Letter: 'No Such Thing as a Spending Cap' to Lacey BOE

Dear Editor,

The township of Lacey is really in shambles, and ironically enough, it is not caused by the town council. The recent news surrounding a potential 2.8 percent tax increase issued by the Board of Education should come as no real surprise to the residents.

Lets be realistic, when was the last time the Board of Education has made a decision that the town as a whole is happy with?

Most of these board members supported and pitched the solar panel project. This was supposed to pay for itself and save hundreds of thousands of dollars, but where has that gotten us? We saved a few bucks each of the last five years or so thanks to their poor planning and now they're asking for year's worth of no tax increases back in one year.

For years, the people of Lacey have walked up to the podium in the West Wing of the High School, which I'm sure we over planned for and are still paying for, and asked them not to use the surplus. Save when we still can and use the money when it is needed.

Let's not blame Superintendent Brower for this. She wasn't here. But let's talk about what she has done since joining the district last year: Spend our hard-earned money.

She claims to have a plan for the future of Lacey, but ever since she started, the only thing she and the Board have done is spend, spend, spend. A full-day kindergarten, block scheduling, random drug testing.

The list goes on and on and on, but leads to the same, never-ending yellow-brick road to Oz. To them, there's no such thing as a spending cap, instead a tree full of money. As our wallets empty, do you think any of these initiatives is actually helping the district? Nope. Lacey Township is currently the 334th out of 590 in the state, and declining. Seems like money well spent to me.

There's no doubt that Lacey Township is still feeling the effects from Hurricane Sandy. People are still without homes. We're all penny pinching because lets face it, the next storm could be worse. Little did we know, the next storm wasn't from Mother Nature herself, but was formed by our own people. Citizens that we voted in.

While I don't always agree with what the Town Council has done over the last five years, they have at least been up front and tightened their own belt. They've added only when absolutely necessary and erased high-cost programs, replacing them with ones that pay for themselves.

Maybe its time the Board of Education learned from the five members of the Town Council, who oversee a larger budget, with more limitations.

If this isn't possible, we need to make a stand. Show the Board of Education who is really in charge of this town's money. Call your local congressman or the Department of Education to show your displeasure. When the time comes, hit them where it hurts…at your local polling place.

It's time to take back what is rightfully ours. The Township of Lacey.

From,

Tim LeCras
A Former Lacey BOE Supporter