As a school superintendent I am asked to do many things during the week and occasionally on weekends. Recently my wife and I were invited to the annual Hopatcong Warriors annual awards dinner along with our mayor and her husband. The Hopatcong Warriors is a town sponsored football and cheerleading football program for elementary and middle school youngsters in our community. It is an organization that has been serving the needs of our youth for many decades and is indicative of the deep support that the families in this town place upon the young people who live here.
Being a new superintendent here in Hopatcong, New Jersey, means that I have a lot of learning to do and first impressions speak volumes. To say I was favorably impressed with the event is clearly an understatement. I was overwhelmed by the awards banquet and the number of children and young people honored at this event. The outpouring of parent and community support for this program was nothing short of amazing. For approximately four hours the guests and parents in attendance were treated to testimonials from coaches and assistant coaches, executive board members, volunteers, and others regarding the accomplishments of individual children throughout the current season.
President Dan Titus and his wife Debbie were gracious hosts and thirty-year contributor John Young (also a member of the Borough Town Council) was honored for his three decades of dedication as a Warriors volunteer. Clearly, the reward for all of the hard work that drives such a successful organization is total selflessness-everyone connected to the program stated a common philosophy and motivation for contributing: building value in our youth. This is exactly what we are attempting to accomplish in Hopatcong’s public schools and to witness the efforts of the community to parallel our efforts was thrilling for this superintendent.
Athletics has a prominent place in and out of our schools in the critical development of values and character in our youth. It is part of a balanced equation that includes the Arts, Activities and Academics: what we refer to as the Four A’s of Education. Many of the speakers at the Warrior’s banquet eluded to the growth and successes of the participants this season-not in terms of wins or losses but in terms of developmental maturation. Simply stated, the youth gained in many ways from their participation: persistence, trust, hard-work, character growth, dependability, respect for others, fortitude, decision-making, teamwork, etc., and the list goes on and on.
The collective efforts of parents involved in the Warriors program is clearly indicative of an investment this community makes in its young people. The payback is enormous: Human Capital. The community, by supporting such vigorous programs for the young people, is investing in the very future of Hopatcong and by extension the future of American society itself.
As superintendent of schools I am compelled to articulate a theme that we appropriately began to use this year: “CELEBRATE WHAT’S RIGHT WITH HOPATCONG.” I can think of no greater example of what connects the schools to the community than the programs Hopatcong has in place for the young people in our town. The people here in Hopatcong are the driving force in this effort to invest all their energy into the success of the children. I can assure them that the same level of energy and commitment is present in our schools throughout the school year. Together we form a bond of support when it comes to what Hopatcong Borough values most: our children.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Storm Clouds Gather for Public Education Funding
On the heels of recent state elections in New Jersey and across the country looms a dark shadow of things to come and the news is far from good for public education. The federal effort to stem the tide of declining state revenues by inserting $787 billion into the economy of which $100 billion was targeted for education nationwide appears to be unwinding. As public schools turn their attention to the next annual budgeting process it becomes apparent that state governments are unable or incapable of replacing the funding gaps they created when accepting federal stimulus dollars and subsequently removing state contributions.
What was intended as a gesture of good will on behalf of the federal government by committing the unprecedented $100 billion toward education for the creation of new jobs and programs ended up merely plugging the holes created when state governments withdrew funding for education budgets as fast as federal dollars flowed. According to the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), based in Arlington, Virginia, the stimulus aid fell short in preventing educational staffing cuts and operational declines nationwide. In an attempt to avoid teacher layoffs many school districts cut administrative and support staff. The problem for the next budget cycle may manifest itself in the form of increased teacher layoffs and swelling class sizes for many districts across the country.
According to a recent study conducted by AASA one-third of the responding school districts reported they were unable to avert cuts to core teaching jobs. The percentage of districts surveyed report a six fold increase from 6 percent to 34 percent in increased class size. This is a good indicator of things to come as an almost perfect storm is created when the stimulus funds disappear and the revenue streams of state budgets continue to decline nationwide. Over forty percent of states report mid-year budget gaps presently and it is expected that most if not all will continue to experience declining revenue sources in 2010-2011.
If most state governments had not backed off on their own commitment to public educational funding when stimulus funding became available schools might be able to weather this storm. But many school business administrators across the nation are bracing for deep cuts from state sources as reports of declining commitments to public education are becoming apparent. At the same time additional federal dollars dedicated to disadvantaged students from Title I and the Individual with Disabilities Education Act will also shrink this coming year.
Schools will not feel the effects of this perfect storm until they enter the 2010-2011 budget planning cycle. Chief School Administrators will be confronted with serious and difficult decisions about what staff to cut and programs to end. The resulting erosion to a system of pubic education already under widespread attack from federal and state politicians may not easily recover from the ensuing damage that will be inflicted upon them.
As a practicing school superintendent in Hopatcong, New Jersey, it is apparent that we must protect every program that benefits our children. This includes the rich experiences that children and adolescents receive from core academics, school activities, fine and performing arts, and athletic participation. We cannot fail to educate all of our children and respond to all of their specific talents, interests and needs. Further, we must not fail to maintain and keep safe our buildings, grounds, and critical infrastructure. The choices we will be forced to make next year may be the most overwhelming in decades.
The system for funding public education is broken not the system of public education itself, as political forces would have us believe. At a time when schools across this fine country are responding to the increased call for educating a 21st century globally articulate workforce, the political winds are pushing us far from the anticipated direction educators know we need to take. America’s competitive and collaborative edge in this new world order is at risk, severe risk.
The local taxpayer continues to shoulder the costs for providing communities with a quality system of schools, but cannot tolerate much more of a burden as state and federal officials pull funding commitments back to inadequate levels. This raises the same questions that New Jersey lawmakers attempted to resolve almost thirty years ago concerning the adequacy and equity of educational funding in a far-reaching legal case of Abbott v. Burke (New Jersey, 1981 filing).
The quality of public education continues to rely on the local community’s ability and willingness to pay putting economically and resource starved areas in New Jersey (and other states) at risk. Until the economy strengthens and taxpayers begin to climb out of a deep recession many schools will be asked to continue to deliver services to children with less of a financial commitment.
I have deep concerns over the expectations for future school budgets given the tension that these difficult economic times have created. The acronym NCBL (No Child Left Behind) may just become No Country Left Behind, as the federal and state budget shortfalls further erode the quality of public education in America. We are near a tipping point and next year may be the most challenging ever for our schools and the nation’s educators.
What was intended as a gesture of good will on behalf of the federal government by committing the unprecedented $100 billion toward education for the creation of new jobs and programs ended up merely plugging the holes created when state governments withdrew funding for education budgets as fast as federal dollars flowed. According to the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), based in Arlington, Virginia, the stimulus aid fell short in preventing educational staffing cuts and operational declines nationwide. In an attempt to avoid teacher layoffs many school districts cut administrative and support staff. The problem for the next budget cycle may manifest itself in the form of increased teacher layoffs and swelling class sizes for many districts across the country.
According to a recent study conducted by AASA one-third of the responding school districts reported they were unable to avert cuts to core teaching jobs. The percentage of districts surveyed report a six fold increase from 6 percent to 34 percent in increased class size. This is a good indicator of things to come as an almost perfect storm is created when the stimulus funds disappear and the revenue streams of state budgets continue to decline nationwide. Over forty percent of states report mid-year budget gaps presently and it is expected that most if not all will continue to experience declining revenue sources in 2010-2011.
If most state governments had not backed off on their own commitment to public educational funding when stimulus funding became available schools might be able to weather this storm. But many school business administrators across the nation are bracing for deep cuts from state sources as reports of declining commitments to public education are becoming apparent. At the same time additional federal dollars dedicated to disadvantaged students from Title I and the Individual with Disabilities Education Act will also shrink this coming year.
Schools will not feel the effects of this perfect storm until they enter the 2010-2011 budget planning cycle. Chief School Administrators will be confronted with serious and difficult decisions about what staff to cut and programs to end. The resulting erosion to a system of pubic education already under widespread attack from federal and state politicians may not easily recover from the ensuing damage that will be inflicted upon them.
As a practicing school superintendent in Hopatcong, New Jersey, it is apparent that we must protect every program that benefits our children. This includes the rich experiences that children and adolescents receive from core academics, school activities, fine and performing arts, and athletic participation. We cannot fail to educate all of our children and respond to all of their specific talents, interests and needs. Further, we must not fail to maintain and keep safe our buildings, grounds, and critical infrastructure. The choices we will be forced to make next year may be the most overwhelming in decades.
The system for funding public education is broken not the system of public education itself, as political forces would have us believe. At a time when schools across this fine country are responding to the increased call for educating a 21st century globally articulate workforce, the political winds are pushing us far from the anticipated direction educators know we need to take. America’s competitive and collaborative edge in this new world order is at risk, severe risk.
The local taxpayer continues to shoulder the costs for providing communities with a quality system of schools, but cannot tolerate much more of a burden as state and federal officials pull funding commitments back to inadequate levels. This raises the same questions that New Jersey lawmakers attempted to resolve almost thirty years ago concerning the adequacy and equity of educational funding in a far-reaching legal case of Abbott v. Burke (New Jersey, 1981 filing).
The quality of public education continues to rely on the local community’s ability and willingness to pay putting economically and resource starved areas in New Jersey (and other states) at risk. Until the economy strengthens and taxpayers begin to climb out of a deep recession many schools will be asked to continue to deliver services to children with less of a financial commitment.
I have deep concerns over the expectations for future school budgets given the tension that these difficult economic times have created. The acronym NCBL (No Child Left Behind) may just become No Country Left Behind, as the federal and state budget shortfalls further erode the quality of public education in America. We are near a tipping point and next year may be the most challenging ever for our schools and the nation’s educators.
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