COMMUNITY GROUP ENDORSES “CHAMPIONS FOR STUDENTS” SLATE OF MAURY, DUNGEY, PELAEZ IN HACKENSACK BOARD OF EDUCATION RACE

The past several weeks have further illuminated just how important our schools are to the residents of our city. On May 12th, Hackensack will make a critical decision about the future of our Board of Education, at this crucial time when our children need our schools to be their best.

After reviewing materials from the candidates in the race, we are endorsing the “Champions for Students” slate of Jennifer Maury, David W. Dungey, and Monica Pelaez.

Our decision was primarily based on their overwhelming engagement with our community. Jennifer, David, and Monica have hosted three virtual town halls, answering real questions in real time, as opposed to relying on written statements. In contrast, despite this period of social distancing and widespread videoconferencing, the other slate has made no effort to face voters and listen to their concerns. Their inaccessibility and lack of transparency is concerning and typical of Hackensack Smart Schools, Inc. Their campaigning approach is too closely aligned with the thinking of sitting Board members who have openly said they “don’t respect” the public.

Jennifer, David, and Monica will be a breath of fresh air for a Board plagued by controversy in recent years. We trust that they will prioritize Hackensack’s kids first. They have children and family members in nearly every school across our district, and have each committed their adult lives to education, accessibility, and helping others. They’ve released a set of ideas and reinforced them with proposed actions, including how to address the social and emotional needs of our children in the wake of the current crisis and the lasting effects this will have once school buildings reopen.

They have also committed to gathering data and community input to address our urgent needs. Every election season, Hackensack Smart Schools, Inc. makes empty promises about fixing our facilities. Their band-aid solution was to place several trailers outside the Middle School, which have sat unused since the summer, but cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. Their big plan to address overcrowding was severing our half-century long relationship with Maywood, which will lose our district $5 million in tuition annually, keep our middle and elementary schools packed, and result in higher taxes and/or valuable resources being denied to students.

Most importantly, we are impressed by the “Champions for Students” pledge to refuse campaign funds from corporations and professionals who provide services to our schools. This ensures that they will operate with the highest level of integrity. As media outlets have reported, in the past two years, Board members backed by Hackensack Smart Schools, Inc. have rewarded their campaign donors with multimillion dollar contracts paid for with our hard-earned tax dollars. In turn, some vendor fees have tripled since they’ve been on the Board.

We believe Jennifer, David, and Monica represent the change we need, and deserve, on our School Board. They represent the best of Hackensack, and we truly believe they can help bring our community together for the betterment of our children.

We hope you will join us in voting by mail for the “Champions for Students” slate. They are lines #1, 2, and 3 on your ballot. Please follow the instructions and drop your completed ballot in the mail before May 9th. The postage is prepaid for our convenience.

We wish you and your family safety and health.

For Hackensack’s Future

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