Well now that I'm a home owner and have kids in the local school system I'm starting to lose my indifference a bit. All of sudden its my money and my kids' future that is at stake and so I want to make sure that the people who are in charge are somewhat competent.
So the big thing in Nutley right now (and in a lot of other towns) is School Board Elections that are being held next Tuesday (4/20).
One of the main reasons Wifey and I decided to settle down in Nutley was that it has a very good school system (at least up until high school). As far as I knew things were going pretty good there, so figured someone must be doing a good job. Turns out that's not the case. Test scores have been declining for a few years and money isn't being spent wisely...but I'm not going to pretend to be an expert in any of what's going on.
Instead I'm going to ask everyone who has a stake in next's week election for Nutley School Board to take a look at the following website and especially this document here. And please remember that you don't have to have kids in the Nutley School System to have a stake in it. A better school system enhances the value of your home, and a School Board that knows how to spend money wisely should translate into lower taxes.
I've always assumed that my kids would be going to Seton Hall Prep (I graduated with the Class of '93) and Mount Saint Dominic (my sister Veronica graduated from there along with a lot of friends of mine from the Class of '93). I'd planned on sending my kids there because I want the absolute best for them and those schools have shown to be just that. But I wouldn't complain if I had to seriously consider keeping my kids closer to home.