Kids First Hardyston: First Quarter Recap - Promises vs. Reality
When the “Kids First” candidates won a majority on the Hardyston Board of Education, they promised us a new era of fiscal responsibility, transparency, and student-centered decision-making. Bold words, right? Now, about 100 days into their leadership, it’s fair to ask: how’s that working out?
Spoiler: not exactly how voters imagined.
Campaign Promises vs. Board Reality
During their campaign, “Kids First” rolled out a pretty inspiring checklist:
- Put students first in all decisions
- Enhance fiscal responsibility and protect taxpayer money
- Increase transparency in board operations
- Improve academic outcomes through planning and accountability
- Focus on issues that actually matter to Hardyston families
Sounds great on paper. Let’s see how reality stacks up.
🔍 Putting Students First?
The very first meeting should’ve been a slam dunk. Instead…
Board President Donna Carey and Vice President Jean Barrett were caught on their phones during student recognition ceremonies. Yeah-during the moment that’s supposed to be about celebrating kids.
An OPRA request later confirmed: no district business was being conducted. Translation? They were texting or scrolling about who-knows-what.
- ✅ Campaign Promise: Put students first
- ❌ Reality: Couldn’t even put phones down for student awards.
🔍 Fiscal Responsibility?
If “fiscal responsibility” was the North Star, they’re… kinda lost at sea.
- Legal Bills Through the Roof: Over $20,000 in legal costs, including nearly $10,000 for Donna Carey’s personal ethics defense.
- Improper Legal Requests: Jean Barrett tried to use board attorneys for personal political purposes-before even getting a vote.
- Kicking Problems to Next Year: Carey dipped into reserves, creating an even bigger budget hole for next year.
- Unfunded Tutoring Fantasy: Tony Alfano floated a wild $756,000/year tutoring plan - with zero clue how to fund it.
- ✅ Campaign Promise: Fiscal responsibility
- ❌ Reality: Burning taxpayer dollars and playing budget whack-a-mole.
🔍 Transparency?
“Sunlight is the best disinfectant,” they say. Apparently the “Kids First” crew prefers blackout curtains.
- Expanded Power, Hidden from View: They modified Policy 0174 to give themselves more access to legal counsel - but rejected ideas to keep the full board informed.
- Carey’s Half-Truths: Donna misled the board about legal consultations-saying she’d notify everyone… then not doing it.
- Selective Transparency: Sharing info when convenient, hiding it when it’s not.
- ✅ Campaign Promise: Transparency
- ❌ Reality: More backroom deals, fewer honest conversations.
🔍 Improving Academic Outcomes?
Big promises about student achievement. So far? Crickets.
- No Academic Plans: Nada. No strategic plans presented.
- Policy Gutting Without Solutions: Focused on scrapping policies, not fixing them.
- Budget Talks = Bus Talks: Budget workshops focused more on bus schedules than educational strategies.
- ✅ Campaign Promise: Boost academics
- ❌ Reality: No action, no ideas, no results.
🔍 Focusing on What Matters?
Instead of tackling real educational issues, the “Kids First” team seems to have one main hobby: political chess.
- Grandstanding Over Governance: Meetings turned into sideshows instead of solution-finding sessions.
- Weaponizing Legal Counsel: Legal battles against political enemies, instead of spending time helping kids.
- Climate of Fear: Staff now feel intimidated to speak up if their views don’t match the majority.
- ✅ Campaign Promise: Focus on the community’s priorities
- ❌ Reality: Personal power plays over public service.
Where Are The Accomplishments?
Let’s do a quick scorecard:
- ❌ No new academic programs
- ❌ No measurable gains for students
- ❌ No creative solutions to real problems
- ❌ No visible progress on major campaign promises
Instead, what have we gotten?
- ✅ Power grabs
- ✅ Secrecy
- ✅ Taxpayer money wasted on political drama
- ✅ Policies ripped out, not rebuilt
- ✅ Division, not unity
The Bottom Line: Actions Speak Louder Than Campaign Slogans
“Kids First” ran on slogans about putting children and families first. But after 100 days, it’s painfully clear: the priorities seem to be personal agendas, not educational outcomes.
Hardyston deserves leaders who deliver - not just campaign well.
The community needs to keep holding this board accountable, reminding them that we’re watching, and expecting better.
The big question now? Will “Kids First” course-correct… or double down on the chaos?
What’s your take on how the board’s doing so far? Drop us a line.