Lodi BOE Receives School Security Aid from the State… and chooses to spend it elsewhere.

Here is the "School Security Aid" that Lodi received from the State for the last 3 years:

2014-2015:  $224,397

2013-2014:  $224,397

2012-2013: $202,144

If the Lodi BOE is receiving State Aid for School Security, why is the Lodi Mayor and Council using municipal tax dollars for this school expense?

This year, the Lodi Mayor and Council budgeted $210,000 for school security and the BOE only reimburses them for $100,000.  The Lodi BOE was reimbursing the Borough that same amount long before there were any retired armed guards in the schools.  That $100,000 was for "Resource Officers" (current Lodi Police Officers) who were working at the High School and Middle School.  According to page 17 of the 2014 Municipal Budget, that revenue is no longer anticipated, nor was it realized in 2013.  The Borough is paying a lot more for school expenses than meets the eye.

Link to 2014 budget (please read page 17):

http://www.lodi-nj.org/web_content/acrobat/budgets/CY-2014-Budget-Unaudited.pdf

By the Mayor and Council paying for this school expense, they only enable the BOE to spend School Security Aid on something else (family members and merit bonuses).

Questions on why the Mayor and Council are funding school expenditures have not been answered.  Luna felt by saying that Former Chief Caruso came up with the whole plan would put an end to all questioning.

Former Chief Caruso hired who he wanted to hire.  He came up with a plan to have the Mayor and Council fund the expense while he was sitting on the Lodi Board of Education. Then he sold his house in Lodi and cashed out his $342,000 retirement pay (a lot more than he was entitled to by contract).

And Lodi received no answers.

The State really should have some strings attached to their aid packages.  A common sense one could be:  all School Security Aid has to be used for School Security before your Mayor and Council can use municipal tax dollars for it.

BOE Wasting Tax Dollars to Retaliate?

The above item is taken from the November 25, 2014 BOE minutes that were recently posted on-line.

Link to minutes:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/251177474/BOE-Minutes-November-25-2014

A few years ago, I wrote the below letter to the editor (bottom of page).  The very next day, a longtime BOE employee visited our business to tell me that the Lodi politicians were talking about getting even by changing the Wilson school parking lot with a purpose to hurt the business.

Over the past two years, I was approached many more times immediately after filling out an OPRA request, speaking at a council meeting, and questioning Quatrone’s merit bonuses and Licata’s unethical behavior on this website.  Many informed me of the Lodi politicians’ obsession with getting even, specifically with the parking lot.

So as the plan goes forward, the public can watch for the costs involved, the practicality of the change, and if the policies apply to the other school lots in town.

I was first told of this plan the day after this letter was printed.  Coincidence?

The Record: Letters, Aug. 12, 2012

Sunday August 12, 2012, 8:53 AM

Regarding "School official to retire, son hired" (Page L-3, July 29):

The "handing of the reins over to his son Marc Capizzi" was nothing more than a power play by Lodi school administrator Joseph Capizzi to preserve the political patronage system that he has become famous for. The father will collect the pension, the son will collect the salary, and together they can continue handing out the jobs and the contracts.

The article stated that school superintendent, Frank Quatrone, only interviewed one candidate for the position Joseph Capizzi was going to vacate. Quatrone apparently sees nothing wrong with this because he was hired as superintendent in the same manner: Lodi was told that he was the only candidate at the time he was retained.

Board of Education President Joseph Licata should disclose his conflicts of interest when commenting on administration. His mother is a teacher in the district. If the board did not invoke "doctrine of necessity," Licata would have been bared from voting on all administration and collective bargaining agreements with the teachers union.

The board votes unanimously on everything, not because its policies are working, but because almost the entire board has immediate family members employed in our schools.

The Lodi politicians can scream all they like that their relatives are "qualified." The numbers show what they are doing isn't working and nepotism hurts the children. Lodi collects $38.1 million in taxes for its schools and receives $14.2 million in state aid, second-highest amount of state aid in Bergen County. Yet our high school is ranked second to last in the county according to NJ Monthly Magazine.

These conditions represent failures of the Christie administration for not monitoring how the state's millions are being spent, the Bergen County superintendent for rubber-stamping Lodi's bad behavior and Lodi for its apathy.

Ryan Curioni

Lodi, July 29

Jamie Ciofalo on Monday & Jaime Ciofalo on Friday

After my post on Monday, Jamie Ciofalo edited his linkedin page.  He no longer lists that he is a “Lead Consultant” at Hibster Software and he no longer lists the four new businesses he created in the last few months.


Ciofalo no longer lists that he is the "Editor in Chief" of HibHub Online Student Community.  As of this printing, that site cannot be viewed.   He is probably editing that site as we speak, just as he has edited his other sites after they were mentioned on "Lodi By the Numbers".

Ciofalo no longer lists that he is the Vice President/Co-Founder of “Lodi Cares”.  On Friday, “Lodi Cares” is just casually referenced as something Ciofalo supports.

This piece was taken out sometime during the week:

Why?

What does Jaime Ciofalo have to hide?

Everyone can see all the blatant changes for themselves.  The first NINE pages are his linkedin pages from Monday.  They are followed by the SEVEN pages shown on Friday.

Link:

https://www.scribd.com/doc/250605512/Jaime-Ciofalo-on-Monday-Jaime-Ciofalo-on-Friday