Schools

Letter to the Superintendent: A Resident Responds to Jim O'Neill's Letter to the Community

The author commends the school district administration and offers up some of his own thoughts.

Hi Mr. O'Neill,

I just read your well-written Open Letter to the Community. I agree with a great deal of what you wrote. Specifically, I agree with all of the following points you make in your article:  

1) Average administrator cost per pupil is less than the average in Morris County.

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2) Average spending per pupil is less than the average in Morris County.  

3) Our enrollment growth rate is high, currently.  

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4) Our student performance is exemplary on nearly all metrics (academics, athletics, the arts).  

I will make the additional point that our socio-economic blessings, and extremely involved parents, play as big a role in our students' success as our fine teachers. A great majority of the time I certainly have had my kids taught by teachers who have made me proud of their high level of commitment and aptitude. I just would like to ackowledge our luck of the draw on where and how we are born, as well as the general high level of parental involvement in Chatham, as well.

The point of my letter to you is that in a perfect world, where everyone is laughing as they watch Seinfeld, trading QCOM from their phones at $400/share, working out of a loft with a dog and vacationing in Bali, I would not change a darn thing with our school system. At its current cost structure, it works in helping to produce fine young women and men who are educated, confident, and suited to succeed in an ever-increasingly complex global environment. In current times, though, I think we can tweak a little bit. I think there are a large number of parents who are having harder economic times. There are also a large number of empty-nesters in town as well who are on fixed incomes. These empty nesters (as well as all "savers" in general) have already done their part in helping our local and national government. They get zero percent on their savings. This is a de facto bailout of Wall Street, above and beyond the billions cited frequently in the media. As such, it is important to be sensitive to these folks, and to understand that their "funds well" is not infinitely deep. I too often hear folks say biting words suggesting that those who oppose the school budget increases should move if they don't like it.

How would we tweak? I think the litmus test always must be what has the least marginal negative effect on our children's education. We must always remember that the purpose of the school system is to benefit the children to its maximum capability, and not to serve the school system as an "institution."

I pose these questions to you not because I have the answers (I don't have all the data to have the answers), but because I feel they merit the leadership (the superintendent and the school board) asking the questions.  

Should there have been raises this year at all in Chatham (administrators as well as teachers)? What are other districts doing? Is Chatham paid more than the other districts in general? If those raises were foregone (not limited to just 2 and 3 percent), could we have averted teacher and aide  cuts? Why is it that teachers and aides seem to be  the first to be cut, as well as programs and services for the kids? It seems to me that teachers aides, for example, offer the greatest bang for the buck for the taxpayer, considering their lower pay, pensions (nonexistent), and healthcare costs. Were there any administrator positions that might have been cut instead? The administrators have much higher salary and benefit costs in general, and that is the reason why I ask that. Are there less-needed supervisor positions than teaching staff? As a taxpayer, and looking at educational bang for the buck, I would rather forego (I think... I dont have all the facts that you do) a supervisory position in elementary curriculum that makes $100,000 per year plus at least 50 percent more than that in benefit costs than I would all the aides that were cut, whose costs were probably equivalent.  

I know Chatham has been dealt a raw deal with our governor's decisions, as well as a general economic downturn, yet laying blame or crying will help nobody. I do not have the answers to my above questions. I am open-minded to hearing the debate. I do feel that they must be asked, though, and asked by those in leadership roles in the system (namely the superintendent and the school board). I just want to feel comfortable that that they are being asked. I take you on your word, as you have done a great job for our community, Mr. O'Neill.  

With respect and admiration for your tough job,

SAL ARNUK

Chatham Township


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