The schedule for 2006-2007 is ready although the sports complex had not been approved in the Dec. 12 referendum. Toms River Regional Schools Superintendent Michael J. Ritacco insists that the construction was approved in April 2006, but the only request that ballot had was the approval of the $104 million budget, certainly no mention of the bubble. At this point, the question is: Was the mention of the bubble hidden somewhere in the budget? If so is it legal? Another question: If it was approved in April, why request an approval in a referendum, now defeated, and start the construction before the "second approval"?

   Ritacco, entertainer and fitness director, does not seem to have much interest in what a school superintendent should do. Recent information from the state Department of Education reveals that the state average graduation rate is 91.6 percent, but at Toms River High School South it is only 84.3 percent. The state average in SAT scores is 1012 as stated by the college board testing service, but in our district Toms River High School East is 1007, High School South is 979 and the percentage of students taking the test is only 74 percent. New Jersey Monthly Magazine reports that of the 316 public schools in New Jersey rated in the September 2006 issue, Point Pleasant Beach reaches an honorable 68th place, but High School North is rated 178, High School East is rated 205 and High School South 219, all quite a way from 316. These are a few example of something missing in the education the students are supposed to get.

   If Ritacco is some kind of chief executive officer, the residents are some kind of shareholders and the students represent the stocks, do we want the stocks to generate wealth, which, in our case, would mean a well-educated and prosperous citizenry? So, what are the administration's plans to improve the education side of the equation?  We need lots of answers. What happens in our schools is too wrapped up in secrecy.