Let alone how much as East Brunswick taxpayers we will be wasting fighting this lawsuit just like the board of education tried to fight the school being opened.

Is it really a big secret that people contact their elected council people and ask them not to support things they don't want to pay for? I hope the school's got something better then that. What a bunch of Bully's! People in town tell their council people they don't want to pay for this joke of a school anymore and the school tries to sue them? What a bunch of sue happy idiots!

Not sure I understand "pay for". Where ever the school is located has no bearing on what how much the school gets allocated to them. The school is here to stay, The board of ed tried to stop that and failed and all the tax payers of East Brunswick got out of that was a charge for attorney fees.

Gideon, you clearly are trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. People contact their officials about stuff all the time. I signed a petition the other day against the practice of fracking. This is the United States of America.

Oliver

The council was only allowed to use the public record that the zoning board based their ruling on. Other information should not have played into this. This is what the township attorney instucted them to do, I was amazed that then Council President Hughes was able to talk about items not on the public record but at the second meeting he remebered that he needed to recuse himslef see he had a "conflict", He should have not been allowed from the start as it is on record that he was on the same board of ed that tried to stop the school from opening in the first place.

Actually, the press release left out a couple of interesting facts. Such as the statements from councilwomen contrino that her decision to turn down the variance was influenced by her reading these patch articles and the comments posted. Then she raised safety concerns. Yet, the township police department issued a report on the project with no safety concerns. Amazing, even the police don't know how to do their job.

Anyway, since we all know that she reads these postings, maybe she should reconsider her position in intentionally disrupting the education of 200 young children at a school that has been in existence for years. I wonder how she would feel if I was voting on the future for her children with no real vested interest (other than political maneuvering).

She is not council material. After witnessing on TV her verbally attack Nancy Pinkin over a smoking ban ordinance, I immediately realized that she was a poor choice for this community.

This school drops a press release every time someone sneezes there. An article to say they will sue, and article to say they are suing, what's next?

FOLKS, THIS ARTICLE SAYS IT ALL: http://eb.gmnews.com/news/2012-03-15/Front_Page/Council_expresses_support_for_state_charter_school.html

During its Feb. 27, 2012 meeting, the council voted unanimously in favor of a resolution to support the enactment of New Jersey Assembly Bill 1877, which would introduce voter input into the charter school process through a ballot measure during school elections.

“I’m usually all for any legislation that puts control of our residents’ tax dollars into their hands,” said council President Michael Hughes. “And that’s exactly what this bill does.” “When 66 percent of the tax bill in East Brunswick goes to fund education, I think they [residents] do deserve a say in how that money gets spent,” said Hughes, a former member of the East Brunswick Township Board of Education. HIDDEN AGENDAS AGAINST HATIKVAH - NAH!!!

“The system in New Jersey is broken, and it needs to be fixed,” said Deborah Cornavaca, who serves as vice president on the East Brunswick Public Library Board of Trustees. YEP - THE SAME CORNAVACA THAT IS NOW A DEFENDENT IN THE TOWNSHIP'S LEGAL PROBLEMS!! She's on the Public Library Board, and was elected there by the council!!

“I think this is a step in the right direction in having local government take back what should be ours,” said Councilwoman Camille Ferraro. - TOTALLY UNBIASED OF COURSE. SHE'S NEVER STEPPED A FOOT IN HATIKVAH. HIDDEN AGENDA AND UNETHICAL.

This entire situation, as the press release states was a coordinated effort between the council members and objectors over a course of many months. Don't forget that they were also assisted by the BOE in house transporation director all acting on the public's dime during working hours. This has apparently all been revealed as exactly what most suspected. A very shady, back-door way to attempt to close a PUBLIC school.

With any hope, the attorney general should come to town and see what other dirty laundry they can air in front of the voters!

So the emails with council were about passing a local referendum bill? So, is that what they were working on, or is it as the press release suggests that they were talking with council members about the zoning bill? Which is it?

Good idea, Ed. And, while there at it, they can examine the finances of Hatikvah.

No, the council passing a bill was last year (2012). It demonstrates a bias to the school's existence. One that should have resulted in certain council members recusing themselves from the hearing. The current e-mails were in order to coordinate efforts to get the variance overturned. Again, no one stepped aside except for Hughes, but that was after he got his statements on the record at the first meeting.

Ed, how is that bias? There are plenty of charter school supporters and parents who support the local referendum bill in the legislature. Even the NJ Charter School Association admits NJ's charter school law is broken.

Change the charter school laws....change the variance appeal laws....whatever....but in the end, it seems to me that the question comes down to:
Does the town council have the right to decide to uphold the master plan of our town's zoning despite any personal or political biases? Shundler and Cerf didn't have a personal bias when they allowed Hatikvah to open despite low resident enrollment numbers? Sure they did, but the law allowed them to do it anyway. I mean...Republicans and Democrats usually vote by idealogy.....what's the difference here? Can a few Democrats sue an all Republican council because they support the Republican party platform and vote that way?

The council is just trying to right a wrong. Sure, somehow this religious school was approved by the state. But it is clearly a religious school hiding behind a thin self described veil of "international". No clear minded person could drive by the current location, look at the signage, and conclude otherwise.

Anyone who believes that church and state should be separate, which was one of the fundamental drivers of this nation's founding, would vote to shut this school down.

While we are at it, busing children to a Catholic school on the taxpayer's dime is also clearly unacceptable. End it now.

Like the "beautiful" warehouse schools in New Brunswick? No playground, no windows, no decent facilities. It's a warehouse. You can't polish a turd.

To BD: I don't know much about the New Brunswick schools, but I know that the Lexington property is going to have a very large playground, basketball court, brand new everything (classrooms, bathrooms, common areas, hallways, gym) and that there are windows in all of the classrooms. You know what else? It will have full building air conditioning. So don't be so quick to judge unless you have seen the floorplans for the building. Also, this building is located on 10 acres of property. So again, it can't be compared to whatever the situation in New Brunswick is/was. Even looking at the photo above - that does not resemble a warehouse because it isn't. It's offices. From another post, "One solution is Hatikvah could demolish the entire building, construct a new one and call it a school. At least Deborah and Christine wouldn't be able to run around telling the public they are moving into a warehouse."

Well, in fairness, you could polish it and even put a playground on it, but it'd still have lunch box trucks and 18 wheelers for neighbors!

Kelly, why is it acceptable for people to live next to lunch box trucks and 18 wheelers, as they presently do on Morgan Place, but not acceptable for a school or a church to be next door? Prior to the church being there, the town approved the opening of the High Road School on that site and they eventually outgrew it!

Drive around town, Irwin school has Racetrack Road as a neighbor. Bowne Munro is next to an industrial site (Verizon). Chittick is next to heavy traffic that is non-stop all day. Someone wanted to build houses next to Chittick and provide a walkway from the development to the school so kids wouldn't have to walk on Old Bridge Turnpike. And the town said NO. They said crazies would hide on the walkway in the bushes and mug the kids. So, better to let them walk along OBT.

I have been on Lexington Avenue hundreds of times over the years and can honestly tell you that it is a very quiet dead end street with little traffic. I've sat on the side of the road near that large open detention basin with headphones on and watched as 1 car would go by every 5-10 minutes. I'd rather attend a school on a street like that then on Racetrack Road where every car that goes by does so within feet of the swing sets.

You should interview the parents, who are more concerned about their children than you could be. They like the location. You just despise the school. Any location they choose you would be posting criticisms.

Kelly - your previously posted comments about wishing the school would close invalidates pretty much most of what you have to say. The closing of the school is the only option you would accept. Everything else you say is purely diversion from your real goal.

Gideon, so does your wanting to keep it open invalidate your judgement of whether its an appropriate location for a school, also?

I agree with everything that Andrea has said. I can guarantee that if one of the existing BOE schools in town were torn down, and Hatikvah wanted to build a new location in the same spot, the anti-charter crowd would claim (lo and behold) that it would be unsafe...despite the BOE public school having been there for many years.

The move against the building of course has nothing to do with the building...and is simply a grasping at straws to try to cause trouble for Hatikvah with the hopes that parents will get frustrated and take their children out of the school.

Newsflash: Hatikvah is here to stay. The parent body is supportive of the first-class education our kids are receiving. (If we weren't, we thankfully have other choices.) And once this case is heard in a court of law, we are confident that justice will be served and the school will open next September on Lexington Avenue...and our rights, as well our children's rights, to a beautiful, safe, building which all who have toured the facility know will enhance their educational experience,

You are starting to sound like a conspiracy theorist Gideon.

Dear Mr. Murray:

Orthodox? I have been to the school. I have never seen so many "orthodox" blacks, asians, and muslims in one place. I am happy to see young children of different backgrounds learning together. This ensures they won't grow up to be a prejudiced intolerant bigot like yourself!

Oh, please. Everyone knows EXACTLY why this school was set up, and for whom. You aren't fooling anyone.

I for one know EXACTLY why this school was set up, and for whom. It was opened to provide a better education than our lackluster BOE is providing elsewhere in town. As far as for whom, anyone can go there. Hopefully that answers your questions.

You keep telling yourself that, dear. Shalom.

Last I checked EB schools were still blue ribbon. As to the quality of Hatikva's education, will we ever know? When will the school publish the standardized test results? All we have as of now are unsubstantiated claims of superior education.

Jack

You where the one who used the word orthodox. I mearly pointed out that they would not send their children to the school as they would want religious study as well. I sent my kids to private school so they would get the religious education so I would have not used the school had it existed at the time, The school has the right to exist whether you like it or not so get over it, The foundation went through the proper process to win zoning approval and my feeling is that town council did not give a fair and impartial hearing on the matter,

It is now up to the courts to decide

Dear Mr. Murray:

I agree with you. Those that want religious education should send their children to private schools, at their own expense. But the charter school does not teach any religion. As a result, you won't find "orthodox" students enrolled. Their parents send them to religious schools, Yeshivas, places where study of religion is central to education. Simply, the charter school does not satisfy that educational requirement to those families.

When the average person in East Brunswick realizes that this school does not teach religion, then attitudes will change. Next, they will examine the teaching methods, styles, and studies on language immersion at an early age as well as test scores. Finally, the BOE will be forced to improve what they have neglected for decades.

But before you get into this, watch a couple of BOE meetings on the library website. See how complacent and discouraging most of what they do really is. Except when they float referendums to build huge expensive schools as monuments to themselves.

Jack, you can call yourself devoutly religious and then attack a whole community? You seem to have a warped definition of what it means to be devoutly religious.

FromEB: I think you are remembering this the way you want to remember it. The township's attorney said they could only make their decision based on info presented in the record. So far, I've heard no reason to suggest they did anything but that. The attorney never told the council members to cover their ears or stop reading the newspaper. But, he said their decision could only be based on the record. The video shows him counselling them throughout the meeting and facilitating the entire meeting.

BobX3

In the record means the zoning board records. Have you ever been on a jury you can't do research on your own. You can only use the facts present in the court room and in this case it was the zoning board records that approved the variance,

It is now in the courts hands to figure this all out.

BobX3, Nancy Pinkin admitted to performing her own personal investigation by calling the State of NJ DOE and the county superintendent in her quest to undermine the validity of the zoning board decision. She was looking for something to hang her hat on. Now, it is evident that she did this in coordination with the objectors. And to think she wants to run for an assembly seat? Very unethical and disappointing. She should have known better.

These types of off-the-record, behind the scenes activities are not appropriate (and questionably legal I assume). It's like someone pulling the judge aside and saying "hey, lets have a cup of coffee and I'll tell you my side of the case, give you some documents to review and then let you do some investigative work using my notes."

If they cared, why didn't the council members attempt to visit the school to interview the principal or their staff? Or ask for the opinion of their lawyer? Obviously that would have been wrong too.

I think the readers have to acknowledge the fact that for years this school has had to defend itself against every type of litigation, appeal, etc and this is just one more example of how far a certain few are willing to go to close it. After the BOE lost the court case, the superintendent went on a PR mission to discredit the school and then it was published that she was providing information to others to fight charter schools elsewhere on the taxpayers dime. I find this abusive and offensive.

So what was the point of the hearing? What about the public comment section of the Council meeting where this case was discussed? Why did they even have these?

Andrea, since you claim to know everyone's actions, please tell us how many times did Hatikvah representatives contact council members during the appeal? Better yet, how many conversations did Hatikvah representatives have with Zoning Board members during their zoning application process?

BobX3, the public comment section was the forum for people to address the council with statements only (no questions). Not one person who spoke was against the school. In fact, in a town of almost 50,000 residents the only 2 people against the school were the two women who filed the appeal. Regarding your other question, the only reason the appeal went before the township council was to make the zoning board decision into a political one, which throws it before a bunch of elected politicians. Otherwise, the women could have appealed to superior court, but they did not have the money and knew that by courting the council members over many months they would have a better outcome at the township level. The Eisenreich Foundation was not courting council members or playing politics. They hired engineers, architects, traffic experts, planners, surveyors, and environmental experts and put on a case before the zoning board which spanned 2 public hearings. They needed a 2/3 vote of the board to get approved and actually got a unanimous approval.

The women who appealed to the council also showed up at the two zoning board meetings with a guy from the board of education office who they had been "working with" to find ways to discredit the application. This has been their objective since day one. They will concoct stories trying to say otherwise, but to close the school is their only goal. Now the taxpayers get to foot the legal bill.

Andrea, yes, I realize Hatikvah spent money on all those professionals to make their case. I'm asking you about representatives of Hatikvah conversing with zoning board members while their application was pending, and representatives of Hatikvah conversing with council members during the appeal process.

FromEBNJ said they can only use the record so I asked why there even was a hearing or public comment section at the council meeting, then?

I believe you are off on your count. At the zoning board meetings, I count 2 people speaking against and one speaking in favor, during public comment. And, at the council hearing, I counted 4 speaking against and 5 in favor.

Bobx3, I think Andrea is referring to those who spoke at the council meetings, not the zoning board. The 2 against at the zoning board were the 2 women who appealed the decision. The same women who did not provide even one expert witness or any factual testimony, but rather opinionated statements about the location which were unfounded or unsupported by any experts or the township professionals and various agencies that reviewed the application thoroughly and wrote reports on their findings and recommendations.

The town does not own my money. I pay $14,000/year in taxes and 65% goes to the school system. I choose what school I want my child to go to. What's the problem Jack?

I beg to differ, Andrea. Would you expect the township to not apply your share of taxes towards the rec budget to instead pay for a gym membership at NYSC if you choose? The entire town benefits from a beautiful park system in the same way we all benefit from a healthy public school system - even those who don't utilize either benefit from them. Your sense of entitlement is harmful and scary.

Kelly, your posting is hypocritical. Because what you are saying is that if I choose to send my child to the Memorial School, instead of the charter school, then that is acceptable.

But next year when they cut out park maintenance from the budget because they wasted $100,000 in litigation don't complain about a charter school. I personally hope they triple the membership fees at Crystal Springs to fill the budget shortfall or maybe push up the tax rate a little. How about scale back garbage collection and snow plowing? Everyone in town will know why there is less money to go around and vote accordingly.

Andrea, the town stands to lose $80K EACH YEAR in ratebles if the school were to move into 7 Lexington. Even if it cost the township 80k to defend itself, it'd be in the same financial state this year as if the charter had already moved into that building.

Kelly, you are talking in circles, this question was answered on the other board. I pasted the post below for all readers:

"The Municipal Land Use Law (State Statute) does not recognize taxable concerns when deliberating a land use case. For example, you cannot vote down a residential development because it will result in school age children and hence an increase in the tax burden to educate said children. Similarly, the law does not permit the denial of a variance to a non-profit entity simply because it results in a tax revenue impact. Zoning boards and planning boards do not debate tax implications."

Andrea that was an opinion on why the zoning board should not examine financial effects on the town. What is the relevance of that to a discussion of comparing how much a lawsuit will cost vs. losing rateables?

Kelly, that posting was not an "opinion" as to why the zoning board should not examine financial effects on the town - it is the LAW in NJ. It is ILLEGAL for a zoning or planning board to render a decision where any tax effect is a consideration. If that were the case no one could open a church, a non-profit, a university building, or government office. Those are all tax exempt.

Your question seems like a loaded one. What I interpret your question as posing is the following:

The council should not allow the school to occupy that building because they will lose tax revenue.

Am I misunderstanding your question?

Yes, Andrea, I think you misunderstand. If you'd like to have some dialogue about what the zoning board should've considered, we can have that conversation.

The point I made is that you are trying to make an issue out of the cost of the lawsuit, when the cost of this school to have opened in this location would've actually costed more.

Two entirely different conversations. Again, try to follow along.

Kelly, I'm interesting in your opinion as to what the zoning board should have considered. If they were overlooking something, did you attend the meetings to fill in the gaps? Did you ask questions at the meeting?

Just curious Kelly, what building in town could the school occupy without the building becoming a non-taxable property? Please post a list of those properties below.

If the owners of 7 Lexington decided they would rather sell the building to a church then guess what? Tax exempt. Will you be filing an appeal on that one too?

According to the article, this comes from Hatikvah's press release. Of course, you are pointing the finger everyone else but there.

I don't know that we are all tax paying citizens. I read on here that at least one council member does not pay taxes.

Here we go again... another chance to call everyone who doesn't agree with people who disagree with ANYTHING in which a Jewish person involved an "anti-semite."

And here we go again... another person calling charters "public." No accountability to the public, and lots of profits for private investors. Hardly public, and definitely not for the public good.

You do not need to be an anti-semite to wonder why would someone create a charter school in the township with blue ribbon school system. There are some claims of superior education, but where are the standardized test scores to prove it? Three elementary schools in the district deliver scores at least 10 points higher (mostly 15-20 points higher) than the state average. So what problem exactly is Hatikvah addressing?

Jack - your bigoted comments stand for themselves. I am not Jewish, but they sure seem anti-semitic to me (and it seems to a number of other people). My statement was not a threat, it strongly suggests that now that the suit has been filed, the parties who are being sued should be careful with their comments, since they will become part of the record. Ms. Rampolla admitted providing anti charter school information to Nancy Pinkin after the filing of the appeal (which is not appropriate, its collusion). This is in her comments. This will surely not help the township's case. You want to be a good neighbor, before voicing your opinion - visit the school, you may learn something

Jack, I don't think you are prejudiced. But you should challenge others who perpetuate the rumors that the school is a religious school. The women who brought this appeal have dedicated their existence to closing down the school. Almost in a fanatical way. They are playing games and toying with 200 children who are learning and settled into a school all while using the council as their puppets. Seems the taxpayers are getting a raw deal, and I imagine this will get much worse if a court finds that publicly elected officials have been acting unethically as an abuse of their office. Ask Christie how he treats people like that.

Jack - you seem like a bright man. We have laws in this country to protect due process and rights. Here, due process was not granted. What do you expect the building owner to do? The council broke the rules multiple times by as evidenced by their own statements during the hearing (let's put the collusion and inappropriate sharing of information with appellants aside). You should be outraged at the council behavior, instead you make negative comments about people who have nothing to do with the building owner. Good neighbors want due process under the law for everyone...

James White has been running this town for many years and he is a straight up guy. His statement has value as he definitely wants to avoid spending legal fees to eliminate waste. He is probably looking into the case and considering what may come out in court and how that could affect the township's ability to defend the council members actions. He did not ask for this lawsuit and I'm sure if there was unethical behavior that now he has to attend to, maybe the council will be reconsidering their actions.

Ranger, it is absolutely possible that some of the charter's supporters may have a propensity to sue or want people to cater to them, and it has nothing to do with religion. In fact, there are probably supporters of this school of multiple religions of who those accusations apply. You don't get to take those issues off the table. You can't use false accusations of anti-Semitism to silence anyone who does not support this school.

NJ Teachers Union Spent Record $11.3 Million on Ads Criticizing Christie:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-07/n-j-teachers-union-spent-11-3-million-lobbying-last-year-2-.html

What a waste of my wife's union dues. Disgraceful, offensive, arrogant, pathetic.
The governor's response:

“I feel badly for teachers who pay their dues every year in order to have that kind of garbage put on the air,” said Christie, 49. “There’s a desperate need for change in leadership over there. They should be replaced, but apparently only a palace coup will do that.”

The NJEA’s communications expenditures were 15 times as much as the next-highest lobbyist, the AFL-CIO, the largest U.S. labor federation, which spent $700,352. The same AFL-CIO that Hatikvah Objector - turned defendant - Christine Rampolla is a well known lobbyist for. So you better keep tabs on how this is evolving since your going to get pickpocketed to pay for these two women's romp in using the council as pawns in their bigger picture game that seeks to eliminate any schools that threaten the good ol BOE's around NJ!

What I seem to recall about those Patch articles was 1) you were instructed by the Patch to stop slandering these two women unless you could prove they had some connection to the NJEA and 2) Someone else who is part of a group they are affiliated with threatened to sue you for slandering their organization. Has any of this changed, Michael?

Michael, can you give us a link to that Patch article?

Here is where the Patch asked you to stop: http://eastbrunswick.patch.com/articles/residents-appeal-hatikvah-decision
And, here is where you were asked by someone to stop slandering an organization they belong to: http://eastbrunswick.patch.com/articles/residents-appeal-hatikvah-decision

Michael, you are the liar. I posted the links to prove it above. But, no one has to take my word for it. The reputable Washington Post already declared you a liar: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/an-anti-obama-ad-featuring-a-jewish-democrat/2012/07/26/gJQA2h1hCX_blog.html

And, there you have it folks... this guy is a founder of the school. What a stand up organization the charter school is!

Looks like this was just filed. Hatikvah's last case took a couple years, didn't it?

Gideon, you are suing your critics to try and silence them? So taxpayers pay for the school and if you dare ask questions... well, I think the school has made its point.

No joysmove - the suit is about denial of due process, not about silencing anyone. Ones right to speak and ask questions should not infringe on the right to due process for anyone else. In this case, it's clear what happened. I actually think it would help the property owner if the defendants spoke out, it would be additional evidence. Anyone can ask questions, but denial of due process is wrong and illegal.

Lisa - Hebrew is a modern language spoken by many people (mostly in Israel). Hatikvah means hope in Hebrew. Nothing religious about it.

With all due respect, Hebrew is a dead language only spoken by Jewish people to other Jewish people in Israel. Even in Israel, the official language of business is English.

I am sure the school board is kicking themselves for not consolidating the elementary schools and leasing out the remaining building and actually turning some profit. After all, it takes leaders to make those decision. To most, the BOE has two goals: First, being an employment agency for the NJEA and second building huge expensive buildings as monuments to themselves!

Very true. When they had a chance to close Memorial School they didn't. We still don't know how much that school cost the EB taxpayers

Slav

Why because the EB BOE over built giant palaces that we no longer need and are now burdened with paying off the bonds they floated.

Maybe you don't understand how the charter schools are financed. Each district that sends students to the charter school pays the charter school 90 percent of what the cost is in that child's district and the district keeps 10 percent for administrative fees. This means that East Brunswick makes 10 percent for doing nothing. They basically used this money plus some of the other monies suing Hativah school in court when they tried to close them.

Now with the town council over stepping the zoning board we as taxpayers will be paying to defend this action in court and if the town does loose we will be paying damages to the owners of the property.

This is a good waste of taxpayer dollars.

My child attends Warnsdorfer. It is neither giant, nor is it a palace. It is however ranked 9/10 by the greatschools.com It is also pretty full. I do not see excess capacity in the school system at this time that would support the idea of closing one of the schools. No two elementary schools could accommodate the full student body. If you have the numbers that prove the opposite, please present them.

EB BOE is not perfect, and there is definitely some pork in the system. But it does provide first rate education for EB kids. So I still do not see the rationale for Hatikvah. Charter schools have their place in districts where public schools are failing to provide safe and effective learning environment. In a school district with blue ribbon schools, I see no purpose for them.

Slav,

The town used to have 9 elementary schools. Now they have 8. At one point, they actually had 7. But later re-opened one when enrollment increased in the 80's. The 9th one became a part of Churchill Junior High when they took 6th graders out of the elementary schools and converted Hammarskjold Junior High into a middle school.

Charter schools are not for inner city kids. Charter schools are about choosing one's education. They are regionally placed schools that draw from host communities and surrounding towns. I don't see an issue with having that choice. The enrollment data in the township school system shows a decline of 1,000 students since 2004 based on published figures. Another writer suggested the town close one elementary school and open a performing arts charter school and charge them rent. That is an excellent idea, but doubtful it will ever happen because the BOE lacks vision and innovation. They criticize the charter school for having outside funding when they should actually be taking notice, and considering that in their own budgeting.

You state that Warnsdorfer provides a first rate education. If a charter school provides a first rate education, are you still against charter schools?

Kenneth, if every parent pulls their kid out of a public school so that they can learn Swahili or Interpretive dance or a million other special interests that no school system could possibly accommodate, we would have no public school system left. We rely on public school system to provide the kids with basic education. It is up to the parents to do the rest if they so choose. Pulling kids out of some of the best schools in the state to place them in some fly-by-night operation with no track record and no accountability is a disservice both to the kids and to the public education system.

Slav, did you ever own a business? If so, were you offended if your competition called you fly-by-night simply because you were new? If the charter school was not doing things right then why would they have a waiting list?

Regarding your statements about every child wanting to learn something that interests them, I say let them. Parents should actively encourage them at the youngest age possible to take interest in something that they WANT to excel at and learn and then let them become a master at it. That is much better than shoving years of memorization down their throats to pass some standardized test.

Kenneth, There are so many charter school lobby soundbites in your post that simply aren't true. As far as the waiting list, Hatikvah often claims a waiting list while simultaneously having open seats in certain grades. Also, there is no verification process or any oversight of these supposed waiting lists by the DOE or any other body. They can claim waiting lists all they want, but they mean nothing. (Washington Post recent article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/02/10/the-exaggeration-of-charter-school-waiting-lists/) Second, on your point about standardized tests, the charter schools in NJ are required to submit students to the same standardized tests - unfortunate for both groups. Third, on your point of charter schools being meant to be regional, East Brunswick was the only district named as a host district unlike most charter applications, which negated any voice in the process for towns like Highland Park which are equally impacted by Hatikvah. Forth, your take on financing of charters is ridiculous, There is no mythical 10% left behind. The per pupil formula is based on a percentage of average students, but Hatikvah teaches a different population of students. Moreover, there was no savings to the district when the amount left with the students. No staff reduction, no reduction in fixed building expenses. You want to talk about being a business owner, imagine your overall income cut with no reduction in expenses.

Kenneth, you haven't caused enough harm to students in East Brunswick?. Now you want them to lose one of their school buildings and inconvenience families who'd like to send their children to the local neighborhood school?!

Jarhead, how can you be in favor of less districts and still support opening charter schools, when every charter school opened is one more school district? Each charter or LEA is treated as an additional school district by the DOE and has all the additional expenses included hiring one more SBA.

Should be interesting if there is a proven track record of harassment law suits by Hatikvah. Whose money is this school using to file all these law suits?