News

Invested in Hoboken and Hoboken High versus the naysayers

This guest piece comes from Hoboken High School parent Steve Feinstein:
I have learned that at the 10/29 HBOE candidate forum James
Gilbarty, Natalie Rivera, Vanessa Falco and Brian Murray repeated over and over
again that our HS was full of non-Hoboken kids, had a violence and vandalism
problem and overall was a nasty place to be.
To my continued dismay, just as in the prior HBOE elections,
every candidate slate opposing the Kids First slate chooses to inaccurately,
misleadingly and unfairly bad-mouth the Hoboken school district, specifically
the high school.  Interestingly, the
school is quite the opposite of what these so called aspiring public servants
would have you believe.  I can’t tell you
if they’re purposely lying or they just choose not to learn what really is
going on, but they’re not providing anything near an accurate picture of the
HJSHS (Hoboken Junior-Senior High School). 
Please see for yourself, you’ll be shocked at how misleading (or misled
and not inquisitive) the above-named candidates are.  They must think this strategy (of lying to or
trying to mislead the voters) will get them into office.  I hope they’re wrong.
As a proud parent of two HJSHS students, one in 12th
and the other in 10th grade, I am here to set the record straight
and to publicly refute their disgraceful lies. 
Both of my kids are loving their high school experience.  They’re not afraid and neither are their friends.  Literally, there is no crime, vandalism or
violence of which I know.  I can say for
a fact the political opposition is either lying or being misled.
I can’t say for sure, but I can’t remember a time when the
political opposition did not bad-mouth the high school (and I’ve been living in
town for 20+ years).  I am happy to say
that they didn’t scare me.  It seems like
the idea is to scare people out of town so those in control of the HBOE don‘t
have to be accountable to anyone.  As a Hoboken
resident, a Hoboken parent and a Hoboken homeowner and taxpayer, this simply
enrages me. 
Why would people who are running for public office like that
engage in such destructive and hurtful behavior?  They say they care about the schools but
instead of learning for themselves, they spout lies and act as if they are
speaking with knowledge.  These
candidates claim to care about the Hoboken school district and claim that they want
to help the school district.  How does
bashing the district and spreading hurtful falsehoods (specifically the J-SHS)
help anyone?  They should know instead
that it hurts the kids, the parents, the staff and the administration, not only
of the J-SHS but of everyone in and involved in the district. 
Believe it or not, these are our kids, our friends and
neighbors and their kids (we are a community) and we are not criminals, nor
should we be stepped on or demeaned for going to or sending our kids to the
HJ-SHS.  So please stop engaging in
fear-mongering and attempts to mislead and tear down the progress at every
turn.  We are not leaving town when it is
time to send our kids to the high school and we will not be scared away by your
disgraceful tactics.  Sorry.
Also, the historical systemic, wide-ranging mismanagement
and administrative problems that plagued our school district when Kids First
won control away was the first and most important task to address and
correct.  Audits revealed questionable
accounting practices and the failure to collect funds due the district for
services provided.  Turning around years
of questionable (maybe corrupt) practices and a culture of failure takes a
great deal of time, determination and tenacity. 
I think the job Kids First has done so far is no less than
incredible.  They should not be stopped
now.  So, please vote for Irene Sobolov,
Leon Gold and Jennifer Evans on November 5. 
Thank you for reading.
Steven Feinstein

Leave a Reply