Resident: People No Longer Praising School District

To the Editor:

I need to voice my concerns about the between the board of education and the . 

I have been a resident of Bridgewater for the past 33 years. Both of my sons received the benefit of an excellent Bridgewater-Raritan education from kindergarten through 12th grade.

I must say that my husband and I were very lucky when we purchased our house in Bridgewater. We did not have children at the time and had not done any research regarding school districts. I remember when people would ask where I lived they would say what a great school district Bridgewater-Raritan was.

I honestly don’t hear that anymore and I believe it is a real cause for concern. I am truly worried for the families that have children who are currently enrolled as students in Bridgewater-Raritan district, or younger children who have yet to begin their education. 

I have been fortunate enough to work for the for the past 22+ years. I truly enjoy my job, but I would be lying if I didn’t say that things are “not the same”.  The stress the governor has caused by what he has been doing and saying about the education system in New Jersey is absolutely ridiculous, and yet our board of education seems to have “jumped on his band wagon” 100 percent.

Are there some changes that need to be made? Absolutely! But the lack of respect that I have been feeling from our board of education is very unsettling [and I am not a teacher]. In one breath, we are being told how wonderful we all are, and then in the next breath, we are told that monetarily we are worth basically nothing. All we are asking for is a fair settlement.

I know that things are difficult everywhere, but what needs to be remembered is that not every person working in education is married to someone working in education. There are many of us who have spouses who are out of work or making less money than they were in the past. We have many people who are single and trying to survive on one income. I have never understood the mentality of “if I don’t have it, I don’t want you to have it either”. It makes absolutely no sense to me.

I have never written a letter to the board of education. It truly makes me sad that I am doing it now, but I can’t sit by any longer and accept the “status quo”. Something needs to be done to settle a contract between the B-R BOE and the B-REA, and it needs to be done soon. 

Can someone give me an honest answer as to why that hasn’t happened yet? 

Please stop listening to all of the naysayers and get back to what we do best—working together to give the children of Bridgewater-Raritan one of the best educations in the state. 

Sincerely,

Debra Trapani