Ridgewood March 6, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 9 The Midland Park Board of Education is reaching out to neighboring school districts to determine whether those districts would have any interest in accepting Midland Park High School students on a tuition basis or sending their students to Midland Park High. Midland Park Board President William Sullivan said last week that, as the first step, he and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marie Cirasella would meet this Friday with their Ridgewood counterparts to discuss the feasibility of a send/receive agreement. Similar discussions are also planned with Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, and perhaps other districts. District explores possible send/receive options “This is an informal meeting to discuss the ‘hypothetical question’ of whether they would be able to absorb our high school students into their district as a sending agreement,” said Sullivan. “We are just gathering information to share with the board, and nobody should assume that the board has reached any sort of consensus on send/receive.” The board president said the goal is to have as much information as possible available to the board in making decisions. “We have to consider accurate information along with the aspirations of the community when we make decisions regarding the educational welfare of our students. With that in mind, I felt it was necessary to reach out to other districts and explore both ‘sending’ and ‘receiving’ options that may exist to our benefit. Ultimately, each board member must use their own ‘independent judgment’ when they choose to support or oppose an issue, but it’s important to have enough information as possible to make those decisions,” he explained. “We’ve been speculating about the financial impact, but we need more accurate information,” he said by way of example. Sullivan added that if the board decided to move (continued on page 10) A resident who spoke at the Ridgewood Council meeting urged the village’s leaders to take a strong stand against gun violence and the proliferation of firearms in America. “We have a public health crisis in this country in regard to gun violence,” Bonnie Chalek told the council members at last week’s work session. “Every three-and-a-half months in this country there are the same amount of people who die due to gun violence as the number of people who died on 9/11. We also, as a country, need to do a better job in providing mental health services.” Chalek spoke at the beginning of the meeting during the public comment session. She said she represented the Ridgewood League of Women Voters, the Moms Demand Action group, and the Bergen County Coalition to Prevent Violence. She asked the council to consider drafting a resolution and to pursue other initiatives to promote public safety by reducing gun violence. “Congressman Scott Garret takes the NRA position of ‘Don’t touch our Second Amendment,’” she said. “However, there are already rules regarding the purchases of guns -- the problem is these rules are not working. We need Strong stand against guns urged universal criminal background checks at a minimum. We need to close the loopholes. We need to reach out to him and demand a plan. Voting ‘no’ on all common sense gun bills is not a plan. “I applaud the Ridgewood Board of Education for forming their own gun resolution and I think it is wonderful that our mayor has joined the Mayors Against Illegal Handguns,” Chalek continued. She said that municipal councils in Teaneck, New Milford, Fair Lawn, Hasbrouck Heights, Closter, and Fort Lee had already formed their own resolutions and urged Ridgewood to do the same. “This should be a non-partisan agenda. Gun violence affects everyone in this society,” she said. “The Brady Organization has been fighting for better gun sense for over 30y years, ever since Ronald Reagan and Jim Brady were shot in 1981, while totally surrounded by ‘good guys with guns.’” Mayor Paul Aronsohn and the council thanked Chalek for speaking. J. KOSTER