Dear Editor:

An article about the New Jersey School Boards Association building renovation project (“N.J. school cuts won't stop lobbyists,” June 20) starts with a faulty premise: It links a building renovation project approved in March 2009 and started a few months afterward with events—state school aid cuts and school budget defeats—that occurred a year or more later. In fact, the NJSBA project will not result in an increase in members' dues, nor will NJSBA incur any debt to complete it. It is a fiscally prudent effort to repair a dilapidated building.

NJSBA is housed in a 47-year-old building with corroded and leaking water pipes that have resulted in significant damage to offices; a leaking roof; an unreliable HVAC system that has caused a computer system failure; water pooling in the elevator shaft; no fire sprinklers; mold problems and asbestos. We are renovating the structure to be a low-maintenance, functional office building that will not impose a financial burden on local boards of education.

The article inaccurately states that NJSBA dues increased by 73 percent in the 11-year period ending 2008-09. The reporter came up with the inflated figure by picking as the base 1998-99, a year in which the Association gave its members a one-time dues rebate. Without the one-time rebate, the increase for the 11-year time span would have been less than seven-and-a half percent. (A 12-year comparison, 1997-98 through 2008-09, shows a 7.1 percent increase.) The reporter had full access to our financial reports going back to 1996 and should have been aware of this fact.

Significantly, the article fails to mention that, each year since 2003, NJSBA dues have remained stable or have been reduced. Nor does it state the fact that NJSBA's policies and decisions are driven by its members--local school boards, not by a group of employees in Trenton. It mentions NJSBA's surplus, but does not cite the major sources of that surplus: (1) the sale of three field offices, which took place after consolidation of operations (and a staff reduction of 30%); and (2) exhibitor fees, a non-tax source, from our annual conference.

The reporter mentions the substantial savings received by two school districts in the Record/Herald News readership area as a result of NJSBA’s energy-buying cooperative. However, the article does not make note of the fact that, during 2010-2011, participating school districts will save two-and-a-half times the amount of statewide dues through the cooperative.

Finally, the article refers to NJSBA as a lobbying group. Only about 10 percent of NJSBA's resources go toward governmental relations, and those activities are restricted. The vast majority of our resources go toward on-site, in-district services and consultation for boards of education, as well as training for board members.

The NJSBA board of directors, a group consisting of local school board members from all 21 counties, made a financially sound decision when it approved the renovation of the organization’s headquarters building. The board of directors does not deserve the inaccurate portrayal of its decision and the unwarranted criticism engendered by the article.

Sincerely,

Raymond Wiss, President
New Jersey School Boards Association