We Interrupt Election Port Mortems to Talk About the Schools

Wow. A fascinating dialogue that is going on in the Teaneck blogosphere following the surprising election results (surprising to me anyway). I'm sure that Alan or Tom (or both) are crunching the numbers as we speak to provide a thorough analysis of the turnout and results district by districts so that we can continue to speculate on what it all means.

As somewhat of a departure, I wanted to follow up on a discussion thread suggested by a discussion involing Joe, Zev, 2008anony, swiggle and others about public schools.

Joe said the following:

"...I have also thought for some time that the BoE needs to think of more creative ways to create programs and services that will be available to those who attend private school. For example, the yeshivas fail miserably with gifted education. I know every Jewish parent thinks their kid is a genius but in point of fact most are not. Many are achievers but most are not what is known as gifted and talented. However, there are a disproprotionate number of gifted students in yeshivot who are bored out of their minds.

Many public schools provide gifted and talented programs. The BoE should try to partner with some of the yeshivas to make gifted and talented programs available either on Sundays or later in the day in ways that gifted yeshiva students could attend as well..."

This is a topic that I raised in the early days of Teaneck Progress in June 2006, (see link) to which nobody responded, probably because nobody was reading the blog at the time. Here's an excerpt:

"There's a perception among some in the Orthodox community that they pay the highest taxes for a school system from which they derive no benefits.

First, let's put to rest the myth that people who choose to send their kids to private school get no benefits from the public school system. Here are some direct benefits that I thought of right off the bat:

• Busing to private schools
• Preschool, diagnostics and special services for kids with special needs and disabilities
• Camp Koos Koos - A wonderful resource that reflects the true diversity of the town
• The various offerings for children and adults provided through the Teaneck Community Education Center

There are most certainly other direct benefits as well. Perhaps someone else can identify some more.

Rather than sniping about whether the kids in Teaneck public school system are worth the investment, perhaps we can collectively look at whether there are additional services that the public school system can offer to people who send their kids to private school so that they are more invested in the system and therefore more supportive of it.

One possibility would be to provide academically-oriented enrichment programs for high school-age students in the evenings or on Sundays such Advanced Placement Math, Chemestry or Physics that take advantage of the experienced and credentialed teachers and lab facilities at Teaneck High School.

I'm sure there are other smart people in town can think of other ways in which the school system might provide programs that serve the broader community. "

Perhaps now is a time to have a discussion about how the Teaneck Public Schools might provide services that the private school community can avail itself of. It might be a way to bring us closer together.

What's Next?

With the smoke now clearing from the battlefield, the results are in. The Council will conduct a Reorganization Meeting as of July 1st, with Honis returning for a second full term and Toffler and Hameeduddin taking office. The seven members will then select a Mayor and a Deputy Mayor.

But, what's next?

The difficult issues of taxes and economic development remain. The already-fraught issue of community relations has only been exacerbated by the bitter personal and intercommunity rhetoric that characterized this just-completed election.

While there seems to be broad agreement on which problems are most important, we are far from solving these seemingly intractable issues.

What is your constructive advice to the council and to the public for the steps that should be taken in the next two years to address these problems?

Alan Sohn

Teaneck Has Spoken

The results are in:

Toffler-3,356
Honis-2,981
Hameeduddin-2,890
Rudolph-2,852
Robinson-2,841
Jackson-2,572
Goldman-2,129
Rose-1,313

Two of the three candidates supported by Teaneck United and the Northeast Teaneck Block President's Association -- Barbara Toffler and Monica Honis -- led the balloting, with Team Teaneck's Mohammed Hameeduddin edging his two running mates to win election. Incumbent Elnatan Rudolph fell 38 votes short and Robert Robinson nine votes behind him. Audra Jackson came in sixth some 300 votes out of the running. The two independent candidates came in last, with Ned Goldman 450 votes behind Jackson and Howard Rose a distant eighth.

My Final Endorsement

In prior posts, here and here, I discussed my strong support for Howard Rose and Ned Goldman in Tuesday's election and why I don't feel comfortable voting for Rudolph, Toffler, Robinson or Honis.

I was left with a difficult choice between Hameeduddin and Jackson. The choice is difficult for me, not through the fault of these two decent and capable candidates, but because all the baggage that accompanies any vote associated with either Team Teaneck or Teaneck United.

Both sides have engaged in the worst kind of identity politics and demagoguery that has dragged the political discourse in Teaneck to a new low.

By all accounts, Mr. Hameeduddin is a decent and intelligent person. If he does not get elected this time, he should certainly run again in the future and depending on the circumstances, I would certainly consider supporting him. For tomorrow, however, I have concluded that a vote for any Team Teaneck candidate is a vote for a further intrusion of machine politics into a non-partisan system that has served this town so well for so many years. The use of religion and race baiting for political ends, the infusion of outside money and the appearance of shady dealings between government officials and well-connected contractors is tearing our community apart at a time where we need to work together.

Therefore, I will be voting tomorrow for Audra Jackson, Howard Rose and Ned Goldman, and I urge others to do the same for the reasons outlined here.

Finally

...a forceful stand against divisive election tactics!

Teaneck Jewish Leaders Agree: Voting on May 13th in Town’s Municipal Elections Is Crucial for the Jewish Community

Excerpt:

For the past several weeks, members of Teaneck’s synagogues have received messages from their rabbis stressing that the municipal election for Town Council on May 13th is “critical” and “will impact the quality of life” for all residents. Even sons and daughters, over the age of 18, who were home from college on spring break, were urged to register to vote.

In May, eight candidates will compete for three of the seven seats on the Teaneck Town Council. The remaining four seats are held by councilmen whose terms have not yet expired. The perception by many residents is that one group of candidates will be “good for the Jews” because they are also beneficial for the township as a whole, while another group will threaten the well being of the Jewish community by dividing the town and targeting the Orthodox. Teaneck, with its dozens of kosher restaurants, bakeries, confectionaries, take-outs, butcher shops, and groceries, to say nothing of Judaica shops, schools, and other institutions, is a Jewish cultural and commercial center. What happens politically in Teaneck affects not only the Teaneck-Jewish community, but Jews throughout Bergen, Passaic, and Rockland Counties, and beyond.

and so on...

If you do choose to read the whole article, be sure to take a look at page 65 for a list of the fine advertisers without whose support, the Jewish Voice and Opinion would not be possible.

Election Poll Comments Thread

I'm going to state upfront that these polls are essentially meaningless because they reflect a non random sample of the population and because people with access to multiple computers can game the system by voting more than once. That said, I am curious about how people are leaning. Feel free to provide comments about the poll here.

No Comment

On second thought, I will comment. (And I'll probably regret what I'm about to say.)

The inflamatory, insensitive and offensive rhetoric coming from the Teaneck United camp is beyond the pale. Team Teaneck has struck turnout paydirt with Honis' "gas chamber" remark.

On the other hand, I'm equally offended by Team Teaneck's fielding of Robert Robinson on the ticket. At the two forums that I attended, he was the most unimpressive candidate on the dias, and seemed incapable of expressing anything other than insubstantial platitudes. He has demonstrated a singular lack any qualification to serve in a leadership position in municipal government. It's a cynical and insulting move on the part of Team Teaneck to select so underwhelming a candidate based apparently on his ability to provide balance to their ticket.

I could go on complaining about both sides but instead I will say what Zev Mo and others have alluded to: that this type of bare knuckles partisanship and triangulation is exactly what Teaneck is NOT supposed to be about.

I therefore reiterate my support for Rose and Goldman, two candidates who are independent of all this nonsense and who collectively have extensive experience at working cooperatively with their fellow citizens to solve the serious problems that we face.

Going Negative

Not surprisingly, Team Teaneck has produced the first negative attack ad of this campaign season. This slick full-color mailer was sent to residents in the Northeast section of town and is set up to look like an attack on Honis by Robinson although if you use an electron microscope on the second page you can barely make out the phrase "Paid for by Team Teaneck" which translates to mean "Paid for by Dirty Ferriero Money from Out-of-Town". (Click on each page to see the details of the ad.)

My final vote is up for grabs. How the campaign plays out over the next week will influence who gets my vote.

What We Like

A citizen at Monday’s Forum asked the candidates to describe the best thing about living in Teaneck. I thought that question would be an interesting one to pose to the Teaneck Progress readership. Perhaps it will inspire a positive dialogue, which, heaven knows, we can all use.

Here are some examples of what I like about the diversity of people of Teaneck:

• My beige kids are a minority in the public schools and yet they have never uttered a word to indicate that they feel in any way different from their classmates or singled out, or, for that matter, that they perceive any fundamental differences between children based on their skin color or ethnic background.


• At the same time, my children don’t bat an eye when a man in a silk kapote, knickers, white socks and a shtreimel walks by our house on Shabbat pushing a baby carriage, or when they see a woman in the vegetable aisle in the Stop and Shop wearing a full bhurka with Nike sneakers.


• Where else would anyone attempt, and regretfully fail, to open a glatt kosher Korean BBQ restaurant?


• Finally, where else can I live in the suburbs in the presence of so many fellow musicians? As an amateur musician, it’s very easy to find people to jam with. We have been able to form a decent bluegrass band mostly comprised of people who live on my block.

Here are things I love about the physical characteristics of Teaneck:

• Contrary to many of the comments made by some of the candidates at Monday’s Forum, Teaneck is actually not a low-density suburb – it’s actually a high density suburb and I like it that way. Low density suburbs are places with curvy streets, lots of cul-de-sacs, 1 acre lot zoning and nothing to do. They have no street life. Nobody walks anywhere because there’s no place to walk to. Neighbors are few and far between. The relatively high density in Teaneck means that there are eyes on the street to keep things safe. Kids can step out of the house and quickly organize a pick game of stickball or capture the flag and many neighbors are close by if you need them. Plus, there are plenty of places worth walking to.


• The trees are fantastic – particularly this week.


• The traditional look of the many older homes with the stately trees makes Teaneck look like some archetypical classic suburb. Some may differ but I personally like that aesthetic.


• Finally, for all the complaints, Cedar Lane and the other retail districts are OK and getting better every day. In an era when downtowns nationwide are struggling to compete with the allure of shopping malls, Teaneck's retail districts have an interesting mix of the type of shops that you don’t find in a mall: used books and musical instruments, a theatre that plays interesting movies and hosts arts events, several exercise studios, several clothing boutiques, a knitting shop that is always full of people, and a wide range of restaurants.

I’d love to hear from others about what they like about Teaneck.

Toffler Defends Herself

Even though I haven't endorsed her candidacy (my third vote is still up for grabs), I think that Barbara Ley Toffler is getting a raw deal from several vocal supporters of the Katz team in town. Here's her defense of her record in her own words from today's Record:

Regarding "Candidate's ethics questioned" (Page L-1, April 28).

As the candidate "questioned," I have no need to defend anything that I have done in my career — certainly not my actions at Arthur Andersen, where I was a constant challenger of, and ultimately a whistle-blower on, the kinds of behaviors that led to the Enron, WorldCom, etc. disasters. My actions — and my book, "Final Accounting: Ambition, Greed and the Fall of Arthur Andersen" — were praised, even hailed, nationally and internationally.

"Final Accounting," and the impact it and my work have had on the management of financial institutions and on business school education, are among the achievements of which I am most proud.

Barbara Ley Toffler