Officials must ensure that school reaches completion

In December 2003, approximately 5,300 Monroe voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum for a new high school plan, calling for the school to be built on 35 acres of Thompson Park. The reason so many voters in our diverse community approved this creative and cost-effective plan was because it addressed so many needs in our community, county and state.

The benefits included a campus approach to education; shared services between the municipal recreation department, the planned retirement communities and the Board of Education; "smart growth," so as to contain the burgeoning sprawl that has become so much a part of our landscape; and centralization of services.

The plan was crafted with innovative thought and collaboration amongst the diverse Monroe population. And yet, it has been allowed to stagnate to a crawl by a small group of individuals who would rather stall the process and create infinite delays requiring excessive reviews by bureaucrats, resulting in double-digit increases in costs.

These individuals do not represent the interests of the 5,300 voters who approved this plan, and they do not represent me.

Mr. Mayor, Assemblyman Baroni, Assemblywoman Greenstein, don't let this small group of self-involved, self-righteous individuals slow the wheels of bureaucracy anymore. Put in the extra effort and time needed to expedite this final requirement for a phase-one archeological study.

Mr. Mayor, I am counting on you to make this the highest priority and to follow through on the commitments you have made throughout this process. Only you have the ability to reach others in government to achieve our objective: swift and decisive final approvals.

We are tired of waiting and want immediate action. Three years and counting is long enough for our children's education to hang in the balance.

Lisa Weinthal

Monroe