The Letter to the Editor (North and South Brunswick Sentinel, Nov. 17) by Jennifer Updegraff, slamming Mr. Richard Pender for his opposition to the school expansion referendum in North Brunswick, completely misses the point.
Mr. Pender has made suggestions to cure the situation. He has met with the superintendent and asked for specific answers to serious financial issues. He is not a consultant employed by the North Brunswick Board of Education with access to the schools to do the due diligence necessary for a proposal of this scale. Mr. Pender has yet to receive satisfactory answers to the questions posed to the superintendent.
The body of her letter suggests Ms. Updegraff is affiliated with the teaching community in some fashion. This, alone, makes her arguments self-serving. To demean the era of Mr. Pender’s educational background is an insult and a display of ignorance for the accomplishments of this man and his generation. Mr. Pender’s accomplishments literally range from the experimental engine shops to the surface of the moon. He managed the physical plant functions for a Fortune 500 corporation, designing and renovating manufacturing plants. He received numerous awards. He was an instructor for graduate programs at two leading universities.
Mr. Pender is interested in education. He has been involved as a guest speaker at North Brunswick Township High School for several years. He is opposed to this referendum because of its fiscal impact on taxpayers without financial justification. He feels that with proper due diligence, more and better options can be generated.
Robert Boyd
North Brunswick
