Despite the objections of speakers Tuesday night, the Whitehall-Coplay School Board voted 5-4 in favor of cutting dozens of positions. "These are not extra positions. These are the people that help schools function safely, consistently and effectively every single day," one woman told the school board. Last month, the school board approved a budget that calls for a 4.7 percent tax increase. The tax hike and job cuts are all part of Superintendent Christopher Schiffert's efforts to fill in a $6 million budget deficit. Among the layoffs are a dozen secretaries, six paraprofessional positions and three elementary school STEM positions.
Two more Lehigh Valley school districts have voted in favor of tax hikes. In a 6-3 vote, the Easton Area School Board voted for a 3.5 percent tax increase. In the Nazareth School District, the school board there voted yes to a 4.1 percent tax increase.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy was one of two cabinet members to visit Jaindl Farms in North Whitehall Township on Tuesday. The focus was farming, with fertilizer a big topic. Duffy announced his department is suspending the number of hours truckers need to be off the roads in 35 states in order to deliver more fertilizer to farms. "We know how important it is to move fertilizer throughout the country and how much our farmers need it. If trucking is going to be an impediment to that, we need to act as one team to support the American farmer," Duffy said. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins was also at Jaindl Farms and said the rising price of fertilizer is unsustainable for America's farmers, whom Rollins says only make a profit two out of every ten years.
The New Jersey Department of Education put out a report, which finds 44-percent of schools in the state have outdated pipes that causes lead to seep into drinking water. The state in 2021 required all lead service lines to be replaced within ten years, and the EPA just awarded New Jersey 103-million dollars to help replace those pipes which feed water to homes and buildings. State education officials, however, say the lead pipes inside of old school buildings need to be replaced. So, they started a School Lead Filters Program last year to give reimbursement grants to pay for lead filters. The deadline for grant applications is September 30th.
Early primary voting has begun today in New Jersey. Democratic Senator Cory Booker is running unopposed for a third term and will face one of four Republicans who'll challenge him in November. All 12 congressional seats in the Garden State are up for grabs. One closely-watched race is the 2nd District in South Jersey where four Democrats are vying for a chance to unseat GOP Congressman Jeff Van Drew. In the 8th CD, which includes Newark and Elizabeth, incumbent Congressman Robert Menendez, Junior tries to ward off a Democratic primary challenge. It's by Mussab Ali, who at age 20 became the youngest Muslim elected official in the nation in 2017 by winning a seat on the Jersey City School Board. Another key race is in North Jersey where four Democrats are running in the 7th CD to face incumbent Thomas Kean, Junior in the fall.
Governor Sherrill on Tuesday called federal immigration agents 'out of control,' after they pepper- sprayed U.S. Senator Andy Kim and protesters Monday outside the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark. Kim was standing between agents and protesters to try and keep the peace when he was sprayed. Sherrill also reiterated Tuesday that she wants the Newark federal facility closed, like they are trying to accomplish with a planned detention center in Roxbury, which Homeland Security stalled two weeks ago by agreeing to conduct an environmental review of the vacant warehouse property. Senator Kim was allowed into Delaney Hall to see detainees, and said they complained of unsanitary conditions and spoiled food, leading to a reported hunger strike among many being held. That led to Monday's protests that turned ugly.