Details Remain Hidden From Taxpayers

Patch.com's Andrew Tavani reported Friday that, according to one of his sources, the Board of Education is seeking to exceed the new statewide cap on superintendent pay.

Tavani also revealed that Mayor Zimmer wrote a letter to Governor Christie, in which she claims to "understand and support the need for a cap on salaries." She then quickly proceeds to endorse a contract that apparently exceeds the state's new cap, citing our district's "unique situation."

In her letter to Christie, Zimmer went on to write: "Our School Board is fully committed to the principles of fiscal responsibility that you have championed so effectively."

It isn't yet known if Zimmer maintained a straight face while drafting her letter. Obviously, the board doesn't share the governor's position on limiting superintendent compensation. Nor has the board shown any real interest in paring down overall spending and cutting taxes. In fact, they overwhelmingly voted to not make tax relief a goal for the new year. When, in a prior session, Maureen Sullivan referenced the governor's idea of a voluntary one-year pay freeze for teachers, she was met only with laughter and derision from her fellow board members. So how, then, does this board even remotely share Christie's values?

As evidence of the board’s supposed commitment to fiscal propriety, Zimmer points to the fact that, notwithstanding a reduction in aid from the state, local school taxes were not increased last year. In reality, our district’s cuts in state aid were quite modest in size. And the board averted a tax hike in no small part with a one-shot revenue trick: a textbook leaseback scheme that one of its advocates called—without a trace of irony—“creative accounting.”

It's not even clear that Zimmer herself shares Christie's vision of taxpayer-friendly reform—at least not when it comes to education. When a slate of fiscal conservatives—Christie supporters all—ran for school board this year, Zimmer (sounding more like a union lackey than a reformer) accused them of wanting to "starve the schools."

So much for the content of Zimmer's letter. What of its timing? The letter was dated 12/09/10, and yet we didn't learn of it until 12/17/10—more than a week later. Apparently, neither did several board members.

Meanwhile, we still don’t know the actual salary offered. Sullivan has rightly called for the immediate release of this information. Taxpayers should know exactly how much they are expected to fork over. It's time for a little transparency.