Margate Commissioners met on March 1. Discussions included:
- School district bloat
- Margate Fire Department issues
- Win for Amherst Ave residents looking to slow bay-front re-development
- NJ DEP wants better enforcement of beach access, parking and restrooms.
Does the Margate school board care about what they spend? 3 kindergarten classes, less than 10 students each. Linwood would have one class in a situation like this. Time to close the redundant 2nd school.
Is all this talk about Margate’s bloated school system getting old? Mayor Becker and Commissioners Amodeo & Blumberg think so. Margate residents like John Sewell and Art Cotilli, disagree.
Margate Resident John Sewell: Rape, rob & pillaging of Margate Taxpayers. Wretched excesses.
Does Margate need another school superintendent?
Resident Art Cotilli: Enrollment dropped approximately 100 over past few years.
In 2015, School Board member Jim Olivo objected to filling a full-time, third-grade teaching position and said taking on a new teacher is “irresponsible.”
Board member, the late Joanne Kulzer once said: “The board has a financial responsibility, and this is like a blank credit card… to have nine children in a classroom”.
A 2005 demographic study indicated the Margate School district should consolidate to two schools when it slipped to 500 students. A more recent study showed that Margate should combine both schools when it reaches 320 students.
Atlantic County issued some sort of report card that highlighted issues of concern: cost of Margate school building maintenance, cost per Margate pupil, and Margate school district staffing costs.
18-21 students is considered ideal number of students per class. Margate averages less than 15 per class, with 3 classes per grade. Sure, small class sizes are nice, but can Margate taxpayers afford it?
Drug problem inside Margate Fire Dept. Need for 2 fire houses?
Resident Steve Warner: The new Margate Fire Chief has a tall order to fill. Revelations of prescription fraud within the department.
Will new Fire Chief make necessary changes and straighten out the department?
Be the boss, not a friend or good guy, says Margate resident.
Amherst Residents Succeed in Slowing Bayfront Development
Yes. You can fight City Hall. Margate City Solicitor, John Scott Abbott, had meetings with attorneys representing Amherst Ave residents. They want to avoid litigation about this Margate WSD zone. (waterfront special district)
Looks like Margate Commissioners will amend the recently amended ordinance. This would limit WSD re-development…to areas that already have development. This would prohibit other portion of the Amherst waterfront (marinas, etc), from becoming restaurants and townhomes.
‘Gonna be a problem for us’ says Margate Solicitor Abbott, referring to DEP mandated laws requiring beach towns to provide specific access, parking and bathrooms for public beaches and bodies of water.
Longport may be struggling with it’s beach program, complying with strict DEP criteria.
- This plan must supplement all master plans.
- Bathrooms and parking. State mandate. It’s already law. Access to beach & water.
- Will shore communities form coalition to fight back against state?
- The DEP, Dept of Environmental Protection is extremely aggressive. (you see what they did to Brigantine).
Note: the DEP is an un-elected org. Agencies like the DEP are regularly accused of carrying out unsavory work, without the need for public approval or legislative vote. DEP acts like a czar. Un-elected entity with massive powers, an effective hammer that keeps elected officials hands clean.
I agree about the school situation. We are paying to send students to Ocean City and Atlantic City High Schools. Would it be possible to make use of the extra space and teachers to have our own High School. If not, downsize.
The school board needs to be flushed and replaced with honest non political people. It’s a disgrace….