To the Editor: About 45 days have passed since I announced my candidacy for the West Milford Board of Education and told you about the $6,000.00 cafeteria tables or how they are better known as the “Golden Tables” and the windows at Marshall Hill School. Let me tell you what has happened and what I found since then. As for the windows at Marshall Hill School, we were told at the Budget Presentation meeting that they, the administration, decided not to finish the windows because the price had gone up for the materials in question after we voted to have them replaced. I believe we should have been told immediately that the price had gone up so we could stay informed instead of feeling like we were misled. I for one would have done that so we could stay informed. Originally there were to be 30 tables purchased ,which was announced at the Feb. 28, Board of Ed meeting and It was supposed to be for 5 tables at each one of our 6 elementary schools for $180,000 that is $6,000 per table. By the time the budget presentations started that price had dropped to $81,000. I was told at the Marshall Hill School Budget Presentation meeting that it would be for 18 tables and that amounts to $4,500 per table. Well let me tell you what I found. These are not your ordinary tables because these tables and benches can fold up separately into recessed wall cabinets. I called the manufacturer who directed me to the State Contracted Dealer in New Jersey. After I gave him the dimensions he got back to me with the prices. Are you sitting down? If your not maybe you should. For 30 tables and benches with cabinets it comes to a total of $76,500 delivered to our school district. That is a difference of $103,500 and if we allow $500 per table for installation and removal because 30 units would easily fit in one 30 yard dumpster and it is just a matter of unbolting and bolting in the new units, that would bring the total cost to $91,500 a savings of $88,500. Wait it gets better. Mr. Cea our business administrator said we could re-use our existing cabinets, which I agreed with him and Mr. Kamp when I met with them at Maple Rd School. The dealer gave me a price for 30 replacements tables and benches ,re-using our existing cabinets for $56,000 delivered to our schools which is a savings of $124,000 and there would be no installation cost because these attach and unattach the same way you open and close a garden gate ,a simple bolt and latch. By the way I spent about a half hour getting these prices. Next I looked at the gym lockers that are proposed to cost $100,000 and that is not for all the lockers in both the girls and boys locker rooms at the High School. After asking several times for the number of lockers being replaced, I stopped and looked in the boys locker room the night of the budget presentation at the High School and counted all the old 12”x12” lockers and divided by 2 because the administration wants to use 12”x24”lockers and came up with a total of 369 lockers for the boys locker room. I guessed the same amount in the girls locker room since I did not go in there and added 100 because about that many were already replaced in the boys locker room. That comes to a total of 838 lockers, which at a cost of $507.80 for each assembled panel of 9 lockers comes to a total of $47,281.82. I was told that our maintenance staff would remove the old lockers and if we hired 2 union carpenters for two weeks to install the lockers that would cost us approx. $40 per hour per man (benefits included) that would be an additional $6,400 and allow $2,000 for delivery we would have a cost of $55,681.82 for a savings of $44,318.18 instead of having a contractor do the work So, on two items the cafeteria tables and the High School gym lockers I found a savings of $168,318.18.See we can do better for our kids when we get involved and be fiscally responsible at the same time. Imagine what we could do for our children with that money better playing fields, more programs and more teachers. What else can we find when we look at the budget closer? The price quotes for both of these items were formally handed over to Mr. Kamp our Superintendent at the Macopin School Budget Presentation on Friday April 7. Hopefully we will see an amended Question #2 when we vote on April 18. I will be voting on Tuesday April 18 for me and I hope you do too. Again I look forward to serving the children and taxpayers of West Milford. Sincerely, Jim Foody