PARSIPPANY — Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education President and Republican Candidate for Council responds to the previous press release. (Click here to read article)
I was disappointed to read the Mayor’s press release putting politics above our duty to Parsippany’s students.
Politics do not have a place in these SRO agreement negotiations.
I have always put our community first, having spent 15 years on the school board, five and a half years as Board President, 25 years as president of our Little League Program, over 20 years as chairman of the Recreation advisory committee, and I have served the Challenger League for special needs children. I am proud to have been named citizen of the year twice for my work with children.
Our students’ needs have always and will always take priority over my own.
Mayor Soriano refused, first a three-year SRO agreement, then a one-year SRO agreement and is now passing the buck onto the School Board.
Leaders lead, failed politicians point the finger.
The attorney for the Board of Education was told that “Mayor and Council” rejected both the traditional three-year deal as well as a proposed one-year deal which would allow the administration to “figure out” the “costs” associated with those officers. However, the cost of this program has already been built into the Board’s approved budget.
Because this mayor cannot manage a budget, and as noted by our Board Attorney, he is asking “the Board to renegotiate the terms of even a one-year agreement with only weeks left in the school year. We need to remember that these are all taxpayer dollars – it comes out of the same pocket.”
The Mayor can point the finger all he wants, but ultimately, we need a deal NOW to secure the SRO Program to protect our students.
