Edison residents demand an explanation from the BOE
On Monday, Nov. 19, members of the Edison Board of Education (Dickinson, Romano, Koperwhats, Meade) voted to relieve Ms. Carol Toth of her duties as superintendent of the Edison school district. After the surprise vote and equally astonishing decision, many concerned Edison residents question the rationale for the decision.

The Board of Education (BOE) claims the dismissal was due to Ms. Toth's lack of communication with the public. To the contrary, Ms. Toth recognized the need to inform Edison residents about our schools and was researching various avenues of improving communications with the public. She was quite passionate about pursuing a semiannual school newsletter to all residents of Edison, not just the parents of the children in the schools. In fact, it was the Board of Education that vetoed the school newsletter concept.

The truth be told, the Board of Education members have been repeatedly criticized for the lack of communication with the public. A perfect example of this is the BOE's inability to clearly articulate a valid rationale for the dismissal of Ms. Toth. If 'lack of communication' can be the sole justification for the dismissal of Ms. Toth, we, the residents of Edison, can and should hold the BOE members to the same standards.

Second, given the current budget deficit, we question the financial irresponsibility demonstrated by the BOE. Not only will we have to pay Ms. Toth her salary until her contract expires in 2010, the taxpayers may also have to foot the bill for Mr. DiMuzio's (the new superintendent) increase in salary and benefits. As a result of the additional expenditures, many of us wonder which of our children's school programs will now have to be eliminated to balance the budget. As we see it, the taxpayers can not afford such whimsical decision making.

As residents of Edison, we must take the Board of Education elections seriously. We have an opportunity to elect three Board of Education members in April, 2008. Let's make sure we chose the right individuals to secure our children's educational future.

Ash Nijhawan

Edison