In May, voters within the Enlarged City School District of Middletown will be asked to go to the polls and vote for staggering increases in local school taxes that will undoubtedly be impossible for many residents to pay.
The superintendent, Dr. Kenneth Eastwood, insists that the state is to blame and there is nothing that he can do about it. Many residents, especially local senior citizens, would probably take his concerns to heart if he himself paid taxes in the district. That’s right folks – the superintendent of schools, some times referred to as the “CEO” is responsible for setting your taxes, but doesn’t pay them, despite his over $200,000 a year salary and benefits.
Instead he and his wife, Suzanne, have opted to rent a luxury apartment on the outskirts of Middletown on Schutt Road in the Town of Wallkill.
How is it possible for Dr. Eastwood to sympathize with local taxpayers if he doesn’t contribute to the local tax base? A little birdie told me that as soon as Dr. Eastwood is finished building a resume for himself on the backs of Middletown taxpayers, he’ll just move somewhere else and forget that Middletown even exits.
