FOR HACKENSACK’S FUTURE BOARD OF EDUCATION CANDIDATES HOFFMAN, WASHINGTON IRVING, AHMAD DENOUNCE BOE’S FAILURE TO PASS SCHOOL BUDGET

BOE Vote Would Relinquish Budget Control to County

Robbing Hackensack Voters of Voice

HACKENSACK, NJ, (March 27, 2019)–Tim Hoffman, Yvette Washington Irving and Basim Ahmad—the Hackensack Board of Education candidates running as the For Hackensack’s Future slate—have jointly released the following statement in response to the Hackensack Board of Education’s failure to pass a proposed school budget on March 26, 2019.

“One of the most important responsibilities of any Board of Education is to oversee and approve the school budget, which ensures that vital resources are allocated to staff, students, and educational programs and facilities. Last night, the Hackensack Board of Education abdicated their responsibility to pass a budget that could be sent to the voters of Hackensack for their consideration. Two trustees voted against the budget, while the remaining five trustees in attendance voted in favor, which wasn’t enough to achieve the super majority necessary as three other trustees did not attend. The Board’s failure to pass a budget has not occurred in the district of Hackensack in nearly three decades. By voting down the budget, these Board members made a choice to relinquish the district’s control of its budget process to the Bergen County Schools Superintendent. We urge the BOE to reconsider the consequences of their actions when they revisit the issue for a second vote on Friday.

This failure occurred because two BOE Trustees, who are supported by Mayor John Labrosse and the town council, voted against the budget. Based on these results, we can expect that if elected, the slate that is currently endorsed by the mayor and council, will also support handing off local control and leadership of our school district to outside entities.

The For Hackensack’s Future candidates are committed to ensuring that our schools are appropriately funded, while also working to relieve the burden of taxpayers by demanding that developers and other municipal investors pay their fair share to our schools and our city as a whole. While we are also committed to fiscal responsibility, we refuse to use the budget and our ability to maintain local control over district finances as political bargaining chips.”

The candidates also released the following individual statements.

Tim Hoffman:

“I am shocked and disappointed that two members of the Board of Education voted against a lean budget that would have supported special education funding and other important student needs,” said Timothy Hoffman, For Hackensack’s Future candidate. “At a time when other municipalities are adding more money into their school budgets from development projects, our city council and the Board of Education members they supported have repeatedly worked to deny our schools the funding our children deserve. The Board of Education has reached a new level of dysfunction by giving up its budgetary authority to the county. Yesterday’s vote is a stunning example of why we need leaders who are committed to educational excellence and stabilizing our district,” Hoffman said.

Yvette Washinton Irving

“It was a stunning development to see the Board of Education budget fail last night because two Trustees voted against it, with no explanation for their dissent,” said Yvette Washington Irving, a For Hackensack’s Future candidate. “We have lost control of our budget for the first time in over 25 years. This should be a wake up call to all voters that the Board needs a new direction and more transparency,” she said.

Basim Ahmad

“The Board of Education Trustees who voted against giving Hackensack residents a voice in the future of our school district have failed the leadership test,” Basim Ahmad, For Hackensack’s Future candidate said. “It was disheartening to see that a proposed budget that came in below the two-percent cap, while increasing funding for special education, was voted down by Trustees who vowed less than a year ago to put the kids of our district first,” Ahmad said.