems in New Jersey. When colleges consider applications from high schoolers, one thing that is universally recognized by top tier institutions is that a Ridgewood student is better prepared for college that most other schools. Our music and arts programs consistently produce outstanding programs and our students are strongly represented in “all area” competitions. Ridgewood student athletes regularly dominate their peers in a wide variety of sports. None of these accomplishments can be directly attributed to the Board. They are the result of hard work by our teachers, athletes and scholars in the classrooms and other competitive forums.
The Board is responsible for oversight of the Administration’s educational programs. When we sought a new Trustee to replace Christina Krauss, I was asked what the most important thing was that I learned in my tenure. My answer was simple. We all know that Ridgewood has excellent teachers. What I came to appreciate was that these teachers were led by extraordinary administrators. These dedicated professionals are responsible for developing and running our programs within the budget that the Board and voters approve.
Over the last eight years, the Board has consistently delivered budgets that were funded at or under the state 2% cap on property tax increases. Many other nearby districts take advantage of waivers, some might say loopholes, to exceed the 2% ceiling. I am proud to say that Ridgewood has never availed itself of any of these opportunities to raise the tax burden on residents. This is an admirable record when coupled with the District’s continuing academic successes. As a member of the Boards that held this line, I believe that I have helped to match fiscal responsibility with performance.
The next few years are fraught with challenges. About 70% of the District’s operating expenses are directly tied to our people costs. Our agreements with staff mean that with benefits these expenses increase over 3% annually. Yet the Property Tax ceiling remains at 2% annually. Making the available resources stretch to cover our needs is a challenge.
We also face a critical need to invest in our schools; the youngest of which was completed over 55 years ago. The referendum work that the Board is now doing addresses the failure of previous Boards to reinvest in our schools since the Christie administration cut funding in 2009. We must arrive at a bonding proposal that the entire Village can get behind and match the first-class programs we offer with modern building infrastructure. We must also find room in the annual operating budget to avoid another referendum need in ten years.
In April this year, the voters will elect three BOE members. My current term ends in April. The filing date for this election is March 2. I have decided to announce this evening that I will not run for another term. On election day, I will be 71 years old and will have served eight years as a Trustee. I believe that Trustees should not serve forever, and that the regular introduction of new members make a valuable contribution to our work. One only needs to look at what Muhammad has added in his short tenure to validate this. I also believe that BOE members that have children currently in the schools bring much needed “on-the-ground” perspectives to the Board. This is not to say being a parent of a student should be a prerequisite for service, but some connection is useful.
Ridgewood Schools are in a great position for the future and I am confident that the voters will make wise choices in this election. I want to thank the Village for having allowed me the opportunity to serve.”
Jim Morgan, BOE Vice President
WE wish you good luck.
The taxes in this town are much too High.
And for the record, at 1hour 13 minutes into last night’s BOE meeting, Mr. Morgan stated his belief that candidates should have children in or about to graduate from the Ridgewood schools. In my opinion this is dead wrong, and it is absolutely not a requirement (which he does admit). Anyone who runs for this office is presumably deeply invested in doing the absolute best for the Ridgewood schools. Even if they never had children. Even if, like Jennie Smith Wilson, their children went to private school. Even if, like Jim Morgan, their children are long gone from the schools. In my opinion, someone who is willing to run and does not have children in the system must be remarkably dedicated. It could even be argued that those with children currently in the system are too personally involved. I think Morgan’s is a nonsensical statement and should be ignored. All candidates should be evaluated on their merits, their stances on the issues, not on whether they have children in the Ridgewood schools.
Bye bye Bozo the clown
The way Morgan was fawning over Mohammed last night spoke volumes. Mohammed was APPOINTED by them after attending ZERO board meetings. Cris Kaufmann was elected to get rid of Loncto, and Morgan never even mentioned him.
Just look at what happened when East Ramapo NY had a bunch of school board members get elected that had no kids in the schools. Good example to follow there!
Having children in the school is not a requirement.
Actually there are a lot of parents with young kids in the school who are all for the PAC at the high school AND for a cement bottom pool at Graydon. They want it all. None of them will be here after their kids are gone, just the bills to be paid.