To the Editor: Rarely do we feel the need to comment on letters to the editors concerning the West Milford School District. People are entitled to their opinion and we are open to the free flow of ideas. However, the recently published letter from Barbara Carter is so misleading and factually incorrect that we feel compelled to clarify her inaccurate statements. Mrs. Carter claims that there are classes of 27 students in kindergarten, first and second grades. The average class size in these three grade levels is less than 20. Forty-three of the 45 sections in grades K-2 are below the board’s guideline of 25. There are no classes in grades K-3 with 27 students in West Milford schools as Mrs. Carter asserts. Mrs. Carter also compares the salaries of a teacher and a custodian with three years of experience. She does not clarify that the teacher works ten months and a custodian works twelve months. Equalizing the work year reveals that the custodian never earns more than a teacher. Additionally, the custodian has reached the top step after four years while a teacher will attain the maximum salary of the guide after 14 years and additional graduate study. Mrs. Carter’s comparison merely serves to mislead the public and misconstrue the facts. Mrs. Carter suggests the district could save hundreds of thousands of dollars by privatizing our janitorial services. Contrary to her assertion, the board has not only considered this option but piloted such a program in Westbrook School and rejected it for several reasons. Our experience, and that of other districts that have privatized, reveals that privatization brings with it high staffing turn-over, lack of accountability, inferior cleaning standards, understaffing, and key control and building access issues. A majority of our custodial staff resides in the district and takes pride in and ownership of our school facilities. We take serious issue with her allegation that one of our trustees negotiates with the custodial association. In accordance with the state ethics rules, trustees with relatives in the NJEA, either in our district or in any other district in the state, do not participate in negotiations, recuse themselves from executive session discussions, and abstain from voting. To assert otherwise is not only factually wrong, it’s dishonest! Yes, some board members do have relatives who work in the district, but most of these employees had their jobs before the related trustee was elected to the board. We hire the best person for the job, and we make no apologies for hiring qualified people who happen to be related to board members. Mrs. Carter’s campaign purports to be one of heightening awareness of how West Milford’s taxes are being utilized. On the initial reading of her letter, one might assume that is her intent. However, in targeting issues of this nature, she fails to inform the public of her own disregard for senselessly spending tax dollars and district employees’ time. Recently, she requested that the board of education office provide her with 51 documents that, of course, are legally available to all residents. Much of what Mrs. Carter requested, however, is available on the Internet, but she preferred to occupy several hours of staff time, and five hours utilizing the board office conference room to review these documents. This translates into privatizing our resources for one citizen, resulting in a very expensive price tag. Mrs. Carter is critical of the district’s spending, but she and others like her have no conscience about wasting that same money and employees’ time that could be better spent in productive work. Mrs. Carter calls for a new school board. Each voter naturally should decide who will represent them on the school board. We ask, however, that their vote be cast with the proper and accurate facts in hand. Mrs. Carter’s misleading and inaccurate editorial does not provide residents with those facts. We are not looking for a dialog in the press. The above examples demonstrate that the public should take future comments from this source with skepticism. Glenn Kamp Superintendent of Schools Steven J. Cea Board Secretary/Business Administrator