In response to the accusation about the 2 politically connected lawyers, BOE President Carolyn Hayer wrote:
April 20, 2009
Every Spring, the flowers bloom, the birds sing and Hackensack voters get an “attack” mailing before the School Board election. This year it’s directed against Jacquie Long-Parhamand Ronnie Bolcik-McKenna, both of whom I support for re-election and election to the Board on Tuesday, April 21.
We all know where it’s coming from. The same group that says that everyone on the School Board has to agree, with no room for disagreement or independent judgment.
While I usually ignore negative campaigning, I want to respond to this one, because it’s untrue and it reflects negatively on the School Board.
This year, the Board replaced our Board Attorney. Why? Because a majority that included Jacquie agreed with me that “qualifications count”. The “politically-connected” Board Attorney did not meet our standards for expertise and experience in Education Law.
Before we made the change, we looked for the most qualified attorney possible whose fees would not burden our taxpayers. We found someone with extensive experience and outstanding credentials in School Law. Our new attorney has served us well, at legal fees that were not any greater than before.
As is customary, we hired another attorney to handle contract negotiations only. It was a temporary position that did not duplicate the work of our regular Board attorney. There was no increase in legal fees over those spent in past years. So the claim that we’ve burdened taxpayers is simply untrue.
Our opponents plan to bring back the lawyer with lesser qualifications. Candidates for office often “go on the attack” when they have nothing to offer. Jacquie and Ronnie want to keep the focus on our students and providing them with a good education. We need them on the Hackensack School Board. Please come out and support them tomorrow, Tuesday, April 21 (polls open from 2:00-9:00 PM)
Sincerely,
Carolyn Hayer