On May 16th, by an almost two to one margin, Irvington voters sent a message to the Irvington School Board that the status quo was no longer acceptable, electing two new members and unseating the current Board President. The main issues were fiscal responsibility and accountability, transparency in decision-making and financial matters, and Superintendent Matusiak’s contract: both the annual renewal of a contracted five years, and a $1.2 million merger buy-out clause. By June 15th, the Board will decide whether or not to once again extend Dr Matusiak’s contract. When asked at the Board meeting on June 2nd if they would vote to do so, the Board gave no indication they would not. When reminded of a petition signed by 351 Irvington residents asking the Board to not renew the contract, the Board said that the petition did not speak for all of Irvington. While unanimity is impossible, considering the petition and the results of the election, we wonder to whom they’re listening. We once again ask the Board to not extend Dr. Matusiak’s contract. Not renewing the contract isn’t a statement about Dr. Matusiak’s performance. Rather, we believe renewing is unnecessary and runs counter to sound financial and operational thinking. Finally, this will show that the Board understands what the election results meant: the status quo is unacceptable.

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