Letter to the Editor II

To the editor:

One concern that is on nearly everyone's mind as I talk to residents is the cost of the top tier education Haddonfield has come to expect from its school district. With few commercial tax ratables and our town being ineligible for a reasonable share of State tax dollars due to our high property values every family feels the pinch come tax time. To some families it is more like a sting.

On the expense side of the ledger Haddonfield does very well as a district. With our low cost-per-pupil, nearly the lowest in our region, and one of the best administrator-to-teacher ratios anywhere in New Jersey our district does a tremendous job running as tight a ship as possible while still turning out the strongest students in our area.

Even with our expense control it is still a burden to those just getting by. Increasingly we can't afford our schools on taxes alone, nor should we continue to try. My second platform position after rebuilding trust is in building partnerships. Partnerships with Universities allow for more opportunities for our students. Drexel is a great start and we should look for more. Drexel gives options for the sciences, let's find the same for the liberal arts. Not only can it mean a head start on college but it also helps with space issues as some students take classes off campus. 

Financially we need to create lasting partnerships with our Alumni and with like-minded school districts to explore sharing services from administrative systems to continuing education for our faculty. With our academic success and fiscal restraint we must be doing something right. It's time we leverage our success and knowledge. An example of connecting with our Alumni and community is with naming rights to our overhauled high school stadium. The district's sinking fund can and should have a large share of that cost generated with little to no tax dollars. For larger partnerships there are companies ready, willing and able to invest in success and Haddonfield needs to position itself to take advantage of these opportunities. I do this very thing every day for the University of Pennsylvania working with Fortune 500 companies. I know we can do it in Haddonfield too. Every dollar we can generate outside is one less our taxpayers need to provide.

Sincerely,

David Siedell
Candidate for Haddonfield BOE
http://www.davidforboe.com