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12-14-12 Schools Report on Sandy's Aftermath at Assembly Education Hearing
Star Ledger – Star ledger - Lawmakers propose canceling N.J. standardized tests due to Sandy setbacks

NJ Spotlight - Schools Still Struggle to Cope with Sandy’s Aftermath…Displaced students, lost class time, fiscal worries among lingering problems, Assembly panel told

School Officials from Around the State Share Testimony on Present & Future Challenges… Diegnan Holds Assembly Hearing on Sandy’s Impact on Schools throughout New Jersey

GSCS Note: GSCS President David Abbott testified at the hearing, bringing information, concerns, and recommendations of members to legislators directly. Concrete suggestions were offered to the committee in Dr. Abbott's testimony, and received with interest (GSCS Testimony attached here).

Star Ledger – Star ledger - Lawmakers propose canceling N.J. standardized tests due to Sandy setbacks

By Matt Friedman/Statehouse BureauThe Star-Ledger
on December 13, 2012 at 5:43 PM, updated December 13, 2012 at 6:50 PM

TRENTON — Two New Jersey lawmakers are floating an idea to delay or cancel standardized tests for students this year because of school disruptions from Hurricane Sandy.

"For me, this is the storm of a lifetime, and I think there either needs to be either a timetable extension for when you give the test or a moratorium on a test," said Assemblywoman Connie Wagner (D-Bergen). "Why is it so important this year?"

Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D-Essex) said she thinks students are going through a “post-traumatic stress situation.”

“I don’t think there was any district that was open. So all districts lost time. I think there’s no way to measure the emotional impact on staff and students and families,” she said. “Maybe take the money expended to do the tests, score the tests and all that and maybe put some of that money to replacing materials that have been lost.”

The assemblywomen’s comments came this afternoon after an education committee hearing during which superintendents and other school officials in towns most devastated by Sandy recounted how they’re coping with the damage.

Both lawmakers said they have not yet approached the Department of Education about the idea but said they will after hearing the school officials' concerns.

Barbara Morgan, a spokeswoman for the education department, said they're "happy to hear legislators' thoughts and concerns" on delaying the tests in certain districts but "we would not consider canceling tests altogether as doing so would be a violation of federal law.”

Wagner, however, said "I think you could ask for a waiver" for federally-required tests.

At the hearing, some officials they’re not sure how they’ll meet the state’s 180 school day requirement unless this winter is especially mild.

“We’ve all modified our calendars to include the 180 days but you have to remember we haven’t even had winter yet or any snow,” said Keyport Superintendent Lisa Savoia, whose schools were closed for two weeks.

Others expressed concerns about looming uncertainty about just how devastated their tax bases will be, and extra expenses caused by having to transport far-displaced students to school.

"I think there’s no way to measure the emotional impact on staff and students and families”

“Transportation is a big, big issue for me and that is something I really need assistance on and some help short term and long term,”said Union Beach Superintendent Joseph Annibale. “I want to bring back every single student to this district.”

Union Beach already sent its high school students to Keyport. But with many of that town’s homes damaged, it’s unlikely the town will be able to reimburse Keyport for the same amount per pupil that it used to.

“I can’t see a scenario where we’re not going to have to make up that shortfall between what taxpayers in one community will have to pay,” said Assemblyman Troy Singleton (D-Burlington).

Beach Haven Superintendent Patricia Daggy said her district’s business computers were damaged, forcing them to send the hard drives up to Jersey City to recover the data. But they got no reprieve from a deadline to submit the data to NJ SMART – a program that keeps tabs on student data.

“We couldn’t meet that deadline because we didn’t have our computer information,” said Daggy, whose elementary school students are attending classes at nearby Eagleswood schools while Beach Haven’t only school building is repaired. “My secretary contacted NJ SMART several times and they said ‘sorry we’re not going to extend the deadline.’

But Morgan, the education department spokeswoman, said deadlines were indeed extended.

"The commissioner communicated immediately with all districts immediately after the storm about deadline extension," she said.

Other superintendents told of how they adapted in ways both big and small to having to move schools. Paul Christopher, president of the MAST Academy, had to move his school from Sandy Hook to a defunct Catholic school in Keyport, which didn’t have a PA or bell system.

 

NJ Spotlight - Schools Still Struggle to Cope with Sandy’s Aftermath…Displaced students, lost class time, fiscal worries among lingering problems, Assembly panel told

By John Mooney, December 14, 2012 in Education|Post a Comment

It was a statement repeated over and over by educators testifying before a state Assembly panel: They were never trained to handle an event like Hurricane Sandy, and there was little they could have done to prepare.

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“We definitely didn’t go to superintendent class for this,” said Lisa Savoia, the Keyport schools superintendent. “This was not part of Superintendent 101.”

Appearing before the Assembly’s education committee yesterday, Savoia was the first among more than a dozen educators who described how they have adapted and adjusted to meet the new reality of shuttered schools and displaced students.

The situation in Keyport and neighboring districts was illustrative of the patchwork of safety nets continuing to be employed to help the tiny district of Union Beach as it copes with devastation that destroyed or damaged more than 600 homes and displaced as many as one-third of its residents.

Union Beach’s 750 students were left without a school when water swept through the prekindergarten-to-eighth-grade building.

“You wouldn’t believe the power of water, how it could move everything off their footings,” said Superintendent Joseph Annibale.

With the building not expected to be fully repaired until spring, Union Beach’s students are scattered across the county: preschoolers to makeshift quarters in the district’s administrative offices, elementary school pupils to a Middletown parochial school, and middle-school students attending two schools in Keyport.

At the same time, Keyport has faced its own challenges, with its high school including recovering from being an evacuation center for 150 individuals in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane and providing an array of other services for the community.

The first challenge came – and remains – just getting the children into the classroom once classes resumed two weeks after the hurricane. Even a full month later, Annibale said, at least 65 of his families still reside in towns outside of Union Beach, each entitled to transportation to their hometown schools – no matter where that may be.

“There are simply not enough bus drivers and buses to go around,” he said. “We want to bring them all back, but I have 65 families . . . We are making strides but we’re not reaching everybody.”

Keyport has done its best to accommodate the Union Beach students, its superintendent said, keeping them together in their own classes.

Still, the late winter and spring loom with lingering uncertainties: How long will the students need alternative space? What will their town look like when their school reopens? Will residents want to return?

“When we become a school again, many of our families will not be back in town,” Annibale said. “That burden will still be on top of our plate.”

Another question: Will the tax base still be there to pay for that school, or for the students who were attending neighboring high schools even before the storm? Keyport High School receives roughly $3.5 million a year for Union Beach students.

“Given what has happened (in Union Beach), we have a real concern about what will happen with that,” Savoia said.

But the administrators kept coming back to the impact on the students, as well, the effect of being displaced from their homes and familiar environs.

Annibale said his students had never taken a school bus other than on an occasional field trip.

Savoia said lost classroom days essentially set the school year back to September, with critical instruction lost and little leeway in state testing that will come in the spring.

“It would be wonderful if timelines were extended, but don’t know if physically can be done,” she said.

The Assembly panel heard other stories from other educators.

Beach Haven Superintendent Patricia Daggy said she is still waiting for the November tax levy check from the municipality. She said she was told local residents are reluctant to pay their water bills, let alone their tax bills.

She and others said if there was a bright side to Sandy’s devastation, it was the cooperation and support that schools have offered each other and their families.

Daggy is now sending her students to Eagleswood School while her school continues to be renovated. “They have taken us in and haven’t asked a single thing in return,” she said.

Press office-Assembly Democrats - School Officials from Around the State Share Testimony on Present & Future Challenges… Diegnan Holds Assembly Hearing on Sandy’s Impact on Schools throughout New Jersey

12-13-12

Assembly Education Committee Chairman Patrick J. Diegnan, Jr. (D-Middlesex) held a hearing on Thursday with school officials from some of the hardest hit districts in the state to discuss Hurricane Sandy's impact on school operations, including the storm's effect on infrastructure, the displacement of students and school personnel, and the use of schools as shelters.

"Hurricane Sandy affected nearly every school district in one way or another, but for many of our shore towns the effects have been monumental and in many cases they're still unfolding. What's clear is that in tackling these unprecedented challenges, our schools have risen to the occasion and gone above and beyond the call in many circumstances.

"Many schools opened their doors as shelters for the surrounding community. Belmar had their teachers walking door-to-door to provide important notices to families. As another official noted today, they've been helping displaced students and families with a myriad of personal issues beyond simply conducting routine school business.

"School officials have worked around the clock to rearrange the remaining calendar to meet the 180 day school year requirement, but with winter yet to arrive, any severe weather could throw them another curveball. Budget planning will also present an enormous challenge this year, especially for districts that suffered major damage and whose towns will see significant revenue shortfalls due to the loss of properties. The sooner schools can access their needs and provide a snapshot of their budget situation, the better equipped we can be to work with them during the state budget planning process.

"This was, without a doubt, an informative hearing. I commend school officials statewide, as well as the Governor and the Department of Education for the work they've done to stay on top of this issue, particularly when it comes to communicating important information. Looking ahead, there are many immediate challenges our districts face and we must work together in a bipartisan fashion in Trenton to help them in whatever way we can," said Diegnan.

 

 

GARDEN STATE COALITION OF SCHOOLS/GSCS 12-13-12

160 West State Street, Trenton, NJ 08608

Testimony before the Assembly Education Committee: Lessons learned - Hurricane Sandy

Dr. David A. Abbott, GSCS President; Superintendent, Marlboro Schools, Monmouth County

Good afternoon, Chairman Diegnan and members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to present to you today. I am David Abbott, President of the Garden State Coalition of Schools. My comments today certainly cannot be inclusive of all schools issues that have arisen due to Sandy, nor do we even know yet all the related problems that will evolve as we move along day to day. We do know that our primary focus on quality education for New Jersey’s students has and will forever remain steadfast. With your help, we can move forward positively and with hope that we have all learned something from this tragedy that will help build a stronger and more secure future for children and families across our state.

Post-Hurricane Look at Schools Communications in Emergency Situations - GSCS Board of Trustees  feedback : GSCS Board of Trustee members shared the following information recently about the communications methods that worked in their districts during the storm’s after effects.  

- Because cell calls were not getting through, texting was an important way to reach parents and staff, but only if all cell phone numbers were updated.                 

- Many people relied on social media—such as Facebook, Twitter, Naxle (which gives police updates) for their information.

- A few towns used a town-wide conference call to great effect. Thousands of residents dialed in to hear short updates from their mayor, assembly people, and public-safety officials.

- Reaching foreign speaking populations was a concern in some districts.

- Some districts used PTA calling chains. Some used their student management database systems to reach student homes.

- Some municipalities relied on local districts to communicate town information

- New Jersey’s NJEA Convention should be in the summer, as in all other states, rather than in November, when it is very disruptive. Now is the time to advocate for this change.

Overall, schools found ways to communicate to their communities as needed, albeit under stressful and never-before-experienced conditions.  We suggest that the state and schools work together to find a emergency communications plan that can be tested and supported functionally at the state and local level as soon as possible.

On a broader level, we are very concerned about how the drop in ratables will affect school funding revenue in the very near future. At Tuesday's Senate Budget hearing on Sandy in Highlands, the Senate Budget Chair Paul Sarlo specifically noted that the legislature is aware of the negative reach that lowered ratables will have for schools and he relayed that the issue would be addressed in the State Budget FY 2013-2014.

Issues as noted in attached testimony of Christopher Rooney

·         Will the state budget contain provisions for municipalities that are unable to collect enough taxes to make school payments?

·         Will municipalities have re-evaluations due to storm damages?

·         The McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act is requiring school districts to provide levels of services that have never been seen previously. Would the legislature consider reallocation of existing funds from areas not impacted as severely to areas of high impact? Often these Federal Funds do not get completely exhausted by all school district.

We are also worried about the absolute time frames that are in statute that districts are required to follow for their budgeting process. The statutes also have not been updated to reflect the reality that only 67 school districts still will hold elections this April. Clearly, the timelines should be revisited as a matter of course, but also the dates need to be revisited in light of Sandy's impact to give districts the time to gain more information to format realistic budgets. Executive County Superintendents also need more time to be able to pay appropriate attention to their required review of school budgets (see attached testimony of Monmouth County Interim Executive Superintendent).

The following is excerpted from testimonies of 1) Christopher Rooney, Superintendent of Henry Hudson Regional in Highlands, New Jersey and 2) Joseph Passiment, Interim Executive County Superintendent-Monmouth. The points we copy here are relevant to the situations faced by many districts and need to be addressed expeditiously so that difficulties that emerged as a result of Sandy can be ameliorated in an opportune fashion.

Per Rooney testimony: “There are six concerns that I would like to raise with the committee as you develop the state budget.

1. Will the state budget contain provisions for municipalities that are unable to collect enough taxes to make school payments?

2. Will municipalities have re-evaluations due to storm damages?

3. Will the legislature consider laws permitting school districts to modify school calendars without negotiating with each individual employee? Currently there is case law that requires this.

4. Could there be a unified memorandum of agreement from the state for shelters in school facilities? These might require latitude for site specifics circumstances.

( Districts that were shelters for both Irene and or Sandy quickly learned that there are serious

problems with shelters. Many of us have been quietly going about searching for agreements prior

to the next issue requiring sheltering. We are spending a lot of time and tax payer money

developing these individual agreements. Everything from energy costs (fuel for generators)

transportation, food, custodial services, nursing services, etc. Too many districts are spinning their

wheels. In addition without these in place you may have some local OEM issues. An agreement

needs to be in place prior, approved every year so everyone knows their roles.)

 

 

5. The McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act is requiring school districts to provide levels of services that have never been seen previously. Would the legislature consider reallocation of existing funds from areas not impacted as severely to areas of high impact? Often these Federal Funds do not get completely exhausted by all school districts.

(Our region is Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex counties. Alan Ferraro is the Director- his office is out of brick 732-785-3000 ext 2802 (you might want to speak with him). There are seven regions state wide. Allotments range from $100,000 to $210,000. Our regions initial allotment was $331,000. This has to pay for his salary and the assistant. Currently this is $60,000 available. However he has well over $300,000 in requests. Most districts have not even sent in their requests yet. Brick's request is $200,000 alone!)

 

6. Could future insurance premium increases to school districts be legislated to be no greater than the state budget cap placed on districts?

While I recognize these six concerns are very small in comparison to everything we are facing as a state, we must continue to work together to address the small issues before they become larger unmanageable issues.”

Per Passiment Testimony:

“Statute and Code require school districts to present a budget to the Executive County Superintendent of Schools for review and approval. The Statutes and Codes indicate that the budget is presented by March 4 of each year and that a public hearing is held approximately 45 days before the vote in April. Therefore there is only two weeks in which a thorough review of a school district budget can take place. As the Executive County Superintendent of two counties, Monmouth and Union, I am responsible for the review of 53 budgets in Monmouth County and 23 budgets in Union County. Those 76 budgets are crucial to the education of children and the stability to their communities. This past year a major change took place that allowed districts to not have a vote on the budget and move the school board election to November. In Monmouth County 51 of the 53 districts moved to have no vote on the budget and hold the school board election in November. In Union County all 23 districts moved to have no vote and the school board elections in November. What did not change were the statutes and codes for the review process.

In order for the time frame for budget reviews and approvals to be lengthened, it will be necessary to modify the current statutes and codes for those districts that have no vote on the budget. I have listed below the various statues and codes that I believe will need to be modified so that budgets can be reviewed and approved prior to the May 19th date for certification of taxes. I propose the follow changes to the dates upon which budgets are submitted and reviews are done by the Executive County Superintendent and when public hearings are held for those districts that have no vote on the budget. Districts that hold April votes will follow current statute and code.”

Move the budget submittal date from March 4 to March 11

Have the review period for budgets from March 11 to April 19

Hold public hearings from April 22 to May 3

Statutes to be amended:                                                            

Codes to be amended:

18A:7F-5 and 18A:7F-6                                                   6A:23A-9.1

18A:22-10, 18A:22-11 and 18A:22-12                        6A:23A-9.2

18A:22-7 and 18A:22-8                                                   6A:23A-9.7(a)(5)

18A:22-32