Before the vote was cast, Van Zile stressed the positives of the proposal, raising the safety concerns of big schools bullying small schools, resulting in injuries with lopsided matchups. He said the plan would have leveled the playing field throughout the state. But Neil Bencivengo, superintendent of schools in Hamilton Township, said he has yet to see any data that supports the improvement of safety if the proposal passed. Parsippany High School principal Rich Konet opposed the plan because it would reduce the teams in the playoff field. I'm fearful of losing our conferences.
Travel is a problem. . . .
The plan doesn't make a lot of sense. As for Van Zile, he indicated that he is not yet retired from the realignment business. I had a tough time convincing people to change and that's the bottom line. People are afraid of change. I just hope the main ideas of the plan don't die and something can be done in the future.