Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Voters are casting ballots to decide whether the school board plan for high school athletic improvements will go forward.
The bitter chill apparently isn't keeping as many voters from the polls as one might expect. Municipal Clerk Yancy Wazirmas has had a busy day traveling to polling places around Parsippany to see how the vote is progressing in Tuesday's special Board of Education referendum on its proposed $7.7 million package of athletic improvements for Parsippany andParsippany Hills high schools. And she told Patch that poll activity is brisk all over the township. "The turnout is pretty good," said Wazirmas. She said she did not encounter any major problems at the polling sites beyond some residents registering displeasure over not receiving sample ballots in the mail or being confused over where they were supposed to cast their votes. "One lady …
Monday, January 21, 2013
Parsippany residents go to the polls to decide if the township's high schools will get their Fields of Dreams.
Two months past Parsippany's last trip to the polls and more than a year after the town's Fields of Dreams debate began, residents are being asked to cast votes again: The Board of Education holds its special referendum Tuesday to decide the fate of its $7.7 million proposal for athletic improvements at Parsippany High School and Parsippany Hills High School What's proposed is a package including the installation of artificial turf fields to replace ailing football fields at both high schools and necessary stormwater management systems, new six-lane tracks, 80-foot lights (reportedly designed to minimize light pollution), Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant bleachers, fencing and public restrooms. The cost of the project, which would…
Peter Bradley calls the lack of information for fields referendum deliberate and accuses the BOE of lacking 'managerial courage.'
The Parsippany Board of Education's $7.7 million athletic fields referendum is scheduled for Tuesday. And with one day prior to the special election, many residents say they still have not received sample ballots in the mail. One township man decided to take action to ensure that people can make an informed decision at the polls. Peter Bradley created a flyer that he distributed to his neighbors over the past weekend. He said concern over the lack of information moved him to act—and he accused the school board of being deliberately slow in getting information to voters. "I’m convinced the BOE believes the referendum would fail if more people knew the full story," he charged. "I’d prefer a fair vote and let the results be what they may be. …
Monday, January 14, 2013
Send your Letter to the Editor to natalie.davis@patch.com.
On Jan. 22, residents of Parsippany will have the opportunity to exercise a right abruptly taken away from them by a majority vote of the Board of Education two years ago. That vote cynically guaranteed the board an annual budget increase of 2 percent that doesn't have to be explained to or approved by the voters, an automatic 2 percent budget increase that equates to $2.5 million of our money going to the BOE for its members to use as they and only they see fit. The school board took that action betting that Pasippany residents had grown too apathetic and too disinterested to care about how and why their tax dollars are spent. On Jan. 22, the right to vote on how our tax dollars will be spent will be returned to Parsippany residents on …
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Send your Letter to the Editor to natalie.davis@patch.com
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Thursday, January 10
Jan. 22th is fast approaching. Hopefully Parsippany voters will come out that day to vote on the Board of Education Athletic Field Improvement Referendum. I have given great consideration to this referendum. From my involvement with the open space ordinance and the Fields of Dreams proposal I have studied and reviewed the positives and negatives on the improvements to the athletic fields at Parsippany High School and Parsippany Hills High School. I felt the mayor's plan to use township Open Space Trust Fund money to pay for school athletic improvements was wrong. The Open Space Trust Fund was originally designed to protect and preserve the few remaining open tracts of land from development and to save our town’s historic heritage. The …
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Citizen committee has published a website of information regarding the high school athletic fields' improvement proposal.
A group of citizens have come together to promote the school district's case in advance of the athletic fields improvement referendum scheduled for Jan. 22. The Turf Our Fields collective is made up of residents who support the Board of Education's $7.7 million plan to improve athletic facilities at Parsippany High School and Parsippany Hills High School. The proposal, which would be bonded and cost the average Parsippany homeowner about $30 a year for 10 years, would install artificial turf fields to replace the schools' grass football fields; renovate existing six-lane track ovals; restore earthwork, tracks, curbing and sidewalk to visitor bleachers; install storm water management systems; install barrier free accessibility to fields and…
Friday, November 30, 2012
High school athletic field proposal, if approved by BOE, will go to voters Jan. 22.
By a near-unanimous vote, the Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education approved putting forward a plan to improve athletic facilities at Parsippany and Parsippany Hills high schools. The body decided to place one $7.7 million question before voters for a bond referendum on Jan. 22. The board will consider a resolution at its next meeting to make the referendum plan final. Before the vote, bond attorney Lisa Gorab from the firm Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer presented the board with a plan to reduce the amount of money it would have to borrow to cover the cost of school field improvements. Gorab recommended refinancing current outstanding debt and using the savings to reduce the debt that would have to be incurred for the fields project. Gorab …
Monday, September 3, 2012
Final installment of Patch's three-part series with Dr. LeRoy Seitz on back-to-school 2012.
The 2012-13 school year begins Thursday, and controversial Superintendent of Schools LeRoy Seitz says he wants to get the new year off to a positive start. In what is becoming a yearly tradition, Patch sat down with the superintendent Aug. 22 at the Board of Education building for a wide-ranging discussion on matters educational. In part one of our three-part chat with Seitz, we covered the continuing athletic field brouhaha, school maintenance, property taxes and making difficult choices. In part two, we talked about district initiatives, the teacher tenure law and student achievement. This final part focuses on stopping bullying and harassment in schools, controversies that have created district distractions and whether it is true that …
Friday, August 31, 2012
Second of a three-part series with Dr. LeRoy Seitz on back-to-school 2012
The 2012-13 school year begins next Thursday, and controversial Superintendent of Schools LeRoy Seitz said he is focused on getting things off to a positive start. In what is becoming a yearly tradition, Patch sat down with the superintendent Aug. 22 at the Board of Education building for a wide-ranging discussion on matters educational. In part one of our three-part chat with Seitz, we addressed the continuing athletic field brouhaha, school maintenance, property taxes and the challenges—and consequences—that come from setting priorities. In part two, which follows, we focus on district initiatives, the teacher tenure law and improving student performance. Part 3 will appear Monday. Patch: At the end of the last school year, you put forth…
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
First of a three-part series with Dr. LeRoy Seitz on back-to-school 2012.
Dr. LeRoy Seitz remains a lightning rod for Parsippany. As the chief executive officer of the township's public school district, he is focused on keeping Par-Troy's elementary, middle and high schools running smoothly. Arguably, he has overseen numerous successes during his tenure here. Most recently, Parsippany was ranked No. 15 on the CNN/Money Magazine list of Best Places to Live for municipalities with populations between 50,000 and 300,000, a feat fueled by the national reputation of the school system. And NJ Monthly Magazine honored Parsippany High School (No. 86) and Parsippany Hills High School (No. 15) for being among the top-100 high schools in the state. But all is not rosy. The superintendent appears to be the prime target of…
Kristen Ritter
6:01 pm on Sunday, January 27, 2013
I know this nearly a week old, but I just wanted to make the comment that the article states (quote from the town clerk) that the sample ballots were mailed Jan 3rd. They were sent to the County Clerk/Board of Elections by our BoE on Jan 3rd - but they had to print, segment, address and mail them from the county. So the correct info is that they weren't mailed to the voters by the county until … more ›