Mayor Healy's Power Grab

by: Thurman Hart

Thu Oct 16, 2008 at 11:33:09 AM EDT

Thanks to Ken Thorbourne at the Jersey Journal, we are getting wind of Mayor Healy's latest power grab: He wants to appoint one-third of the local school board. Oh, he thinks voters should be able to vote on an equal number of school board members - three. Then the state would appoint three more members from the pool of local college officials.

What's the justification for this? Is there any argument that it would improve the functioning of the school board or schools? No. There's only this:

"It is untenable to have the Board of Ed making up a budget when it's the mayor and City Council that has to send out the tax bills."

Well, I agree with that. It's just plain screwy. But my idea is to have the schools send out tax statements directly, rather than piggy-back on the municipality. Or to combine tax functions at the county level. I'd never think of simply yanking the idea of democracy away and letting the mayor stack the board with his cronies.

Look, one of the things that got JC schools taken under state supervision is run-away patronage. How is the mayor's plan going to change that? Answer: It isn't. It just lets the Mayor control the patronage.

And that, my friends, is the revelation of the principles of Jerramiah Healy.

Thurman Hart :: Mayor Healy's Power Grab

Tags: school board., Jersey City, patronage, Jerramiah Healy, (All Tags)

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Mayor Healy's Power Grab | 1 comments

it's just a power grab (4.00 / 1)

My town has to send out the county and school taxes and collect them. Should my mayor appoint the county freeholders? How would that work? Why should the school be run by a mayor?

Frank LoBiondo Record and Jon Runyan Watch

by: Hopeful @ Thu Oct 16, 2008 at 16:52:12 PM UTC