Superintendent of schools should be ashamed of herself

Our local newspaper recently ran a story on the front page headlined, “Superintendent gets $45K bonus”.

I’ve called the township of Lyndhurst, NJ home for over three decades.

In that time I’ve seen some pretty interesting things when it comes to the political and educational forces controlling the town. The items below ranks right up there.

I suspect I’m not alone when I say that Lyndhurst’s school superintendent, Tracey Marinelli, should be ashamed of herself – as should the Board of Education who’s supposed to serve the students before lining the pockets of its staff.

As the husband of a Bergen County educator, I am not naïve to the workings of a public school system and the strains recently put on it under the leadership of Governor Christie. However, innovative school systems are in fact weathering the storm.

I’m also well aware of the hardships that face many residents in the town of Lyndhurst and nationwide, as many of us continue to struggle with economic unrest, unemployment and a questionable future.

We all work very hard to stay afloat in today’s challenging society – achieving our expected goals in the workplace and then some. But instead of getting $45,000 bonuses for achieving those expected goals, we’re given the courtesy of job security. What a concept, right?

Where is Governor Christie now to challenge Marinelli and the Lyndhurst Board of Education’s outlandish bonus payment – especially after he so publicly labeled our fine classroom teachers as being nothing more than greedy?

That $45,000 comes from my tax dollars – as does her $160,000 plus yearly salary. I think I deserve to know just what miraculous goals were achieved by our school superintendent – goals warranting a dollar amount higher than many average, hardworking Americans earn in a year.

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