Belleville Mayor and Council Set the Record Straight on the BOE

 

Mayor Kimble and the Township Council majority have issued an official statement to NutleyWatch.com, regarding their position on the Board of Education’s financial misconduct, and events that have followed.

 

People have asked many of us on the Council why we have not replaced the Board of Education.  After hearing Mr. Della Ferra and others speak at the Board of Education meeting, some of us felt it necessary to comment.  In the Township of Belleville, The Mayor and Council do not control or have oversight of the Board of Education. The Board of Education is an autonomous body that is overseen by the State of New Jersey.

By law, the Board of Education cannot exceed its agreed upon annual budget.  In 2014, it overspent its statutory budget by 5 million dollars which breaks the state law that governs them.  This budget is paid for primarily by our real estate taxes. For a year prior to this breach, the Mayor and Council had asked for financial status reports from the Board of Education. We received very little in the way of information.

The Board Of Education would have been compelled by law to tell us about this impending statutory breach sometime before April of 2014. However, they chose to move the Board of Education election from April to this November 4th saying it was going to save us money.  This masked their inevitable financial failure. The Township Council and the rest of the Township were not informed of this until May 7th 2014.  At that point, we were told that the Board or Education was overspent by 1.4 million dollars.  Even then we were misled as to the full impact of their financial failures.  This admission triggered a number of events.  One being the appointment of a State Monitor for financial oversight.  Although the Township Council supports The State’s oversight, they have nothing to do with that appointment.

We feel that Mr. Egan, our New Jersey State Monitor, is doing the best he can in a very difficult situation.

After seeing the actual QSAC report, it is evident there is a huge disconnect between the actual facts and what was presented at the meeting on the 20th.  It is time for transparency, not science fiction.

It is sad that people lost their jobs. However, the saddest thing of all is that over 4500 of our children were and continue to be denied a quality education. It is also sad that our teachers are still not free of harassment or criticism.

We as taxpayers and real estate owners will again be left paying the bill as well as suffering a loss in property values.

As Belleville residents, and taxpayers, The Mayor and Township Council majority finds the current conditions in our School District unacceptable. We will continue to support the State until these conditions are remedied.

 

 

Mayor Raymond Kimble, Deputy Mayor Kevin G Kennedy,

Councilman John Notari, Councilman Steven Rovell, and Councilman Vincent Cozzarelli

 

 

 

 

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Lee "Griff" Dorry - Founder, watchdog, and public advocate. ♫ They've got strings, but you can see, there are no strings on me. ♫

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