Sheldon Boxer, who retired last year as a principal in Lakewood Public Schools, responds to an editorial in the Asbury Park Press that called for state intervention in the troubled school district.

You are absolutely right that the Lakewood district needs state intervention. I can assure you that even if the state came in to Lakewood, it wouldn’t change anything because of the tremendous clout of the Orthodox voting bloc.

The rabbis tell the 40,000 Orthodox voters who follow blindly whom to vote for. They can elect or defeat any candidate at the local, state or national level…

When I retired last year after 38 years as a principal in Lakewood, it was because I could not take the meanness of the board attorney and the superintendent. I could not take being a party to letting good people be harassed, embarrassed and intimidated. And, finally, I could not go along with services being denied the minority and special-needs students…

The children of Lakewood will never get the help they need as long as their fate is controlled by a group whose only objective is to take care of their private schools.

Read the whole letter here.