School budget vote in Jackson Township was ‘voice of the people’

In response to Jackson Board of Education President Chuck Murphy’s remark after the defeat of the proposed school budget ... "it was almost as if there was a stealth campaign against the budget..."

As defined in the dictionary, stealth is a secret or surreptitious procedure or action. No, Mr. Murphy, this was not a secret campaign. It was open and above board. No dirty politics. No slander. No mud slinging. Just plain, good old-fashioned "get out there and vote."

I think it was the "voice of the people." We, the people, gave our vote to defeat an unwarranted tax levy. It was an above board and open answer to the board ... "no more new taxes."

Furthermore, I think that the referendum that was passed to spend $103 million for school construction by a mere 10 votes is not an outright will of the people. Actually, nearly 50 percent of the people were against it.

I think that a spending proposal of such magnitude should require a two-thirds or three-quarters majority vote "in favor of" in order to be passed and accepted.

I guess the people of this township are asleep when it comes to voting. There seems to be too much of the "good old boys" here. We need new people on the Township Committee that truly have the interests of the people in their thoughts and accountability to the community. The people of the adult communities will not just sit back and watch money spending go wild.

Furthermore, Mr. Murphy should be aware that the senior citizens in this township will no longer just be a "meal ticket" for the school board or the municipal utilities authority or any other part of this township.

Bernard Wohlstetter

Jackson