Dear Editor,
A challenge for those in our community who are adamantly opposed to the passage of the $363 Million bond referendum to be held Oct. 6, 2022.
In the final stages of planning, the amount of the bond proposal was reduced more than $40 million to $363 million by two means: using a sharp pencil to make sure that needs included in the original plans either had been met through other funding sources, or finding other less expensive ways of achieving the same objective.
The plan is in place, the date has been set, and the community will vote on the bond referendum on Oct. 6, 2022. The basics of the argument in favor of passage are well documented on social media, in the Sun, and on CHCLC.org.
There have been many arguments against passage of the bond referendum on social media: it is too costly, there is lots of waste and fraud, the Superintendent and the BOE are untrustworthy and/or incompetent, the public is being deliberately misled, there is no transparency or accountability and many more.
Nowhere have those in opposition to the passage of the bond referendum made a coherent, detailed proposal addressing how to fix our schools. If they are not in favor of the comprehensive program that touches virtually every part of every school put forward in the referendum, what will be included and what will be deferred or eliminated, what time frame do they propose, and what “reasonable” increase in property taxes do you propose to support your plan? In plain language, it is time to put up or shut up.
We can look backward to place blame (the easy path) and do some part of what is needed, or we can look forward and fix the problem. The choice could not be clearer.
Andy McIlvaine
Cherry Hill
