The budget drama continues

Well that was pretty unpleasant Monday night, looking at the proposed 2009/10 budget as presented by Mr. DeSimone, with a line-by-line tale of increases and cuts that the district is proposing. (If you want to see the budget as it was presented that night, click here to go to the meeting agenda…the budget is on page 10-11). The administration has done what it needed to do to close the budget gap. The highlights of how they propose doing that include reorganizing some central office administration, reorganizing some school administration, reorganizing some other staff – all of which will result in staff cuts. There may be a reduction of world language teachers in grades 3-5, instead offering Spanish in a high-tech, interactive computer/DVD-based program. There are cuts in aides, cuts in co-curricular activities, the cut of summer school...There's the reduction in the RAAS (administrators' union) contract, and the cabinet (Fishbein, Botsford, DeSimone, Hall) forgoing their salary increases...Dr. Fishbein asked for more time to speak with staff who may be directly affected, before making specific cuts public. That seems fair. Tune in for more detail this Monday 3/16.

I wish we could find a way to not lose human teachers in grade 3-5 Spanish and I will be wanting to see the alternative program as soon as possible. There will be more discussion about this – along with everything else in the budget – at the next meeting.

Speaking of meetings...I don’t know why there always seem to be sound issues with our meetings. I hear it all the time (no pun intended) and it seems to apply to both the TV channel 77 broadcasts and (to a lesser extent) the webcasts. Apparently these complaints have gone on for years. It’s ok if you want to say something to me in the aisle at Stop & Shop, but it would be much more effective if you contacted Dr. Fishbein directly.

As for now, we’re all waiting with bated breath for the announcement of Ridgewood’s allotment of state aid...we should know something today! Governor Corzine’s speech yesterday seemed to have some hope for school funding, but you never know. He can talk about increasing funding statewide, and yet that money could go to other “needier” districts. We shall see...

Want to ask the state WHY or tell them what you think about their disastrous funding formula?

The public is invited to a "Conversation with Education Commissioner Lucille Davy," moderated by NJN's Senior Political Correspondent Michael Aron, joined by panelists Dunstan McNichol (Contributing Reporter, NY Times/NJ Section and former Star Ledger Statehouse Reporter covering finance & state budget issues), Jim O'Neill (President of GSCS and Superintendent of School District of the Chathams), and Lynne Strickland (GSCS Executive Director).

Many Ridgewood residents are talking about attending. If you can go, please do! This is a good chance to show Ms. Davy -- by our numbers, at the very least -- what we think, and to hear her explain some of the state's actions.

March 18, 7:00 p.m.
Leonia High School Little Theater

Fun stuff this weekend...not-so-fun stuff coming this week

We went to the Mardi Gras party presented by the RHS HSA on Friday night. The band was awesome (and awesomely loud, which shows how old I am now), and it was good fun to hang out with friends. There was tons of leftover food...I suspect they were hoping for a larger turnout but I think it was a success, being the first time for a HS parents' social. Let's do more!

Saturday was Super Science Saturday -- more awesome! What a great program! Kids were excited, parents were engaged, it was so cool to see. And I always love the rocket launch that caps off the day. The crowd counted down 5!...4!...3!...2!...1! and each rocket went streaming up...a couple landed on the roof of the HS...there may be one rocket still tangled in a tree. Loved it.

Tomorrow's Board of Ed meeting (7:30 p.m., Ed Center, 3rd Floor) is where the Board will review the 2009-2010 budget and discuss the district's proposed cuts. We'll go line by line and discuss the whys and hows for each increase and each cut. This probably will not be fun. Tune-in to the webcast by clicking here, or watch on Cablevision channel 77 or, for the best picture-and-sound, come to the meeting...we've got plenty of seats for you!

Also this week, there's a reception in recognition of student art on Thursday night 6:30 at the Ed Center. All are welcome to come view the work of our talented students.

And, finally, Friday night and Saturday afternoon are the 65th anniversary shows for DADS' NIGHT! More info, history and show times, click here. See you there!

It's Mardi Gras in Ridgewood tonight!

All Ridgewood parents are invited to the Ridgewood High School HSA's Mardi Gras Social tonight at the Elks Club, beginning at 8:00 p.m. The event is a fundraiser for the HSA's Development Commmittee, which is currently raising funds for high-tech Smart Boards for classrooms. The admission is $30 at the door, and for that you get beverages (beer, wine, soda), snacks and a lively performance by The Shards, a pretty darn good band comprised of Ridgewood residents. It's a good deal...for a good cause...and should be fun. See you there?

Election Update

There is just one name on the ballot this year for the open seat on the Board of Education: Bob Hutton will be unopposed as he seeks (and obviously attains) his third (I think that's right!) three-year term.

This is absolutely no commentary on Mr. Hutton, but it surprises me that no one else stepped up. There's just so much facing our District this year (and beyond), and I know our community cares about the quality of our kids' education...so what's up with this?

On another note, there's a danger that this will make the budget vote process more difficult. Because there won't be a real campaign for the Board, less attention could be paid to the budget vote, and voter turnout could be even lower than normal. I urge you all to please pay attention when the budget facts start being communicated, beginning at next week's Board of Ed meeting, through the public hearing, HSA meetings, and any other meetings (not sure yet what will be scheduled). Please learn the facts and vote on April 21.

It was bound to happen (snow day fallout)...

We parents never thought it would really happen! Every year we look at that fine print at the bottom the the academic calendar and say, "yeah, right, we'll never have enough snow days to actually lose break days." But, this year, it's happened. The current announcement on the District website:

Latest Snow Day Alters April Break Schedule

Due to the snow day on Monday, March 2, the Ridgewood Public Schools WILL BE OPEN on Monday, April 27, which would have been the first day of April Recess. Only two days were built into the 2008-2009 academic calendar for inclement weather; the policy calls to make up any additional snow days by taking from the April break, if necessary.

All we can do now is hope the snow is really over, because next on the chopping block will be Tuesday April 28.

Last call for candidates!

If you were wavering on the fence and thought you missed your chance to run for the Board of Ed this year -- great news! Due to the snowstorm on Monday and the possible confusion this may have caused to potential candidates, the governor extended the deadline till TODAY at 4:00 p.m. to submit petitions to get your name on the ballot for the April 21 election.

For the record, our Ed Center was open ALL DAY on Monday to accept petitions, signs were posted at the doors and a notice was placed on the website. But, it's fair enough to say that just in case you missed it, you can still decide to run.

Pop on over to the Ed Center, see Mr. DeSimone in the Business Office. Get 10 (I think) signatures of registered voters, get it NOTARIZED and turn it back in by 4:00 Verizon Wireless time.

What the...?

Fort Lee educators altered students' transcripts
Guidance counselors or administrators at Fort Lee High School have changed or deleted grades on students’ transcripts to help them get into “very selective” colleges and universities, schools Superintendent Raymond Bandlow said today.

[article continues...]

wait, wait, here's my favorite quote:

“I think it’s done not with a malicious intent but to help the student be admitted to a selective college,” [Superintendent Bandlow] said.

Oh....I feel so much better now!

The college mania is so out of control.

Read the full article by clicking here.

I'm amazed at what teachers can accomplish...

I was looking at the new draft proposal of the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Mathematics and one thing struck me: the sheer volume of specific items we require teachers to teach or, more accurately, students to learn, in any year. The content standards are made up of something called "Cumulative Progress Indicators" or CPIs. These are the "things" students are expected to learn. For example, in 4th grade, the first CPI is "Read and Write Whole Numbers through 999,9999." I did an experiment. I don't know how useful it is, I just thought it was interesting. I counted all the CPIs for a single grade, in this case 4th (for no reason). In 4th grade there are a total of 59 CPIs listed. Then I calculated, in a school year we start with 180 days. Subtract 5 for field trips or assemblies or other special events. That leaves 175 days. (I used mental math haha.) If a teacher devotes 45 minutes every day to math, that gives a total 131 hours a year for math. This translates to just about 2 hours for each CPI. Now, some of them, obviously (like counting), won't take two hours (although maybe it would take more than two hours for some kids). But other concepts (like "4.4.4.B.3 Describe the elements of a vertex-edge graph using terms such as, edges, vertices, nodes, neighbors and count the possible paths between any two nodes of a simple vertex-edged graph") must take much longer to teach so that all the kids in the class understand. I just think that's a remarkable pace to keep up, day in and day out, no matter what type of textbook or teaching style a teacher uses.

One last reminder about Communications Forum

Just a reminder about tomorrow's Open Forum on Communications presented by the Communications Committee of the Ridgewood Board of Education. The Forum will be an open conversation to discuss school district communications, including:
-- how the district communicates to parents and the non-parent community
-- how the public/parents communicate to the schools/district
-- ideas for the best communication in the future

While it may seem that we have "bigger fish to fry" right now, such as the budget, math programs, school election, possible referendum, etc., successful and open communications will play a big part in how we make it through these challenges. Let's talk about it!

I hope parents will attend, but I also hope non-parent taxpayers, seniors, teachers, businesspeople, etc., will attend, too. So tell your neighbors.

The Forum we be held on Tuesday, March 3, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Education Center, 3rd Floor. Hope to see you there.

Any questions, email me or post a comment here.