PARSIPPANY — Upon being elected Mayor, I inherited a fiscal mess. We have successfully addressed our challenges and put the Township back on a sound financial footing by making fiscally responsible decisions. We prioritized public safety by hiring 20 police officers. We maintained the exceptional services our residents deserve, increasing senior services and recreation programs, and we are very much focused on turning vacant commercial buildings into revenue-producing properties, thereby transferring the tax burden from our residential taxpayers to our increasing commercial tax base. This plan takes a long-term and ongoing commitment, but the early success is evident.
As a product of the Parsippany public school system, I am a staunch supporter of our children and schools. I have a proven track record of that. I do not believe it is too much to ask of any potential partners looking for money from the Township to prove they share our commitment to fiscal responsibility.
At the most recent meeting of the Township Council on Tuesday, August 6th, I read into the record my reply to a certified letter received from the Parsippany Board of Education Board President regarding discussions with the school board about ongoing shared services and PILOT revenue the Township will not receive for at least two years. Despite alarming concerns about the board’s political activity, I asked the Board to join me in working together to benefit our residents and students.
During the public portion of this Council Meeting, a public member eloquently expressed concern about the schools and their direction.
This concerned Parsippany Mom sent an email to the superintendent and board president last week expressing disappointment in their new policy of abandoning the 25-student per classroom maximum rule, creating unnecessarily crowded K-5 classrooms. In response, this concerned Parsippany Mom received an email from the superintendent “doing a lot of finger-pointing,” ultimately blaming the school board’s misguided policy change that could create classroom overcrowding on the Township and PILOTs. I share her concern after hearing about Parsippany’s Mom’s interaction with school leaders. The BOE and its Administration have not appropriately planned and blame anyone they can for overcrowded classrooms, which the NJEA calls “a serious safety hazard and poor learning environment.”
The Superintendent and the school board know well that the only active PILOT is with UPS, and no students live in that facility. The next PILOT to come online is for a project that remains under construction and was negotiated and agreed upon by the prior administration in 2021. Large projects take at least a few years to come online, so there is plenty of opportunity for a well-run organization to perform its fiduciary duties and properly plan for the good of our children.
After what they have described in texts as “very positive meetings” with the school board, the public is now subjected to misinformation, political deviousness, and what seems to be the makings of a negotiation in bad faith by school board members for political gain or to whitewash. Rarely do you see a school board so politically motivated; frankly, it is why we have found it easier and more productive to work directly with the various volunteer parent groups doing fantastic work for our children despite the school board.
Enrollment is down. State aid is up. No new project is adding enrollment in September. The strangeness of their gross mischaracterizations and oddly defensive blame game could make one wonder why they are so money-hungry.
63% of every tax dollar goes to the Board of Education. The total school tax is by far one of the highest in the County. Their financial decisions impact all of us, and the irrefutable fact is that the Board of Education receives every dime of money in its approved budget, whether there are PILOTs or not. No one, not my Administration or prior Administration, has stopped the school board from receiving what it is legally obligated to receive.
At our last meeting, I announced that the Township will engage a highly regarded school finance expert to advise my Administration and the Township Council so that we can determine whether the Board of Education is a good steward of our taxpayer dollars.
The challenges of governing are significant. We need to work together to meet those challenges for a better Parsippany. I have dedicated my life to doing just that. I am willing to sit and negotiate a fair and amicable shared services agreement with the Board of Education upon being confident that they are good stewards of our taxpayer dollars. It would be irresponsible for me to do otherwise. It is my sincere hope that Board of Education President Andy Choffo and the rest of the Board will put aside focusing on politics, the blame game, and the misinformation campaign that has hurt our community, and I ask them again to join me in focusing on working together in the interest of our residents and students.
