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School referendum date moved to Dec. 9

By Jason Cohen
August 29, 2008 

The Edison Board of Education voted unanimously Aug. 21 to move the special bond referendum vote from Sept. 30 -- Rosh Hashanah -- to Dec. 9.

The special election vote was set to finance $58 million worth of new additions to elementary and middle schools throughout Edison, which were estimated to cost the average taxpayer about $65. The vote has already failed six times.

The date of the vote stirred up a tremendous amount of controversy within the Jewish community in Edison and Jewish organizations throughout New Jersey.

School Board President David Dickinson said it was in the best interest of the district to change the date.

"The board admits when it makes mistakes and hopefully the state legislature can make a law so that if a special election does fall on a holiday, the election can be changed," Dickinson said. 

"We are pleased the Edison School Board saw it fit to change the date and understood the issue," Josh Pruzansky, state director of Agudath Israel of New Jersey, said. "We would like to thank Superintendent DiMuzio and President Dickinson for their cooperation."

Jacob Toporek, the executive director of the New Jersey State Association of Jewish Federations said he is very pleased that the date of the vote has changed from Sept. 30 to Dec. 9. 

"I joined with other Jewish organizations, drafted a letter that we sent to the school board, and we are very glad that it's changed," Toporek said. 

Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg, spiritual leader of Congregation Beth-El of Edison, had previously brought the date conflict to the public's attention and to the attention of state and local leaders. Rosenberg told The Jewish State he is very happy it's over.

"The battle started four years ago, when Edison wanted to have school on Rosh Hashanah and I really just don't understand why and how they don't get it," Rosenberg said.  

Rosenberg said he's not so sure that the school board really gets what they did wrong here, but they may have caved in because they received enough votes to change the date and some members are up for re-election.

"More importantly, I simply don't believe the board changed the vote because of the Jewish community reaction," Rosenberg said.

Cynthia Bloom, the co-president of Congregation Beth-El, said at first she was extremely angry that the board didn't consider the date, but due to the pressure of the Jewish community and the media, the date was changed.

"I'm thrilled that they changed the date," Bloom said. "Overall, it wasn't just the Jews that helped get it the date changed, but a community-wide effort."

Bloom added, "It was nice to see politicians come together and do the right thing."

Craig Prupis, an active member of the Edison Jewish community, also pressed officials to change the date. He had been quoted in a local paper reminding board members of his and the Orthodox Jewish community's role in their election, but said the remark was taken out of context.  

"I told [School Board Vice President Joseph] Romano that if the vote was on Rosh Hashanah, members of the community wouldn't vote for any board member that was up for re-election in April," Prupis said. "I was insistent that I wouldn't support them in re-election if they held the vote then, [but] it was nothing personal, because I am friends with Joe Romano."

The board needed to understand that if the vote were held on Rosh Hashanah, there would have been backlash within the community, Prupis said.

"Luckily the board wised up, had a change of heart, and changed the date of the vote," he said.

Kathryn Forsyth, the director of public information for the state Department of Education, had said the board of education -- not the state -- had to change the date of the meeting.

"The board decides when they want to hold the special election, there was nothing we could do to change the date," Forsyth said.

Howard Beigelman, the deputy director of public policy for the Orthodox Union, said the organization is pleased that the board changed the date of the vote to prevent Edison's Jewish community from being disenfranchised.

"This was a textbook case of the Jewish community working together," Beigelman said. "Local leadership on the ground, in concert with national secular and religious Jewish organizations, partnered to speak with one voice. Combined with strong advocacy by [State] Senator Barbara Buono, Assemblyman Peter Barnes, Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan, and Assemblyman Gary Schaer such unity helped focus the board on the issue at hand."

Allyson Gall the New Jersey area director of the American Jewish Committee said she is very happy the date was changed.

"The American Jewish Committee is very happy the date was changed and, more specifically, the opportunity was collegial in where all of the Jewish organizations worked together that showed when there's more clout more can get accomplished," Gall said. 

Etzion Neuer, the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, New Jersey region, said he is very pleased that the district recognized that their initial decision was perceived as being insensitive and they saw fit to change the date of the vote to December.

"This whole dispute was terribly unfortunate and might have been avoided if the superintendent had consulted with members of the local Jewish community before making a decision," Neuer said. "At this point, we should ensure that there is no lingering resentment so that Edison can continue to maintain its reputation for being a place where people of all backgrounds are treated with dignity."