To the Editor:
The Roxbury Board of Education recently voted to give its teachers a nearly 20 percent raise over four years. No one begrudges teachers a reasonable living wage but in this plummeting economy where many people are taking pay cuts and even more are losing their jobs, I find this an astounding gesture of generosity.
At the center of the controversy surrounding this pay raise is Roxbury board member Greg Somjen, who was quoted as telling critics at an open meeting that if they didn't like it, they could find a town elsewhere!"
Such arrogance might be explained by the confident assurance of affluence afforded by his architectural firm. This same firm was very successful at convincing a rather naïve Denville Board of Education that it was first necessary to spend $70 million on a new middle school (state average less than half this amount) and when that failed, it managed to convince the same board that architectural fees of $1 million are needed to oversee repairs of the existing school buildings. This certainly confirms my admittedly personal perception that architects love to spend other people's money. When was the last time anyone required the services of an architect to repair or replace a leaky roof or heating system? Do our schools really need his services?
GEORDIE GRANT, Denville
Gregory Somjen is architect for Montville's Board of Education.
