Editor’s Note: The following is the Candidate Statement originally submitted by BOE Candidate Arik Samson to TapInto in response to that website’s questions regarding the value of Shared Services Agreements. We present it in it’s unedited and uncensored form.

I think it begins with a critical examination of the contract itself. For example, while I am in full support of police in schools I cannot accept a contract that has no ceiling and deviates from what other Districts are doing. Earlier this year, I attended a BOE meeting to make this known.

I have also written about the troubled history the Township and County have had in connection to shared services. .

It appears that some BOE Members are willing to accept any terms as long as it avoids conflict with those who are in positions of political power. The turf field fiasco was a clear example of this. The Township was dishonest and aggressive throughout the entire process and as one thing after another was being uncovered the response was “we have to move forward” with no discussion on what guardrails are going to be in place in order to ensure that these types of circuses are no longer perpetrated upon our schools by political machines.

The debates that BOE Members have about bills and agreements are not small — it is the primary function of the BOE. To minimize it demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the BOE’s role. I agree, however, the desire of BOE Members to push to pay problematic bills or enter into agreements blindly not only takes attention away from what should be the District’s focus but also advocates for moving dollars away from those very areas into the hands of consultants and special interests.

In summary, the Shared Services Agreements should be guided by the agreement itself which means asking hard questions and having the debates up front. A BOE Member must also be willing to risk not being liked by Township leaders whose agendas are satisfied by these agreements and community publications that act as their marketing partners.

Arik Samson
Candidate for Berkeley Heights Board of Education