the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Stacey Ingraham Loscalzo is the most recent defender of the Board.
But nowhere in her many defensive Facebook posts does Ms. Loscalzo reveal that she is a member of the Executive Board of the Ridgewood High School Home and School Association, nor does she mention that she is a Facebook friend of BOE President, Jennie Smith Wilson and Sue Morgan (BOE Vice President Jim Morgan’s spouse) and Sally Morgan (BOE Vice President Jim Morgan’s daughter and business partner).
” I am writing so that the members who read here but do not participate can know that there are people who disagree with the prevailing views on this page.
To the frequent commenters- I know I am not going to change your mind here. Therefore, I do not wish to engage in a heated back and forth. I have learned that I can never get the last word on this site and am not trying to do so now. Please, let us agree to disagree while also allowing me to state my opinion on this page for others to see and consider.
I am in full support of the legal action taken by Dr. Fishbein and the Board of Education.
I did not agree with the action taken by the Village Council this summer to move the BOE election from November to April and I told the Council this via email. I believe the school board election should be held in November, as it is in the vast majority of districts in NJ. I trust our elected Board of Education members to create a budget that is fair to taxpayers while providing the best education for our school children. As I do not see a need to vote on the Village budget, I similarly do not see a need to vote on the school budget.
While I know the actions taken by the Village Council were legal, I do not believe they were necessary. I believe that by moving the election, the Village Council created unneeded confusion regarding the terms of our Board of Education members. As a community, we voted our current Board of Education members to three year terms. The action taken by one governing body (the VC) to create a scenario that might shorten the terms of another elected body (BOE) does not seem appropriate to me. The voters of Ridgewood elected board members to serve three year terms. The action by the Village Council effectively reduces those terms – the terms of all sitting BOE members.
It is important to note that there is confusion on the law in regards to what happens when a Board of Education vote is moved from November to April. The NJ Department of Education originally stated that such a move would shorten the terms of the current Board of Education members. In my understanding, however, to date, only two districts have moved elections from November back to April. Both districts took their cases to court believing that their terms should not be shortened and the courts agreed with them in both cases. Therefore, there is currently no legal precedent for the shortening of an elected term. As I understand the actions taken by Dr. Fishbein on behalf of the BOE, the complaint as filed is asking a court to provide legal guidance on the terms of all board members in light of the Village Council’s resolution to move the elections from November to April.
Dr. Fishbein and the Board of Education are currently seeking legal counsel to clarify how our village should proceed. I, for one, am grateful that they are doing so as I think shortening elected members terms is wrong.”
She cares about this issue a little too much. Makes me wonder.
And besides, BoE members always get re-elected. See Scarf Lady.
Looks like she was next in line to be appointed to the BoE. Now with contested elections, her dreams are shattered.
1. She is speaking as herself not on behalf of the HSA, therefore no reason to bring the HSA into her post. Move on!
2. I applaud her for intelligently stating her opinion in light of the FB Mob mentality that has taken over the town.
3. I thank her for stating what many of us think but cannot post on FB for various reasons.
4. I hope that this blog doesn’t become just another forum for the FB Mob to bully people into thinking in black and white.
5. When I read about this “lawsuit” I too believed it was a request for clarification. Did the mob not realize that when the elections were moved to April there would be confusion about when current members terms ended?
Thank you Stacy for speaking up, Thank you Ridgewood Blog for publishing her intelligent and respectful comment here for those of us not on FB to view and consider.
AMAMOM – just as some people hesitate to post on Facebook because of “various reasons,” on the flip side some people post planted information on FB even if they don’t believe it. If you work for an organization, for example, you might hate every person who supervises you, but still you would post praise in order to keep your job.
In the case of this BOE mess, I think those who hesitate to post on FB are the ones who fear that the BOE would go after their kids in some way if negative postings came from the parents. And if you think this is a stretch, you are wrong, it has happened many times.
So the BLOG is the one place where everyone can be honest. I am betting that HASA president or whatever she is might be posting completely different opinions here on The BLOG.
LONG LIVE THE BLOG
#2 and #3 are in direct conflict.
Agree with the response to anamom.
Anamom:
1. Even if she is speaking as herself, she should have disclosed about her business dealings and writing workshops and money making with BOE and its members.
2. There is nothing intelligent in that post. It’s buttering to the BOE and the Superintendent. She doesn’t know all the facts.
3. What you THINK doesn’t matter when laws are being broken. FACTs and thoughts are different.
4. This blog is one place where truth comes out.
5. Again, what you believe doesn’t matter. The lawsuit is a lawsuit, not a clarification. Read the complaint. Its PDF is available on this blog. Believing without knowing all the facts as STUPID.
4.” This blog is one place where truth come out” You’re kidding right??
Re: “4.” This blog is one place where truth come out” You’re kidding right??”
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Too much medicinal marijuana for you.
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This blog IS one of the few sources of fact and truth inRidgewood.
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If any of you who think the Superintendent’s is gospel, maybe you should read the entire law the Board is complaining about. It clearly states that is an election is moved back from November until April the members who would retire in April will have shortened terms. (When it was first moved to April, in case people don’t remember, the people who should have retired that November got the six more months to serve until April.) So now the same Board who gleefully accepted that six more months are crying that their terms need to be extended again. I hate to think that volunteers could become so power hungry that they can’t stand even the idea of taking away their spending privileges.
It is a case of “follow the money” because the ones who would have to retire wouldn’t be able to spend anymore and their fellow board members might well be over ruled by people with actual values! The whole board is gnashing its teeth and shaking in their boots. I really would love to know what they are so afraid of!
Anon, can you please provide a link to the law that you are citing which moves it back to April?