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4-28-10 'NJ students wage mass walkouts in response to Gov Chris Christie's school cuts'
Star Ledger "For thousands of New Jersey high school students who staged mass walkouts from their classrooms today to protest proposed cuts by Gov. Chris Christie, one question remains: Will their efforts make a difference?..."

'Class action: students protest education cuts' Courier Post

‘Students walkout, despite warnings from governor’s office, union leaders’ The Record

N.J. students wage mass walkouts in response to Gov. Chris Christie's school cuts

By Star-Ledger Staff

April 27, 2010, 8:04PM

For thousands of New Jersey high school students who staged mass walkouts from their classrooms today to protest proposed cuts by Gov. Chris Christie, one question remains: Will their efforts make a difference?

"Sadly, no," said Bhriana Smith, 16, a student at Newark’s Science Park High School. "I wish it did, but it won’t."

"Effect? Not much because of the disorganization, but hopefully we got our message out," her classmate, Kharis Xavier, said.

United by a Facebook page that called for students to "rise up and do something," there was no denying that the scores who rallied to support their teachers found the attention they sought — even if some were disciplined for their actions.

"This is not our mistake and we will not suffer for it," senior Robert Wilson told a crowd of approximately 200 students at West Orange High School. "Enough cuts! Enough is enough!"

Ironically, the protests provided a rare meeting of the minds between the New Jersey Education Association and Christie. Both urged students to return to class, although Christie’s spokesman, Michael Drewniak, fired a parting shot at the NJEA.

"It is also our firm hope that the students were motivated by youthful rebellion or spring fever – and not by encouragement from any one-sided view of the current budget crisis in New Jersey," Drewniak said.

The protests were organized on a Facebook page called "Protest NJ Education Cuts — State Wide School Walk Out" set up a month ago by Michelle Ryan Lauto, a 2009 graduate of Northern Valley Regional High School in Old Tappan. The page had close to 18,000 fans today.

Newark was the site of the largest demonstration, with more than 2,000 students from at least seven high schools marching from Military Park to City Hall holding signs and chanting "Save our schools!"

The walkouts were supposed to begin at 1 p.m., but many began earlier with students marching to school football fields and parking lots armed with signs, some of which read: "Protect Education."

Throughout the day, state Education Commissioner Bret Schundler urged schools to enforce attendance policies.

At West Orange High School, students chanted and sang in support of their teacher’s jobs and extracurricular programs that are at risk with the district’s budget voted down last week.

"My cousins coming into this school won’t have athletics," freshman Azriel Gordon said. "It’s not fair that we have to suffer."

School administrators allowed for protests in many locales. At Montclair High School, Montclair Mayor Jerry Fried offered his support, but also told students to get back to class.

"It’s a tricky situation because I support their expression, but they need to go in school," Fried said. "Ideally, they would have had the protest before the school day or after and not miss class. But there is a lot of emotion about it."

Carolina Noguera, a junior at Montclair, said she was willing to serve detention for the cause.

"I want to be a teacher when I grow up, but the way things are going it looks impossible," she said. "There are barely even any books here anymore."

School funding has been a white-hot issue since Christie last month called for an $820 million cut in state aid for public schools next year.

In school elections last week, voters rejected 59 percent of school budgets proposed statewide. Many school districts are now planning teacher and school employee layoffs to account for the lost aid.

Christie maintains layoffs can be avoided if teachers agree to a one-year salary freeze and submit 1.5 percent of their salaries toward health insurance premiums. The NJEA, however, says the governor is unfairly trying to balance the state’s budget at the expense of schools.

With Ocean Township’s proposed school budget defeated by six votes, 39 jobs will have to be eliminated next year, Superintendent Thomas Pagano said. Today, about 100 students held a sit-in in one hallways at Ocean Township High School. A smaller group of about 35 sat on the school’s front lawn for 20 minutes before returning to classes.

At Parsippany High School, about 80 students attempted to march from the school to the town’s municipal building off Route 46. Once they got halfway there, they decided to take a bus back to school because the distance was a little more than they anticipated.
"They really just wanted to be heard and to express their opinions," Prinicipal Natalie Betz said.

Protests were generally smaller in South Jersey. About 50 students sat on the steps outside the gym at Gateway Regional High School in Deptford. A few carried signs scribbled on notebook paper that said "Save our teachers." Others wore handmade white shirts with black marker scrawled on them. Principal Steve Hindman was outside with them, holding a legal pad with the students’ names on it.

"They have to be disciplined for this," Hindman said.

At Old Bridge High School, about 200 students marched around the building for about 30 minutes chanting "no more budget cuts" before returning to class, Principal James Hickey said.

In Newark, students helped clean up the litter left at City Hall after the rally.

"We just thought we might as well clean up the mess we made," said Smith, the Science Park High student. "Unlike our governor."

By Bob Considine and David Giambusso

Staff writers MaryAnn Spoto and Tom Haydon, New Jersey Local News Service reporters Halley Bondy and Eugene Paik and the Gloucester County Times contributed to this report

‘Students walkout, despite warnings from governor’s office, union leaders’ Tuesday, April 27, 2010 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY APRIL 27, 2010, 9:49 PM BY LESLIE BRODY THE RECORD Hundreds of North Jersey students joined thousands statewide in walkouts Tuesday to protest education cuts, despite stern warnings from the governor’s office that they belonged in class. Some rallied for hours, others for 15 minutes. Many carried signs with slogans such as “cut calories, not salaries” or “Christie cut our budget so we are cutting class.” On many sidewalks, boisterous chants of “save our schools” drew honks from passing cars. More than 400 students in Englewood, about 100 in Fort Lee and more than 100 in Cresskill started the morning with demonstrations outside school doors. More than 150 walked out of Rosa L. Parks Fine and Performing Arts in Paterson at lunchtime. Meanwhile, thousands marched in Newark, where a rowdy crowd jammed the steps of City Hall monitored by police on horseback. The walkouts, which were noisy but peaceful, were organized through a Facebook page by Michelle Ryan Lauto, 18, a 2009 graduate from Northern Valley Regional High School of Old Tappan who is now on leave from Pace University in New York. She’s worried about her 23-year-old sister, who just got a pink slip from the Hudson County School of Technology. “I’m thrilled” with the walkout response, said Lauto as she juggled interviews with news crews. The drama student said it was critical “to show students are not apathetic about the cuts.” The governor’s office said it hoped school officials did their best to quash the walkouts and that teachers did not egg them on. “It is also our firm hope that the students were motivated by youthful rebellion or spring fever – and not by encouragement from any one-sided view of the current budget crisis in New Jersey,” Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak in a press release. “Students would be better served if they were given a full, impartial understanding of the problems that got us here in the first place and why dramatic action was needed.” Department of Education Commissioner Bret Schundler added, “Schools should enforce their attendance policies. They should not be permitting students to walk out of class.” Even the New Jersey Education Association, which usually spars with the governor, agreed. Spokesman Stephen Wollmer said it would be best for students to find ways to protest outside of school hours. Some educators noted that students who wanted to be heard could to write letters to the governor and other politicians, and attend local budget hearings. Several superintendents said they would give detention to those who cut class and would penalize those who failed to turn in assignments. A few administrators, however, said they were glad to see students getting politically involved. In Fort Lee, for example, acting high school Principal William Gibney said the students wouldn’t be punished. “They’re exercising their first amendment rights,” Gibney said. “But it’s too late. The governor has done what he’s going to do.” Christie has said years of reckless spending and policy mistakes led to a $11 billion budget gap for 2011, and that he needed to take drastic steps to save New Jersey from bankruptcy. He froze $475 million in remaining aid payments to schools this year and cut state aid to schools for 2011 by $820 million. He said that reduction was due largely to the loss of $1 billion in one-time federal stimulus funds. Voters in most districts across the state rejected school budgets a week ago; many voters sought to limit how much local property taxes rose to make up for aid cuts. The student walkout was planned before voters went to the polls April 20. More than 17,000 people signed up to join on the Facebook page but it wasn’t clear how many of New Jersey’s roughly 400,000 high schoolers attended walkouts. In Fort Lee, which passed its budget but plans to eliminate 55 positions and lay off 40 people, several students were upset their own teachers were being cut. One was Chanel Arias, a junior, who carried an orange poster saying “We [heart] Miss Dhimes,” her Spanish teacher. “I love her,” Chanel said. Her layoff “really hurts me.” In Englewood, more than 400 students from Dwight-Morrow High School and the Academies@Englewood gathered outside. Many yelled, “Don’t cut our teachers.” “We don’t have enough paper in the school and teachers are getting fired,” said Rachael Cato, a Dwight Morrow sophomore. “How are we supposed to concentrate in school when all of this is going on?” Englewood’s budget failed, and district officials have said there may be 39 staff layoffs. Music, sports and other programs may be scaled back. “Morale has been extremely low,” said Alexander Yuan, a junior at the Academies@Englewood. “These cuts are really lowering the standards.” Dorian Milteer, principal of the two high schools, said all students who cut class would get a Saturday detention. Even so, he said, “we also encourage the democratic process and we’re pleased the students were really orderly.” Mark Rivera, a senior at Rosa L. Parks School of Fine and Performing Arts in Paterson, said he helped organize the walk at lunch time because he dreaded the possibility of severe cuts in arts programs citywide. His friends carried signs saying “Save the Arts” and “Keep the Arts Alive.” If arts programs are decimated, he said, “it’s going to be very detrimental to our future. We need more creative thinkers in the world. … Rosa Parks was a great activist in the civil rights era and she was my inspiration today.” Principal Sharon Smith said the student government leaders, class officers and faculty would decide on the consequences for participants in the protest, which lasted less than 30 minutes. About 15 to 20 students walked out between classes in Garfield, milling outside until Principal Michael McGinley went out and reminded them of the disciplinary action they would face if they continued. McGinley questioned whether some of the students who walked out were more interested in getting a break from school than in budget cuts. Some teachers had also explained that there were other ways to voice their opinions. McGinley said that was especially important, since some have accused teachers of putting students up to the walk-outs. The teachers told the students, “Don’t be a follower. Be a leader,” McGinley said. Walkouts “may be more harmful than helpful in moving the cause forward. The kids took that advice.” -- Staff Writers Giovanna Fabiano, Karen Sudol, Jennifer Cunningham, Merry Firschein, Katie Sobko contributed to this report. Courier Post ‘Class action: Students protest education cuts’ By BARBARA S. ROTHSCHILD • Courier-Post Staff • April 28, 2010 South Jersey public high school students were among the thousands statewide who staged walkouts Tuesday to protest Gov. Chris Christie's school aid cuts a week after voters rejected a majority of district spending plans for the coming year. The protests, initially organized on Facebook by a college student who grew up in the state, were generally held in districts where school budgets were defeated. Some students were arrested in Pemberton Township and a school was locked down in Monroe, but the protests were mostly low-key. At Eastern High School in Voorhees, students began filtering out of the school into the front parking lot at 8:45 a.m. By 10 a.m., the stream was steady as teens protested the cutting of 33 staff members, including 24 teachers, in Eastern's failed budget. Also gone are 21 clubs and multiple sports programs -- with more cuts possible as the budget is reviewed by the governing bodies of Voorhees, Gibbsboro and Berlin Borough. Sophomore Cinasia Hill, 15, of Voorhees, said she was protesting against the budget cuts and exercising her freedom of speech. Sophomore Jake DeMarino, 16, of Gibbsboro, lifted his T-shirt to show "Save Teachers" boldly painted in purple. Names of teachers who were to be cut adorned his back and arms. DeMarino said he was particularly upset about English teacher Lauren Ferrara, who also coaches the girls' lacrosse team. Junior Jess Kirshner, 17, wearing her Eastern lacrosse T-shirt, agreed. "Ms. Ferrara's been nothing but dedicated. This was her life, and they took it away from her," Kirshner said. Anthony Micciche, 17, a junior from Voorhees, said he opposed cuts in athletics. "I'm out here to support freshman sports. They should keep them," he said. Senior Genevieve Okoro, 18, of Gibbsboro, said parents should be concerned about the budget cuts. "I do want to save all the wonderful teachers I've had. I'll be graduating in June, but I'm concerned about my siblings. The quality of education will be greatly affected," Okoro said. Senior Nick Lugo of Berlin Borough said the school gave students two hours to protest without incurring any repercussions. About two hours after the protest began, there was an increased presence of township police. By the time Voorhees police began moving students toward the school building, some had left the premises and kept on walking. But most returned to their classes under the guidance of Intermediate High School Principal James Talarico, who asked police to remove a Courier-Post reporter and photographer and declined to speak at that time. Parents received automated phone calls from the district after the walkout. "Eastern, like many other schools, experienced . . . protest entirely organized by students via electronic means. Students returned to class after two hours," the message said. It also said about 400 students took part and were supervised at all times by administrators and police. In Cherry Hill, protests began early in the morning and didn't last long. At Cherry Hill High School East, a bout 300 students walked out for about half an hour, district spokeswoman Susan Bastnagel said. Principal John O'Breza offered protesting students an opportunity to discuss the issues. About a dozen took him up on it after the other students were directed back into the building, Bastnagel said. About 100 students walked out at Cherry Hill High School West for 10 to 15 minutes, Bastnagel said. The protest was even smaller at Maple Shade High School, where about 30 students walked out around 1 p.m. for about 10 minutes, Superintendent Michael Livengood said. Students told Livengood they didn't want to see any more cuts to the defeated budget. "Neither do we," he told them. The district and school board plan to meet with council members next week to begin the process of examining the budget for possible further cuts, however. At Pemberton High School, the school resource officer and local police were asked to assist in keeping any protest peaceful and the school administration took "necessary precautions" to curtail classroom disruptions, district spokeswoman Jacquelyn Tantum said. Pemberton Superintendent Michael Gorman got on the high school public address system at 8:40 a.m. and advised students planning to protest to do so peacefully by contacting their state legislators. Students were also warned that if they participated in the walkout they would be subject to disciplinary action, Tantum said. A handful of students walked out of class after the announcement and more joined during the passing of classes. About 70 students took part in the protest. Most returned to the building when asked to do so. Four Pemberton students allegedly failed to obey police direction and were taken into custody by the police. After one hour, the superintendent made a final request for the remaining 20 students to return to class. Six refused and were turned over to the police. Police processed the students and all were released to their parents. About 150 Williamstown High School students left the building to protest at 10 a.m. and the school went into lockdown mode, Monroe Superintendent Charles Earling said. Monroe police were called in to help school resource officers control the crowd. After the lockdown, some students returned but others didn't come back, Earling said. Students may be disciplined today with detentions or even suspensions, Earling said. "We don't expect it to happen again after we take action on today's walkout," said Earling, who blamed the protest on Facebook. Students also staged walkouts at Camden High School, Rancocas Valley Regional High School in Mount Holly, and Gateway Regional High School in Woodbury Heights. Although Eastern students were receiving texts from friends at nearby Cherokee High School in Evesham saying they were walking out at 11 a.m., it did not happen -- at least not at the appointed hour. All was quiet at Cherokee, part of the Lenape Regional High School District, which also had a defeated budget -- at 11 a.m. The only people from the school who ventured out of the building by 11: 45 were a lone administrator who appeared to stand guard in the parking lot and three others who got into a white car and drove to the outer edge of the lot, where they ordered a Courier-Post reporter and photographer parked there to leave immediately. It wasn't clear how many of the state's roughly 400,000 public high school students would join the walkout, but the Facebook page used to organize the protest had 17,000 fans by Tuesday. Walkout organizer Michelle Lauto, who graduated last year from Old Tappan High School in Bergen County and is now a student at Pace University in New York, said she wanted to join the cause because her mother is a teacher and her sister is a school secretary. "What we want to do is get attention to the issue and show primarily that the youth is not apathetic to the issue," said Lauto, 18, an actress who's especially concerned that arts programs could be eliminated. Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said the governor felt "students belong in the classroom, and we hope all efforts were made to curtail student walkouts. "It is also our firm hope that the students were motivated by youthful rebellion or spring fever -- and not by encouragement from any one-sided view of the current budget crisis in New Jersey," Drewniak said. "Students would be better served if they were given a full, impartial understanding of the problems that got us here in the first place and why dramatic action was needed." Department of Education Commissioner Bret Schundler said he did not favor allowing students to protest. "Schools should enforce their attendance policies.