Councilwoman addresses school bus times
Iwould like to address several points that were recently raised about Jackson municipal officials in another newspaper. First, my salary as a councilwoman is a gross pay of $722.33 per month (net $580.41 per month); my salary has not increased one cent. As a matter of fact, this is the same salary that the prior Township Committee members were receiving.

Second, as a parent who is in - volved in the many activities my children participate in, the change in the Jackson School District busing schedule for the 2007-08 school year was "discussed" among parents prior to the Board of Education election.

The first time that I, as a Township Council member, offi- cially heard about this change in the busing schedule was May 15 in a meeting with school board members and officials involved in the school board budget.

This change in the busing schedule was the sole decision of the school officials.

During the school board meeting to address the school budget, the recommended cuts had no impact on the school bus schedule. The change in busing times was not a recommendation by the township officials nor was it a recommen dation from the school budget re view process.

To blatantly blame township of ficials for the busing schedule changes is absolutely ludicrous because the township government has no control over the busing schedule. The school board is a separate gov erning body from the township.

There are many areas that the town and the school district can and will work together for the benefit of Jackson residents. One of the areas we are currently in the process of working on is to obtain a grant for a feasibility study for shared services.

So, as you can see, the town and the school district are working simultaneously toward a common goal of making Jackson the best community, and of course the children are a priority for they are our future.

In the future, if there are any concerns or questions, feel free to contact any of the Township Council members.

We are all here to work together.

Emily Ingram parent/councilwoman

Jackson