Freehold Boro Schools have issues!!!

[Mike Rosseel]

newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2010-07-07/Schools/Freehold_K8_district_presses_case_for_additional_s.html


Thoughts on this! Not good people, not good!

[admin]

Mike,

I moved this thread to the schools section so it is easier to find in the future if needed. Somhow I missed this article, so thanks for posting. I will certainly be back later to opine.

To Dan,

Is there any way you can help us out? We really do need to see some more good news from the schools. In know there is good stories out there. I do not think people see enough of that.

[Mike Rosseel]

No Problem Brian!

Its sad, our schools ranking has dropped dramatically over the last few years. What is being done to fix this problem? I hope not getting the budget passed isnt an excuse for how poor our schools look! We Def need answers!

[richardkelsey]

[quote author=freeholdboy board=schools thread=5226


Thoughts on this! Not good people, not good![/quote]

From the article:

O’Connell said 60 percent of the district’s students are Hispanic, 25 percent are white, 13 percent are black and 2 percent are Asian. She reported that 70 percent of the district’s students are described as economically disadvantaged.

-- snip

A study performed in 2003 when Philip J. Meara was Freehold Borough’s superintendent of the schools revealed data which showed that in 1993 the student population was 50 percent white, 30 percent black and 18 percent Hispanic.

This is the legacy of illegal immigration. The numbers are shocking.

[Mike Rosseel]

Sadly Rich beyond shocking!!

How did everyone, including the residents, allow it to get to this point? Our schools rankings are horrible. Maybe as a town, we need to refocus ourselves on fixing our HUGE education problem!

[BrianSullivan]

Where do I even start? There is so much to be said. I am going to back up and when I read this article, I am reminded of the time when a group of us went to Maplewood to consider the "Fund for an Open Society." I recall one speaker who mentioned that when she assesses a town, the first thing she does is look at the schools. That will tell a person where the towns problems lie. That makes a lot of sense and is very accurate.

What we are seeing in the schools is a symptom. Richard mentioned the impact of illegal immigration. That too is a symptom as well as the rental, crime problems and high level of low income people we have.

All of the above are the results of a severe and massive economic imbalance in this town. Add that to the fact that we have a class warfare system of taxing people and it is a recipe for disaster. We have a system that robs Peter to pay Paul and Peter is getting really sick and tired of being robbed. Two good indicators of this are the fact that the building referendum for more schools space got shot down twice and we have seen many people get fed up and move, only to be replaced with rentals. ( no matter what renters think, they, as a group, are not paying what home owners are in taxes and are often costing the town more)

I believe much of this feeds right into what has been going on at the bigger level. In a town that has always been blue collar and working class, we have seen the bottom end of the economic ladder enhanced. In a town where we had many apartment buildings we saw the creation of the Rug Mill as it is today. On top of that, Freehold participated in one of New Jersey's biggest disasters --COAH. I do not have the numbers in from of me, but we took a lot of money, more than most towns who bought affordable housing obligations. That has had an impact.

On the other end, what does this town do to keep the money crowd here? Nothing? Who do we expect to pay the bills? Which brings us right to the heart of this article- the quest for more money.

Guess what? That is the wrong approach. It will not work. Much of this gets me thinking of the lets tax the rich mantra that we hear from short sighted people. If we did continue to tax the rich as Corzine did, how far would that money really go? Not very. There are many entities with their hands out believing they are entitled to that money. By the time everybody gets their piece of the pie, there will not be enough to help in the way people think.

Going to Trenton for more money is not the solution. I am basing this all on what I see in the article, but as I was reading I really hoped to see O'Connell challenge the Abbot funding. It does not look like she did, but at least Casagrande and Beck did. The Abbot funding is one of the biggest scams in the state and our town is only the first to feel the pinch. Most others will in time, too, if they haven't already.

I know our BOE has been fighting tooth and nail, working within a broken state system that works against them. With the administration change in Trenton and Schundler as the commissioner, the BOE has got to get on board and become far more activist oriented than just asking for more money. The borough may be broke, but so is Trenton. Here is what the BOE should be doing:

1. Fight Abbot. Get the teachers unions involved. That is where much of the relief we need has gone and that has got to change. Do not look to become an Abbot district. That will be a stigma we do not need and we certainly do not want to be a part of the problem.

2. I mentioned this before, but has the BOE identified the state mandates that cost us more money? They need to and go to Trenton with demands to ease those costly mandates.

One of my favorite ( sarcasm) mandates is mentioned in the article- Pre K schooling. Did anybody on the BOE object to that mandate? They should have because it is bad news for the town. It will only attract people looking for free day care, which is all it is. We do not need to attract people for that reason. I have read many studies that clearly show that Pre K schooling does not produce the results people think. Before kids are out of grammar school, perceived results are completely erased. That is alot of money for something that does not work.

Even if people ( teachers unions and parents looking for free day care) want to argue that Pre K is good, I hate to burst you bubble. The town is broke and so is the state. Corzine was a bonehead for pushing it when he did. We cannot complain about other school services being cut when we willing go along with this and any other program that is not needed. Fight against it and get rid of it.

3. Private schools, charter schools and vouchers- Schundler has mentioned that he is a fan and so am I. One of the very few things I ever see in New York City that is right is their push for charter schools. ( NY is rarely a model fro anything) It is producing results there. Freehold Borough would be wise to look at these things and be the leader in New Jersey on these things. It will be good for everybody in town.

Empowering parents and giving them choices is always a good thing. The vouchers can easily help economically disadvantaged families get into the private and charter schools too.

This is good for the BOE too. It will peel students out of the overcrowded class rooms. Remember, Peter is sick of being robbed by Paul, the schools will not be getting voter cooperation.

In the big picture of the town, charter schools and private school enhancements would make this town very attractive to parents considering buying here. We really need to be a model town on this and get our feet on the ground ASAP. The borough as a whole winds big time if we can get this done.

In conclusion, thinking ahead is the key. Municipal models are going to change and hopefully the public education model will too. We should want to be a part of that change. Dumping more money into a broken system will not work. The myth that more money equals a better education and school system is a myth tha has been busted many, many times. If more money is all we see, we will be having these very discussions next year and every year after. And the BOE will be stuck faced with voter who go against them.

[dfx]

All -

I wanted to let you know that I've resigned the position of "Chair" as well as my affiliation with the recently-formed Freehold Borough School District Community Relations Committee.

(Unfortunately I do not share Superintendent O'Connell's vision/direction for the committee and feel that my resignation would be best at this time.)

Moving forward I would recommend forwarding any CRC-related questions/comments/concerns to Annette Jordan, Michael Luccardi, or Superintendent O'Connell.


Dan Xavier


NOTE: That said, please feel free to continue bringing non-CRC-related Freehold Borough School District issues to my attention as I am still a member of the Board of Education...

[adefonzo]

Before getting into what has been discussed so far on this thread, let me just mention that this article was also posted on Facebook, and got feedback from several other folks who, as far as I know, do not participate on this site.

One such person (I won't mention names just to be fair) rightfully pointed out that despite the problems our district has been facing - for many years now - our teachers still do an excellent job. I don't want to bring in the argument of the unions and the affect that they have, but strictly on a classroom level, I think it is fair to say that the majority of the teachers in the schools are doing a great job, especially when you consider the lack of resources that they have.

One idea that was mentioned in the article, and that I have heard from my time on the BOE, was the displeasure with the state mandate that a BOE can only raise the local tax levy by a max of 4% each year. I have to be honest...that's one of the very few mandates which I appreciate. It has been suggested that if the state lifted this cap, we could somehow work towards fixing the budget shortfalls.

Well, let's look at that...

Currently, the portion of the school budget that comes from the local tax levy is roughly $8 million. As the article says, the schools are currently $4 million below "Adequacy" (the fact that this term is a complete joke is a story for another thread). So, in order to make up the difference in the local tax levy, they would have to raise taxes by an additional 50%!!!! I would like to meet the person who is willing to accept this additional cost to help the schools reach adequacy. Any takers at even 25% Somehow I don't think so. The idea of going to the local tax levy is one that should not even be considered. Budgets have failed in this town, and for an increase of a lot less than even 10%, so if you're looking for record turnouts at the budget vote, lift the cap and let the schools run wild with their increases.

Which leads to my next point. Someone also discussed their disbelief at the fact that the people in town continue to vote down the budget each year. And that apathy has helped in that history of letting the budget fail. Let me just throw out some facts here....

According to the Department of Education website ( www.state.nj.us/education/data/vote/ ) since 2002, the school budget here in Freehold Boro has been voted down 4 times (2003, '06, '08, '10) and approved 5 times (2002, '04, '05, '07, '09). And just as an added point, in 2003, the budget was defeated by 5 votes (290-295) and in 2008 it was defeated by 24 votes (216-240). That's not exactly a sign of the budget being voted down year after year.

Over those 9 years, we average 586 people coming out to vote on the school budget (high was this year, 2010 with 990 total votes, low was in 2007 with 166 votes). Average "Yes" votes on the budget, 275....average "No" votes, 311. So if you want to claim apathy...well, I certainly won't argue.

But, now...let's delve into those facts a bit...

From my father's time on the board, through my time on the board, we had both complained about one simple thought...it would appear that not even the parents of the students are showing up to vote "Yes" on the budget. If we have 1300 students in the schools, and lets be ultra conservative and say that every kid has 2 siblings that also attend the schools. That means there are about 433 families with children in the schools. Let's be even more ultra-conservative and say that 75% of those families are single parent families. That gets you a number right around 540 votes from parents. That's just short of the total number of people that bother to show up and vote, and also just short of double the average "Yes" votes.

Based on all of this, I take real exception to people who try to blame the people who vote down the budget, because it's clear that the parents are not showing up to vote in support of the budget, and they are the ones with the biggest investment in our schools...their children.

Next...let's not beat around the bush anymore...we all know why a large number of the parents of the students do not show up to vote...they are not legally allowed to vote.

I know the comments and arguments that are coming, but I'll state it anyway. The simple fact of the matter is that our schools are dying because of the influx of illegal immigrants into our town, and the inaction of our town council, our state government, and our federal government to do anything to deal with illegal immigrants in our country. "It's the federal governments responsibility!!" blah blah blah. Save it for another thread. Our schools are overcrowded and overburdened because we have been inundated with illegal immigrants who have been allowed to stay here long enough to not only give birth to children (making them legal US residents, another topic for another thread), but to have those children reach the age where they can attend, and then make it all the way through our schools. By the way...for those without kids...Kindergarten starts at age 5, 8th grade ends at age 13 (on average). That's how many years many of these folks have been taking advantage of the system...and i got news for you, the increasing numbers that are coming in next year...I'll bet the farm they will raise that "hispanic" percentage even higher.

And let's not forget, while there are certainly many of these children that are bright young minds, the fact of the matter is that year after year, the Boro's test scores are as low as they are in large part because of the LEP (Limited English Proficient - because somewhere along the line, ESL became offensive to someone) population. I don't want to get into the whole detail of test scores on this thread, but the numbers are undeniable.

Brian, you can talk all you want about socio-economic or racial disparity. The fact of the matter is that when I went to school in Freehold Boro, there was socio economic and racial disparity, but nowhere near the problems that we have today in the schools.

The illegal immigrant population has created a situation where our schools are overcrowded, the schools are forced to pay for additional programs and teachers for those LEP students, and that portion of the schools population continue to bring down the overall test scores of our schools. These are not opinions, folks, these are facts.

So...what are we to do?

As I learned during my time on the BOE, there is nothing the schools can do currently to try and deal with this population that comes from illegal immigrants. Well, that's not entirely true. The BOE and the schools can stop simply crying poverty and saying we're not getting enough money from Trenton, and they can start petitioning Trenton to change the laws that require us to have such laxed admission procedures.

Don't try to come back at me with the whole "you can't do that, the kids are legal citizens" argument. I've been through these battles, I know the facts. I have spoken at great length with lawyers, administrators, politicians, and other folks about this issue. The fact is, there are avenues that the schools can pursue, they have chosen not to. Are these options expensive? Heck, is anything that involves a lawyer not expensive??? (sorry Rich, Jeff and any other lawyers on here...but let's be honest...it's true)

But again, there are ways to lessen the cost. Talk to other districts in order to form a coalition. Search for legal representation that may be willing to reduce their costs or perhaps even work pro bono (maybe even just in part). The problem is that the schools have never gone beyond asking their own BOE attorney.

So instead, we hear the annual cry of "Trenton is screwing us over". And believe me, I am no fan of the Abbott Districts, just ask some of the folks that I had arguments with at variousl state school board association events. I whole heartedly believe that the Abbotts should be abolished and that whole funding idea should be torn to shreds. They are something like 31 districts out of 580 or so, but account for more than half of the states spending on education. But that won't solve Freehold Boro's problems.

If Trenton gave the district an extra $4.5 million in funding, and maintained that for the future, bringing the schools budget up to that "Adequacy" level, guess what? You're still overcrowded, holding classes in the library and on the cafetorium stage. Art is still coming around on a cart, and the test scores are still suffering. So then what does the cry become? "We need money from Trenton to build onto our schools!!" or, "We need more money from the local tax levy to build onto the schools".


Look folks, it's simple. The problem with Freehold Boro's schools is overcrowding, and a population that is creating a burden on our budget and our overall performance (test scores).

Stop trying to simply throw money at the problem, because first, there is no money to be thrown at it, and second, that money doesn't come from thin air. Deal with the problem.

If Freehold Boro did not have such a large population of students who are the children of illegal immigrants, we would not have the financial problems that we do. It sounds harsh, I know, but at what point do we realize that we can't simply keep going to the well for more and more money without making an effort to deal with real issue?

[BrianSullivan]

Jul 8, 2010 23:40:16 GMT -5 dfx said:

All -

I wanted to let you know that I've resigned the position of "Chair" as well as my affiliation with the recently-formed Freehold Borough School District Community Relations Committee.

(Unfortunately I do not share Superintendent O'Connell's vision/direction for the committee and feel that my resignation would be best at this time.)

Moving forward I would recommend forwarding any CRC-related questions/comments/concerns to Annette Jordan, Michael Luccardi, or Superintendent O'Connell.


Dan Xavier


NOTE: That said, please feel free to continue bringing non-CRC-related Freehold Borough School District issues to my attention as I am still a member of the Board of Education...

Dan,

Sorry you felt the need to resign from the chair. I know from experience that it is a lousy feeling to make that decision.

That aside, it doesn't mean that you can't post some positive things. Believe me, readers do appreciate that, even though positive stories often get less traffic. I have had many readers tell me that they do like to see a nice mix of everything.

One of my biggest gripes in general, I often hear that sites have too much negativity, including this one. The irony is, I post about 95 percent of the good stories. I would love some help with that from anyone. We have three registered borough CIC members on this site. It always surprised me that they do not help out with the positives a bit more.

( as a comparison to the above, FinNJ has the same patter as this site, most of the threads with heavy participation are negative topics. For that reason, I do not feel bad about this site. I do believe Colleen gets a some great things on her site)

[BrianSullivan]

Jul 8, 2010 23:47:04 GMT -5 adefonzo said:

Before getting into what has been discussed so far on this thread, let me just mention that this article was also posted on Facebook, and got feedback from several other folks who, as far as I know, do not participate on this site.

One such person (I won't mention names just to be fair) rightfully pointed out that despite the problems our district has been facing - for many years now - our teachers still do an excellent job. I don't want to bring in the argument of the unions and the affect that they have, but strictly on a classroom level, I think it is fair to say that the majority of the teachers in the schools are doing a great job, especially when you consider the lack of resources that they have.

One idea that was mentioned in the article, and that I have heard from my time on the BOE, was the displeasure with the state mandate that a BOE can only raise the local tax levy by a max of 4% each year. I have to be honest...that's one of the very few mandates which I appreciate. It has been suggested that if the state lifted this cap, we could somehow work towards fixing the budget shortfalls.

Well, let's look at that...

Currently, the portion of the school budget that comes from the local tax levy is roughly $8 million. As the article says, the schools are currently $4 million below "Adequacy" (the fact that this term is a complete joke is a story for another thread). So, in order to make up the difference in the local tax levy, they would have to raise taxes by an additional 50%!!!! I would like to meet the person who is willing to accept this additional cost to help the schools reach adequacy. Any takers at even 25% Somehow I don't think so. The idea of going to the local tax levy is one that should not even be considered. Budgets have failed in this town, and for an increase of a lot less than even 10%, so if you're looking for record turnouts at the budget vote, lift the cap and let the schools run wild with their increases.

Which leads to my next point. Someone also discussed their disbelief at the fact that the people in town continue to vote down the budget each year. And that apathy has helped in that history of letting the budget fail. Let me just throw out some facts here....

According to the Department of Education website ( www.state.nj.us/education/data/vote/ ) since 2002, the school budget here in Freehold Boro has been voted down 4 times (2003, '06, '08, '10) and approved 5 times (2002, '04, '05, '07, '09). And just as an added point, in 2003, the budget was defeated by 5 votes (290-295) and in 2008 it was defeated by 24 votes (216-240). That's not exactly a sign of the budget being voted down year after year.

Over those 9 years, we average 586 people coming out to vote on the school budget (high was this year, 2010 with 990 total votes, low was in 2007 with 166 votes). Average "Yes" votes on the budget, 275....average "No" votes, 311. So if you want to claim apathy...well, I certainly won't argue.

But, now...let's delve into those facts a bit...

From my father's time on the board, through my time on the board, we had both complained about one simple thought...it would appear that not even the parents of the students are showing up to vote "Yes" on the budget. If we have 1300 students in the schools, and lets be ultra conservative and say that every kid has 2 siblings that also attend the schools. That means there are about 433 families with children in the schools. Let's be even more ultra-conservative and say that 75% of those families are single parent families. That gets you a number right around 540 votes from parents. That's just short of the total number of people that bother to show up and vote, and also just short of double the average "Yes" votes.

Based on all of this, I take real exception to people who try to blame the people who vote down the budget, because it's clear that the parents are not showing up to vote in support of the budget, and they are the ones with the biggest investment in our schools...their children.

Next...let's not beat around the bush anymore...we all know why a large number of the parents of the students do not show up to vote...they are not legally allowed to vote.

I know the comments and arguments that are coming, but I'll state it anyway. The simple fact of the matter is that our schools are dying because of the influx of illegal immigrants into our town, and the inaction of our town council, our state government, and our federal government to do anything to deal with illegal immigrants in our country. "It's the federal governments responsibility!!" blah blah blah. Save it for another thread. Our schools are overcrowded and overburdened because we have been inundated with illegal immigrants who have been allowed to stay here long enough to not only give birth to children (making them legal US residents, another topic for another thread), but to have those children reach the age where they can attend, and then make it all the way through our schools. By the way...for those without kids...Kindergarten starts at age 5, 8th grade ends at age 13 (on average). That's how many years many of these folks have been taking advantage of the system...and i got news for you, the increasing numbers that are coming in next year...I'll bet the farm they will raise that "hispanic" percentage even higher.

And let's not forget, while there are certainly many of these children that are bright young minds, the fact of the matter is that year after year, the Boro's test scores are as low as they are in large part because of the LEP (Limited English Proficient - because somewhere along the line, ESL became offensive to someone) population. I don't want to get into the whole detail of test scores on this thread, but the numbers are undeniable.

Brian, you can talk all you want about socio-economic or racial disparity. The fact of the matter is that when I went to school in Freehold Boro, there was socio economic and racial disparity, but nowhere near the problems that we have today in the schools.

The illegal immigrant population has created a situation where our schools are overcrowded, the schools are forced to pay for additional programs and teachers for those LEP students, and that portion of the schools population continue to bring down the overall test scores of our schools. These are not opinions, folks, these are facts.

So...what are we to do?

As I learned during my time on the BOE, there is nothing the schools can do currently to try and deal with this population that comes from illegal immigrants. Well, that's not entirely true. The BOE and the schools can stop simply crying poverty and saying we're not getting enough money from Trenton, and they can start petitioning Trenton to change the laws that require us to have such laxed admission procedures.

Don't try to come back at me with the whole "you can't do that, the kids are legal citizens" argument. I've been through these battles, I know the facts. I have spoken at great length with lawyers, administrators, politicians, and other folks about this issue. The fact is, there are avenues that the schools can pursue, they have chosen not to. Are these options expensive? Heck, is anything that involves a lawyer not expensive??? (sorry Rich, Jeff and any other lawyers on here...but let's be honest...it's true)

But again, there are ways to lessen the cost. Talk to other districts in order to form a coalition. Search for legal representation that may be willing to reduce their costs or perhaps even work pro bono (maybe even just in part). The problem is that the schools have never gone beyond asking their own BOE attorney.

So instead, we hear the annual cry of "Trenton is screwing us over". And believe me, I am no fan of the Abbott Districts, just ask some of the folks that I had arguments with at variousl state school board association events. I whole heartedly believe that the Abbotts should be abolished and that whole funding idea should be torn to shreds. They are something like 31 districts out of 580 or so, but account for more than half of the states spending on education. But that won't solve Freehold Boro's problems.

If Trenton gave the district an extra $4.5 million in funding, and maintained that for the future, bringing the schools budget up to that "Adequacy" level, guess what? You're still overcrowded, holding classes in the library and on the cafetorium stage. Art is still coming around on a cart, and the test scores are still suffering. So then what does the cry become? "We need money from Trenton to build onto our schools!!" or, "We need more money from the local tax levy to build onto the schools".


Look folks, it's simple. The problem with Freehold Boro's schools is overcrowding, and a population that is creating a burden on our budget and our overall performance (test scores).

Stop trying to simply throw money at the problem, because first, there is no money to be thrown at it, and second, that money doesn't come from thin air. Deal with the problem.

If Freehold Boro did not have such a large population of students who are the children of illegal immigrants, we would not have the financial problems that we do. It sounds harsh, I know, but at what point do we realize that we can't simply keep going to the well for more and more money without making an effort to deal with real issue?

Andrew, good post. I think you articulate many of my own points and do so with facts.

You are right to point out that the staff in the schools are great. I hear that from so many parents. I also hope that nobody took anything I wrote as attacks on the BOE. Out of the ones I know, I like them and I know they are fighting hard.

When I wrote my post it was on my first day off after a very, very long eight day stretch of miserable shift work. Needless to say, I was in a super duper cranky mood yesterday. I thought about my words with the high hopes of pointing out the system failures and not that of the local people who care and work hard.

Since you brought it up, I do have to say that I am a very big fan of bashing public employee unions. ( not the rank and file) I believe they need to be busted. I may even be starting a nice war with my own union that will cost them money. N
But, that is all a long winded story for another time.

[richardkelsey]

Jul 8, 2010 23:47:04 GMT -5 adefonzo said:

I know the comments and arguments that are coming, but I'll state it anyway. The simple fact of the matter is that our schools are dying because of the influx of illegal immigrants into our town, and the inaction of our town council, our state government, and our federal government to do anything to deal with illegal immigrants in our country. "It's the federal governments responsibility!!" blah blah blah. Save it for another thread. Our schools are overcrowded and overburdened because we have been inundated with illegal immigrants who have been allowed to stay here long enough to not only give birth to children (making them legal US residents, another topic for another thread), but to have those children reach the age where they can attend, and then make it all the way through our schools. By the way...for those without kids...Kindergarten starts at age 5, 8th grade ends at age 13 (on average). That's how many years many of these folks have been taking advantage of the system...and i got news for you, the increasing numbers that are coming in next year...I'll bet the farm they will raise that "hispanic" percentage even higher.

It would be impossible to argue this obvious point.


Moreover -- what gets me -- probably more than any person, is that I have been talking about this for 17 years in Freehold. Yet -- people think I am the bad guy. I was writing on this problem and its ill effects since I coined the phrase "illegal invaders" in an op-ed in the Transcript in 1993. (That's about 10 years before the issue got hot, and 14 years before the talking heads started to talk about it)

In addition -- and I am sorry for puking this fact out yet again -- but I sat on the School Facilities Advisory Committee put together to look at why we needed more space in 1996. Who do you think raised that issue in 1996 before that committee of 30? How many eye-rolling, head-shaking, bitter-beer faced looks do you think I had to suffer from a committee packed with education industry insiders and sympathetic liberals. They literally thought I was crazy.

Now -- I could look back and take enormous satisfaction from being correct -- or I could be d**n sad about it. I can also be mad about it.

So -- when people ask me why I still fight for Freehold, and why I go hard after those in charge up there -- they ought to know that I have been on the front line of fighting and warning idiots for 17 years. So -- even I lose a bit of patience suffering some of these fools for so long.

It is true -- life took me and my wife elsewhere. We were the youngest of 7 kids in both of our Freehold Borough families. And, we followed my education out of the state. For some, that deprives me of the right to even have an opinion. However, I have been fighting for that town since I left. I fight hard for her because she is my hometown -- and she is a great town. I fight will others sit idly by, or vote with their feet.

I don't fight for political gain. I don't fight for economic gain. I don't fight for any other reason than loyalty and fidelity to my home and the remnants of my family still there.

I live in a nice home -- I drive a great car -- my kids go to GREAT, diverse, public schools. I have a great job, and I have been blessed with enormous opportunities and successes. The easiest thing for me to do would be to kiss off Freehold. Do I need my name in the Transcript? Get serious? Do I need to give up more of my time and effort to a place where many have already given up, and still others wish I would shut up? No -- I don't.

I have stayed in this fight to try to stop this exact result. At virtually every turn in the battle, I have been opposed by those who run the town -- and have run the town for more than 17 years. I have been opposed by them, their friends, their old colleagues, and their various politically motivated sycophants.

But -- here I am -- still fighting for Freehold and against illegal immigration, the friends of illegal immigration, and those who support, encourage, tolerate, or legitimize illegal immigration.

Over 17 years since I have been publicly in the fight -- virtually every worse case scenario I have predicted or discussed has come to fruition. More are in the pipeline for sure.

For people to express any shock at all -- any -- in the numbers and the degradation of the school system is a joke. When you import 3-4 thousand illegal immigrants into a town of 10,000, you create problems. You cannot absorb that many unskilled and semi-skilled, non-English speaking people into a little town and expect anything other than a drain on services, additional costs, degraded quality of life, declining property values, a sinking home-ownership base, and all the problems inherent in such an endeavor.

This is what happens when you invite them to come. This is what happens when you don't fight their arrival. This is what happens when you legitimize their advocates, appoint them and their friends to positions, and seek only to blame everyone else for the problem.

The issue in Freehold is not "diversity" or "racism." The issue in Freehold is illegal immigration. Freehold has long been a "blue collar" town where legal immigrants and other diverse populations have settled. The radical transformation of Freehold and its decided deterioration in key areas is directly, proximately, and unmistakeably tied to illegal immigration.


I thought I might restate these issues -- in case I have been unclear in any of my thousands of posts.

Oh -- and I am in the fight until the illegals actually take charge -- in about 6-10 years. Ironically, others will also be out of "the fight" then too -- retiring on double and triple dip pensions.

[lisas84]

But the question remains: what could have been done legally and ethically to curtail the influx?

Part of the problem is that "all roads lead easily to Freehold," making it very easy for these people because they do not have to drive to get around and it is very easy for the companies to stop here to pick up their day labor. I don't think anyone secretly composed a letter in Espanol to invite all them here.

[BrianSullivan]

Jul 9, 2010 11:59:10 GMT -5 richardkelsey said:

Jul 8, 2010 23:47:04 GMT -5 adefonzo said:

I know the comments and arguments that are coming, but I'll state it anyway. The simple fact of the matter is that our schools are dying because of the influx of illegal immigrants into our town, and the inaction of our town council, our state government, and our federal government to do anything to deal with illegal immigrants in our country. "It's the federal governments responsibility!!" blah blah blah. Save it for another thread. Our schools are overcrowded and overburdened because we have been inundated with illegal immigrants who have been allowed to stay here long enough to not only give birth to children (making them legal US residents, another topic for another thread), but to have those children reach the age where they can attend, and then make it all the way through our schools. By the way...for those without kids...Kindergarten starts at age 5, 8th grade ends at age 13 (on average). That's how many years many of these folks have been taking advantage of the system...and i got news for you, the increasing numbers that are coming in next year...I'll bet the farm they will raise that "hispanic" percentage even higher.

It would be impossible to argue this obvious point.


Moreover -- what gets me -- probably more than any person, is that I have been talking about this for 17 years in Freehold. Yet -- people think I am the bad guy. I was writing on this problem and its ill effects since I coined the phrase "illegal invaders" in an op-ed in the Transcript in 1993. (That's about 10 years before the issue got hot, and 14 years before the talking heads started to talk about it)

In addition -- and I am sorry for puking this fact out yet again -- but I sat on the School Facilities Advisory Committee put together to look at why we needed more space in 1996. Who do you think raised that issue in 1996 before that committee of 30? How many eye-rolling, head-shaking, bitter-beer faced looks do you think I had to suffer from a committee packed with education industry insiders and sympathetic liberals. They literally thought I was crazy.

Now -- I could look back and take enormous satisfaction from being correct -- or I could be d**n sad about it. I can also be mad about it.

So -- when people ask me why I still fight for Freehold, and why I go hard after those in charge up there -- they ought to know that I have been on the front line of fighting and warning idiots for 17 years. So -- even I lose a bit of patience suffering some of these fools for so long.

It is true -- life took me and my wife elsewhere. We were the youngest of 7 kids in both of our Freehold Borough families. And, we followed my education out of the state. For some, that deprives me of the right to even have an opinion. However, I have been fighting for that town since I left. I fight hard for her because she is my hometown -- and she is a great town. I fight will others sit idly by, or vote with their feet.

I don't fight for political gain. I don't fight for economic gain. I don't fight for any other reason than loyalty and fidelity to my home and the remnants of my family still there.

I live in a nice home -- I drive a great car -- my kids go to GREAT, diverse, public schools. I have a great job, and I have been blessed with enormous opportunities and successes. The easiest thing for me to do would be to kiss off Freehold. Do I need my name in the Transcript? Get serious? Do I need to give up more of my time and effort to a place where many have already given up, and still others wish I would shut up? No -- I don't.

I have stayed in this fight to try to stop this exact result. At virtually every turn in the battle, I have been opposed by those who run the town -- and have run the town for more than 17 years. I have been opposed by them, their friends, their old colleagues, and their various politically motivated sycophants.

But -- here I am -- still fighting for Freehold and against illegal immigration, the friends of illegal immigration, and those who support, encourage, tolerate, or legitimize illegal immigration.

Over 17 years since I have been publicly in the fight -- virtually every worse case scenario I have predicted or discussed has come to fruition. More are in the pipeline for sure.

For people to express any shock at all -- any -- in the numbers and the degradation of the school system is a joke. When you import 3-4 thousand illegal immigrants into a town of 10,000, you create problems. You cannot absorb that many unskilled and semi-skilled, non-English speaking people into a little town and expect anything other than a drain on services, additional costs, degraded quality of life, declining property values, a sinking home-ownership base, and all the problems inherent in such an endeavor.

This is what happens when you invite them to come. This is what happens when you don't fight their arrival. This is what happens when you legitimize their advocates, appoint them and their friends to positions, and seek only to blame everyone else for the problem.

The issue in Freehold is not "diversity" or "racism." The issue in Freehold is illegal immigration. Freehold has long been a "blue collar" town where legal immigrants and other diverse populations have settled. The radical transformation of Freehold and its decided deterioration in key areas is directly, proximately, and unmistakeably tied to illegal immigration.


I thought I might restate these issues -- in case I have been unclear in any of my thousands of posts.

Oh -- and I am in the fight until the illegals actually take charge -- in about 6-10 years. Ironically, others will also be out of "the fight" then too -- retiring on double and triple dip pensions.

Rich, this post shows why it was a pleasure in co-authoring the recent letter with you. You do have your ear to the ground here and sometimes it is amazing how well you keep up on current events in your home town. That is more than we can say for way too many people who do live here.

[lisas84]

Rich, when you write "Oh -- and I am in the fight until the illegals actually take charge -- in about 6-10 years. Ironically, others will also be out of "the fight" then too -- retiring on double and triple dip pensions...." what will you do differently? And isnt' this a nationwide/federal issue, not one of a small town/county -- even state?

I say that because I imagine you could only be truly effective when working on the national level.

[richardkelsey]

Jul 9, 2010 12:30:04 GMT -5 lisas84 said:

But the question remains: what could have been done legally and ethically to curtail the influx?

Part of the problem is that "all roads lead easily to Freehold," making it very easy for these people because they do not have to drive to get around and it is very easy for the companies to stop here to pick up their day labor. I don't think anyone secretly composed a letter in Espanol to invite all them here.

On this post -- I will address one issue -- and then refer you to the thread I started in August 2006.


First issue -- critically important.


We did write them a letter and invite them here! LOL How short the memories are here.

Mayor Wilson and the Town Council actually worked with the our Federal Government -- under Bill Clinton, to set up and establish the muster zone.

In essence, they hung a sign out that spread like wild fire from family to family. Freehold is a sanctuary town for illegal aliens to come and procure work.

What happened? The dozens of illegals scattered about town or jumping into trucks at the 6-12 became hundreds of illegals in a few months spread out down the newly, Freehold created, muster zone.

Only after recognizing what he had done, did the Mayor move to try to change it. By that time -- the invitation had already been accepted. Thousands were here -- together with their advocates. They were emboldened by contractors and companies hiring them and a town letting them operate.

When the Mayor changed his mind -- it was too late.

Now -- as for what else could have been done and still could be done? The list is very big, and it is not insignificant. Indeed, not buried in this thread is some of the very specific, well-researched, aggressive legal tactics and causes of action.

freeholdvoice.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=475&page=1

Just remember, if you think litigation is too expensive, how much does it cost to educate 400 or more children of illegal aliens -- every year -- in the Borough? What is the cost of the decline in property values and lost revenues therefrom?

As I say in that piece -- the Borough can't win the National war -- but it's only obligation is to move the illegals out of its town. And, if every town took that approach, they would move from state to state and then where?

Let me just add this -- if the Borough officials aren't calling ICE every single day for the last 17 years, they not only aren't doing all they can do, they aren't even doing the minimum they should do.

[richardkelsey]

Jul 9, 2010 13:49:09 GMT -5 lisas84 said:

Rich, when you write "Oh -- and I am in the fight until the illegals actually take charge -- in about 6-10 years. Ironically, others will also be out of "the fight" then too -- retiring on double and triple dip pensions...." what will you do differently? And isnt' this a nationwide/federal issue, not one of a small town/county -- even state?

I say that because I imagine you could only be truly effective when working on the national level.

The only way to exert national pressure is through towns, counties, and states taking action and forcing the Feds to act.
Dozens of towns and communities have acted -- and in the case of places like Prince William County Virginia and the State of Oklahoma, it has sent illegals wind-sprinting out of the jurisdiction. (Not to mention AZ)

I agree that a national solution is necessary. I just happen to agree with the approach of the environmentalists. Think nationally, act locally.

[lisas84]

Do tell! I'd love to know how they did it. You may have detailed this in a way earlier thread, but it would be very interesting!

Thanks!