Our Schools Are In Crisis: Give Back To The Taxpayers

To: The Englewood School Board

      Englewood Teachers Association

Stephen Brown (President of School Board) has publicly asked for suggestions from the Community on how to solve this problem. Mr. Brown, your training at the New Jersey School Boards Association should have prepared you for this situation. 

Local School Board - Responsibility

The local school board establishes 'policies' for the running of the local schooldistrict consistent with the "Statues" and "Regulations" applicable to all public schools.

Governance - The Law

• District board policies promoting student achievement
• ƒ District board training, disclosure and operation
• ƒ Ethics compliance
• ƒ District board policies, procedures and by-laws
• ƒ Standard school board practices
• ƒ Annual evaluative process
• ƒ District board/administration collaboration
• ƒ District board budget priorities
• ƒ District board communications

Englewood School Board members: you have clearly lost your way. Your training is flawed or you have not been very good students. It is time for you to find your way back to the responsibility of policy makers. This must be done for the sake of all children in the district, including your own.

Perfect Attendance incentive - Eliminate incentives. There is a supposed deficit. 

Incentives come in time of FEAST not FAMON.

Tuition reimbursement   should be suspended for an agreed upon time across the board for everyone, no exceptions. Settle the ones pending and freeze it.

AYP incentives for Superintendent should be suspended indefinitely. It should be reinstated when there is a clear improvement in the achievement of Englewood students, overtime, district wide.

Extended day - Policy should be created to bring this item in line with the state wide norm, which is approximately 6 hours and 55 minutes. This should be done across the board also.

There are many ways that the district may save taxpayers money. This includes the above "give backs to the taxpayers" that may not be considered as such by the teachers.

New School Board Members should have gotten this very important Training for Districts Entering Negotiations before voting on anything concerning employee salaries and benefits. That is called negotiating in good faith, Howard and Molly.

This is not the Board of EMPLOYMENT, it is the Board of EDUCATION!

                              How are the children?