Jeffrey Brookner
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Comments
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On the article More Security Personnel Considered at High School
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On the article Breslin, Barlow, Kurdyla Earn BOE Seats
Jeffrey Brookner
10:23 am on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
ReplyCongrats to Pat on his reelection, and to Jackie and Aaron on joining the BOE. I look forward to working with you in the coming year.
Dan and Cindy -- It has been an honor being on the Board with you. Your service is very much appreciated (by me, at the very least) and I hope you stay involved.
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On the article Outages Drop as JCP&L Adds More Manpower
Jeffrey Brookner
8:56 am on Saturday, November 3, 2012
ReplyIt is an outrage that the utility crews are staying at a single location long enough to actually fix the problem. Instead, they should be driving around from one downed pole to another, staying just long enough for people to see that they are out there doing something.
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On the article Watch Group to Keep Close Eye on BOE
Jeffrey Brookner
9:55 am on Friday, October 5, 2012
Roberto,
Hearing you say that the BOE is the "absolute worst in decades" is fine -- you are entitled to your opinion. But it troubles me to hear that you think the members of the BOE are in it for our own personal gain.
I hope you will take the time to call me (my work number is 908.595.2200) to discuss why you have this opinion and what I can do differently to serve the community better. I can't promise that I will agree with you, but I am more than willing to listen and carefully consider your opinions.
Thanks!
Jeffrey Brookner
Member, B-R BOEPlease note that anything I say in this forum is my own personal opinion. I do not have authority to speak for the Board of Education.
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On the article Absentee Policy Penalizing Good Kids, Parents Say
Jeffrey Brookner
6:15 pm on Sunday, September 30, 2012
ReplyThe policy only comes into play if a kid misses 16 classes in a year-long class. Two out-of-state funerals for 2 days each and two weeklong illness still leaves you 2 days to play with!!!!! This is hardly draconian.
Plus, the consequence of going past 16 is that you have to go before an informal committee to explain your absences. If you can, you'll be fine.
As to full day kindergarten, we'd have to add 5ish percent to our budget and build bathrooms to comply with state law. Plus, class size at grades 1-4 would go up. I love the idea, but we can't do it right now.
Please note that I speak for myself, not the BOE.
Jeffrey Brookner
Member, B-R BOE -
On the article District Adds Sample Lessons to Curriculum
Jeffrey Brookner
11:46 am on Saturday, September 8, 2012
ReplyWe took a district-wide survey, giving teachers the opportunity to bring their complaints "to the highest levels". This was one of the most common complaints teachers had.
And by the way, it is worth mentioning that the curriculum revisions are made by committees consisting of one supervisor and anywhere from two to ten teachers. They are not imposed from on high. Instead, they represent a formal, structured opportunity for our teachers to benefit from the collective experience of our staff, including supervisors and teachers.
Once again, these comments are my own, not the board's, blah blah blah.
-- Jeffrey
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On the article District Adds Sample Lessons to Curriculum
Jeffrey Brookner
2:20 pm on Friday, September 7, 2012
ReplyGeesh, what a tough crowd!
It would be misguided to provide detailed, lesson-by-lesson guides for teachers to follow mindlessly. But when teachers complain that they aren't getting enough guidance and support from Wade, I don't see anything wrong with providing them with more guidance and support.
As before, teaches will be given considerable leeway to develop their own daily lesson plans, consistent with their own style and drawing upon their own education and experiences.
Please note that these comments are my own and don't necessarily reflect the opinions of the Board or any of its other members.
Jeffrey Brookner
Member, BRRSD -
On the article POLL: Obama Backs Gay Marriage
Jeffrey Brookner
2:31 pm on Friday, May 11, 2012
A true "conservative" believes in limited government. A liberal believes in using government to control other people's lives. It is ironic to me that so-called "conservates" are on the liberal side of this argument, and so-called "liberals" are on the conservative side.
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On the article POLL: Obama Backs Gay Marriage
Jeffrey Brookner
2:26 pm on Friday, May 11, 2012
Let's suppose we could all agree that marriage is an "abomination to the Lord." Fine. What right would that give us to tell other people they can't do it?
As a previous poster pointed out, many people (including Jesus Christ, btw) think it is an "abomination to the Lord" to eat pork and shellfish. Why shouldn't we ban that? Because it is none of the government's damn business, that's why.
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On the article Board: Rerouting Buses Won't Fix Overcrowding
Jeffrey Brookner
11:21 am on Thursday, March 15, 2012
Moving the AI program to Bradley Gardens has been discussed, but there are two significant drawbacks. First, the school does not have the capacity (classrooms, cafe-tori-nasium usage, etc.) to absorb 100+ kids. Second, we'd rather not tuck the program into a corner of town. Kids from Martinsville and Bound Brook would have a very long commute.
Please note that these comments are my own. I have no authority to speak for the BOE on this or any other topic.
Jeffrey Brookner
Member, BR-BOE
Jeffrey Brookner
4:14 pm on Friday, December 21, 2012
I agree that decisions about security should not be made without input from experts. I was simply trying to temper expectations about what we can expect to accomplish with our limited resources.
In particular, I don’t think anything we can prevent the type of tragedy that occurred in Connecticut. If (God forbid) someone shows up at one of our schools with military-grade weaponry, forcibly breaks in, and starts shooting, they are going to kill people. This is terrifying, but true.
I did NOT say, and do NOT believe, that we should ignore security. There are many valid reasons to explore additional security options, and this will require thinking outside the box. But to come into it with the expectation that we can prevent a shootout is, in my opinion, misplaced.
The saving grace in all of this is that these events are extraordinarily rare.