Clerk Posts BOE Results

City Clerk Abubakar Jalloh continued his drive for innovation Thursday by posting the unofficial results of the school board election online, with ward and district breakdowns. Take a look here.

The results gathered immediately after an election are always unofficial - Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi posts the official results the Monday after the election. Click here to see Union County election results.

If you are interested in the number of registered voters, you can check the Board of Elections web site about a week before each election. Go here to see the current figures.

So out of 20,711 registered voters, only 1,320, or 6.6 percent, came out to vote. Every year people deplore low turnouts for school board elections in Plainfield, but the trend continues.

While some are hailing the win of Alex Edache, Jameelah Surgeon and Dorian Hurtt as the seal to a 7-2 majority on the board, this characterization is somewhat demeaning to both the newcomers and the incumbents, implying a lack of individual thought before a vote. There have been important votes where at least one "Grand Slam" board member voted "no."

The fourth candidate, Lenny Cathcart won his second term in 2008 with 658 votes; this time around, he lost with 623, according to the clerk's numbers. A new blogger pins part of the blame for Cathcart's loss on Courier News columnist Jay Jefferson Cooke's harsh commentary the day before the election. Strictly speaking, it was not an "editorial," as the new blogger calls it. Cooke writes (or types, as he says) in a free-wheeling way that goes beyond the pale for editorials, in Plaintalker's opinion. Repercussions, if any, remain to be seen.

Next year, incumbents Patricia Barksdale, Lisa Logan-Leach and Brenda Gilbert will have to file for re-election. Even at that remove, incumbents who were present for the hiring of Steve Gallon III may find themselves fairly or unfairly being assigned blame for the subsequent debacle.

Let's hope the next search will not be so secret and that those who vote on hiring the next superintendent will choose a seasoned administrator well-versed in New Jersey education rules and practices. The Plainfield district needs to be in good hands to get through the rest of this decade; flash and style can be parked at the door in favor of solid ability and experience.

--Bernice

More Deja Vu

OK, so now somebody has gone back to a May 9, 2010 post to add a comment in support of Councilman Reid over his confrontation with the council president!

A question raised at the time was why Mr. Reid chose to challenge Annie McWilliams publicly rather than privately. A similar question has come up recently regarding why he did not speak to a candidate, who is his neighbor, right in their neighborhood.

Oy vey! It's still only April.

--Bernice

January Comments Now? Why?

Somebody decided on April 27 to make comments on three Plaintalker posts from January.

Having just enjoyed reading another book in the series on the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, I began mentally sleuthing why a person found it imperative to make those comments now. After all, if published, they will be at the bottom of posts from three months ago, where nobody is likely to look.

Hmmm. The common thread is political representation in the Fourth Ward, so maybe the goal is to get something on the record on this blog and then maybe use the comments later on as quotes. For example, three months after the fact, the poster vaunts reasons why Vera Greaves should be appointed. Helloo! She was appointed in January and has been serving ever since!

Some parts of the comments just don't make sense, but of course that has never stopped anybody interested in tossing around rhetoric at campaign time.

I will hit the "Publish" button for these quotes now, but my advice to the poster is to find a less oblique way to talk about governance in the Fourth Ward. And don't forget, the seat is for the First & Fourth Wards at-large seat, so voters in the First Ward will also have to be convinced of a candidate's worthiness to get elected. We're just sayin.'

--Bernice

Congratulations to BOE Winners

Congratulations to the winners of the 2011 school board elections, Alex Edache, Dorian Hurtt and Jameelah Surgeon.

Your three-year terms will cover a crucial time for education not only in Plainfield, but statewide as new policies come down from Trenton. Your ally in board service will be the New Jersey School Boards Association, both for basic training and for keeping abreast of evolving outlooks on funding, charter schools, best practices and leadership.

We wish you the best in living up to the challenges of board service and being in the public eye as you perform your duties. The community, and especially its young people, now look to you to give your finest effort in your new role.

--Bernice

BOE Election Today

Polls are open today from 2 to 9 p.m. for voting on school board candidates and the budget.

Candidates are Alex Edache, Jameelah Surgeon, Agurs L. Cathcart and Dorian Hurtt. There are three three-year terms up for election every year. The winners will take their seats at the reorganization following the election. According to the meeting calendar on the district web site, the reorganization will take place at 7 p.m. May 3 in the Plainfield High School auditorium. A president will be named to serve until the next election in April 2012.

The budget question is for $22,285,795 to be raised for the 2011-2012 school year, but as Plaintalker understands it, the increase is mandated by the state. Last year, the budget was defeated and went to the City Council, but the governing body took no action.

From a May 11, 2010 blog post:

"The governing body took no action on the defeated school budget. As officials explained at a special meeting Friday, the council could not cut the $21.8 local tax levy because it was mandated by the state. Council members said attempting to identify changes that could be made among budget lines was pointless, as the council would not have time for a thorough review. The state deadline for changes is May 19."

The local school tax levy was constant at $17,683,906 from 1992 to 2008, with state funding making up about 80 percent of the total cost of operating the schools. The 80/20 ratio between local and state funds was generally just the opposite in neighboring districts. The School Funding Reform Act of 2008 kicked in for the 2008-2009 Plainfield school budget and the local school tax has increased every year since. There is more to this story, but those are the basic facts.

Please take the time to vote today. Many crucial decisions will be coming up in the 2011-2012 school year, including a search for a new superintendent, so make your choices wisely.

--Bernice

April Flowers

I must say, when worldly matters get too oppressive or confusing, I am very glad to have something from the plant world to take my mind off them. It was therefore a big treat to see pretty pink flowers emerging from my African Violet, which spends most of the time just being a bunch of fuzzy, dark green leaves.

The 40 orange tulip bulbs I planted last fall in honor of my neighbor's Dutch heritage are now putting on a show. This one is a peony-flowered variety called "Orange Princess" and is related to the "Princess Irene" tulip. It is featured at the famed Keukenhof gardens.

These delicate flowers will each produce a "silver dollar" seedpod later on. This plant is known as Lunaria, Honesty or Money Plant. If only we could grow $3.4 million in the back yard to make up the budget shortfall! Here is what another blogger has to say about this plant. Both money and honesty are good things to have in city government.

--Bernice

The Only Good Stinkbug ...

The stinkbugs have been emerging from their winter hiding places and are now popping up in odd places around the apartment. This stinkbug died on its own, saving me the trouble of trapping it in a plastic cup for a "burial at sea" down the toilet.

For those unfamiliar with the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, They are a non-native species that have become a serious pest in the Mid-Atlantic region for food crops. Click here to read more about them.

--Bernice