This letter is from Christopher Nigro and deals with recent events surrounding Evesham Township and the Evesham Township School District.
If you watched the Senate hearing for Trump’s Education Department nominee, Betsy DeVos, you have to be startled. Someone with no background in education is being asked to head the department. Closer to home in Evesham, this scenario is a reality.
Politics has seeped into Evesham’s schools. Mayor Randy Brown has trumpeted his “schools should run like businesses” theory. His actions compromised any faith that the Evesham Board of Education can operate as a nonpartisan entity. Brown, who has no background in education, backed candidates who ran promising to reverse consolidation, despite demographic studies and education experts advocating consolidation to address declining enrollment. Reversing consolidation would be catastrophic for every student in our town by putting teachers’ jobs and students’ education in jeopardy.
Recent actions by Brown and Board Members Nichole Stone, Sandy Student and William McGoey further damaged people’s belief that they, as elected officials, are putting children, teachers’ and parents’ interests first. By following the lead of Brown, they betrayed the trust of their fellow board members by disrespecting the privacy of school employees and by making politics a priority over our children and the future of the district. Their actions were an egregious violation of the School Ethics Act, which school board members in the state must abide by.
As a concerned resident, I hope other residents echo my feelings children’s education should not be politicized. The board must operate as a nonpartisan entity and Brown must discontinue his detrimental meddling with the school district. Since some board members have shown they cannot be nonpartisan or abide by ethical standards, they should resign so the Evesham Board of Education, the township, and the public can begin repairing a fractured relationship.
Christopher Nigro
