ABOUT BLOGS AND BOE

In the masthead of this blog I remarked that the purpose of this blog was to be a “vehicle to expound at nonspecific intervals my opinions regarding politics-local to international, health care, life, society, and perhaps religion plus periodic vignettes about Plainfield.”

I added to that proposition by posting interesting art works from the covers of JAMA , the weekly scientific publication of the American Medical Association. In the early years I also posted photos from our trips including some to then exotic places such as Afghanistan during its pre-Russian and Taliban eras and Iran under the Shah (long long ago).

The last few years it seems that greatest reader interest comes from blogs devoted to local political issues and at one time the Board of Education.  Whether a subject dear to my heart, Health Care, has been of reader interest eludes me since there is a drop in hits and few comments received on those days.

Therefore, I am happy that the Courier today has two front page articles; one dealing with the Rutgers Board of Trustees and the University’s organizational structure, the other with the legal costs and their legitimacy paid by the Plainfield BOE in the past 4 years.  

These of course plus the spate of Supreme decisions stimulate more than “obiter dictum” as the basis for forth coming opinionated blogs.

Today, however I shall be contented to once more express my disenchantment with an elected board.  The last decade has been marked with a lowering of the educational standards in our system, to frequent turnover in top personnel, excessive legal fees, absence of accountability, and an opaque transparency by the present “political group” who control the board.

This year with the change of the BOE elections to be concurrent with the general election may increase the number of citizens that cast a vote but once again we have only two political based slates to choose from in this so called non-partisan election.

There is no question that judging by its track record of commission appointments that under the present administration having a Mayor appointed BOE would not have been an improvement.

Never the less, even understanding that politicians like leopards do not change their spots; I would strongly advocate a referendum to restore the “Appointed Board”. There will be accountability which is lacking today.