I read where a neighboring district with a much higher ranking made their supervisors teach classes.

@Portmanteau
i think supervisors teaching classes is an excellent idea on a few levels, one it keeps them connected to the students, two they see what works and what doesnt and three it will save the district dollars in the long run.

Mark,
I really like your question about what can we learn from the 90% of the state w/lower costs/per pupil. You would think that a Board of 'Education' would try to learn. Are they? How did it come to be that W.O. has such an outstanding and costly special needs program. What did we do that nobody else did? I notice that the costs of special needs is not shown separately in the minimal bullet list above and that the per pupil costs shown don't add up to $21,000 (burying the number?). Placing the financial burden on W.O. taxpayers to pay for this essential need is unfair. Seems to me that it would be fairer if funds for special needs were distributed by the state in proportion to the special needs population in each municipality so a special needs parent could expect comparable quality education for their child no matter where they lived. An alternative might be to have regional special ed. facilities. I really don't know if any of this is feasible and like everything is probably fraught with problems and arguments against but the imbalance is unfair to W.O. taxpayers. On another part of your comments: How can a district hire 1 or 2 teachers for each child removed from the rolls is 1 child costs $21,000. I know that many teachers are underpaid for the value they provide (and the time they spend), but they do make more than $10 or 20,000/yr. -:).

Alan,

You'll get no argument from most anyone that the current method of financing public education is inequitable.

In West Orange, 86% of the cost is borne by local property taxpayers, 11% comes from the state and 3% from the federal government.

Statewide, the average portion of the cost borne by local taxpayers is 52%.

This has long been the crux of the problem and indicative of the crushing need for property tax reform.

@ Portmanteau:

"If the State ever approves school vouchers it will be game over for the District?"

OK, and just where do you think our students will be scurrying off to, vouchers in hand, to be educated?

Perhaps it has escaped your notice but, no communities in the surrounding area have any significant amount of excess classroom capacity, none of the private schools have added any in decades and the number of parochial schools that have closed (Lourdes, Our Lady of the Valley, East Orange Catholic, etc.) are legion.

Vouchers or not, the vast majority of our students would stay right where they are as an excellent education is available in the West Orange Public School for anyone who wants one.

@Mark Paulson: Acutally, depending upon the level of their disability, educating a special needs student can run well into six figures per. Do understand that "special needs" is a broad classification that includes children with a minor speech impediment, autistics across the spectrum, other neurological and physical impairments; including quadriplegics.

In West Orange, +/- 20% of our students are classified as "special needs," +/- 5% have limited English language proficiency andf +/- 30% qualify for free or reduced price lunch priograms.

Such numbers are difficult to find elsewhere.

Insofar as "illegal students" are concerned, this a battle cry I've heard since my family moved here in 1961 and, despite consistently more stringent registation protocols and periodic re-registation initiatives, never seems to be a concern that's been adequately addressed to everyone's satsifaction.

The simple fact remains that every incident of substance reported to the district is fully investigated and legally adjudicated, with the number of annual expulsions for cause remaining fairly consistent over time.

Do keep in mind that removing 50 such students in a given year will not result in any significant savings or reducation of staff as those children are likely spread out over 11 different schools and/or 13 grade levels.

That doesn't equate to any operational savings at all; the net effect is that 59 sets of text books (already purchased) remain in a storeroom.

"Well into six figures per year" is, though hypothetically correct, extremely rare. Such a figure represents a child with uncommonly severe needs.

The state average for a child in a spec ed class is about $40K (for in or out of district)--but only about 7% of WO students (including disabled preschoolers) are in such placements either in or out of district. The vast majority of our "classified" students are served in gen ed settings, which obviously cost less.

There are not "summer tutors." There are "extended school year" programs required by law for certain students--the program is about four weeks, half-day, and the purpose is to review to maintain skills in students that would otherwise regress too much over summer. It is for skill maintenance only.

It's hard to figure out the "more than fair share" issue in WO--the state classification rate is about 17%, and WO is at about 18.9% (though the state figure is a year old.) For every tale about a family supposedly moving here specifically for spec ed there's another about a family who moved to a district with FEWER in-district offerings so that other district would have to send their child to an out-of-district placement. (If a district can argue that they have an appropriate in-district option, they won't send a child out of district even if such a placement is better. So in a large district like WO, it's harder to get a child sent out of district.) The issue defies simple explanations.

Will Rod: For what it's worth, one commenter in a long ongoing dialogue on Tuesday's Patch article 'Superintendent Suspended' stated that Standardized Test Scores of Special Needs students are pretty much the same as the overall group. I don't know and find it a little hard to believe, but I guess it could be.

Gary Englert: Since I know that you are reading, and since I think it's relevant ($$$) to this discussion, in that dialogue I think you mentioned that BOE staff members benefit from visits to schools out of their own district. I didn't appreciate that the Board has a staff but I now realize that with a budget that takes up 60% of our taxes just doing the budget must be a time consuming job that requires great skill. Can you give me an idea of how big this staff is and if possible, what their jobs are?

Alan Sanders:

Overall, what I was defending was the Board of Education's established protocol of rotating its meetings among various, albeit the process does not lend itself to video taping and re-broadcasting the meetings as not every school has the requisite (hard wired) equipment.

That said, when I referring to "staff" accompanying the Board on their pre-meeting tours of these schools, I was to the specific school principal/custodians and district engineering/maintenance supervisor who are most familiar with that building's infrastructure and maintenance issues.

While all are Board employees, they are not "staff" specifically assigned to the Board, or its, members.

I hope that clarifies it for you.

As far as admistrative staff, there are 36 people so classified employed by the Board, to include; superintendent, deputy superintendents, business manager, attorney, school principals/vice principals and district curriculum specific supervisors.

This might not be a universally held opinion but, I'm disinclined to believe there's a lot of dead wood in that mix.

Mark,

I think that Gary is correct. The $21,000/student is arrived at by dividing the total budget by the number of students. If removing students from the school doesn't result in reducing some concrete expense, it has no impact on the budget and the $21,000 per, remains the same. However, I don't know if removal of 50+, or 59 students didn't result in the 'possibility' of reducing some concrete expense. If it did but the savings did not occur, the magic number is still $21,000.

Mark Paulson:

Not that I advocate allowing "illegal" students to remain in they district (I don't) but, as a practial matter, I'm inclined to believe that the time effort and expense of removing them generally outweighs the benefit.

To reduce staff by a single teacher (for this example, in a grade school), you need to reduce the student population by +/- 25 kids in a specific grade and at a specific school.

Unfortunately, the "illegal" students removed each year never fall in line so conveniently; they are spread out over the community's seven different grade schools, with six grade levels in each.

Accordingly, you wind up removing a single child, from a single classroom (with 20+ other kids remaining therein), in one of seven different schools.

As that doesn't allow you to reduce a single classroom, facility or teacher, there is no "savings' to be realized.

Ergo, even if the average cost per student is $21,000, removing 50 (undoubtedly random children) will not save the district $1,050,000; it won't save it a penny!

Mark Paulson:

I've posted this before but, if bears repeating as few articles I've seen so succinctly and eloquently summarize the reality of public education:

http://blog.nj.com/njv_kathleen_obrien/2012/05/where_your_high_school_ranks_-.html

It's truly worth keeping in mind when we try to go through the rather ridiculous exercise of comparing one school district to antother, as no two are truly alike.

@ Mark Paulson: Well, as I said, generally what you're doing is removing one child from an already well populated classroom and the improvement, on any level, is marginal at best.

Still, I've long since concluded that claims of some inordinate number of "illegal students" is simply the stuff of Urban Legend and, undoubtedly, the product of divorced parents maintaining two households, personal grudges, bias and some bigotry.

Year in and out, Board staff specifically dedicated to the process investigates a few hundred cases of allegedly illegal students and winds up removing +/- 50 for cause.

Alan Sanders:

There is such a racist undertone to the term "white flight" that I really abhor using it.

Here's a newsflash for one and all: the demographic of the entire country is constantly evolving and, yes, West Orange has changed along with it in the post-war (WWII) years.

I've said this before but, when I graduated WOHS in 1969, the Township population was almost exclusively whiite, Irish-Italian Catholic (60%), Reformed-Conservative-Orthodox Jewish (30%) and Protestant (10%).

There were two high schools (+/- 900 students in each) and I could count the children of color attending either on one hand.

It was in this very homogenized, middle/upper middle class environment that the public schools gained a vaunted reputation and excellent scores on the standardized tests and other measures of the time.

Clearly, that has all changed ofver the last forty years; a function of the turnover of single family homes by the WWII generation (long retired and now in their peak mortality years) and now their children (the "baby boomers") who have raised their families, have already retired or will do so in the not distant future.

When one considers the fact that no more than 1/3 of the Township's housing stock domiciles school aged children, the fact that our overall income level isn't reflected in the current school population is easily understandable.

In time, this too will change for the better.

@ Will Rod:

It's also not that easy as the collective bargaining process is at play.

Will teachers paying another 10% or even 20% of their benefit package cost result in savings palatable to you?

Probably not.

As I've said previously, to achive a $500 annual property tax reduction (which would be a signicant number for most) would require reducing annual costs by $10 Million.

Please don't think that the School Board hasn't been adversarial, often to the extreme, with the Teacher's Union . When William Willis was running for the School Board , he said , " As a Board member, I will take a hard look at all spending... but the teachers HAVE to be paid " After he was elected , starting salaries significantly increased . Willis said , " We were determined to get those salaries up there " ?? There i can be little doubt that the Teacher's Union position crumbled in the face of such steely resolve . They probably asked for considerably less ,perhaps nothing, since Teacher's Unions like to " topload " the pay scale, but Willis, bless him, would have none of it . The Teacher's Union agreed to add 2 steps to the pay scale . The School Board capitulated, but not for long . Not long after, they sprung a trap on the Union , and eliminated the two additional salary steps , reducing the number of steps back to NINE.One can only laugh when envisioning the shocked and sickened look on the teacher's faces when they got the news of this clandestine maneuver. Hey, School Boards can play rough too. .Teachers are working very hard to prepare children for the business world . The School Board doesn't care. One year the Board privatized the cafeteria service to save money. Another year, they eliminated Bus - Aides ,again,simply to save money. Much to the teachers' manifest annoyance, both those years they got nice raises. Board, keep fighting the good fight !!

Will Rod Kudos ! The Municipal Government of West Orange eliminated longevity pay for new employees . Not our School Board . The taxpayers defeated 3 referendums the School Board proposed .The first was $55,000,000 . Dr,Brafman D.D.S. wrote an article in the Chronicle advocating for it's passage . he said " This is all meat and potatoes .There are no extras , no frills . Everything in this referendum is needed ."After it failed, the Board came back with a $23,000,000 proposal. After that failed , the Board came back with a $21.000.000 proposal. After that failed , the Board went ahead and spent the original $55,000,000 request . Call Dr. Brafman what you like , but he's no liar . Since referendums can f..f..f..fail, and clearly often do , the Town And School Board entered in to an inter-local agreement , so no there's more risk of millions in potential savings through Initiative and Referendum. You want more millions in savings? make. " teachers" teach . Almost 20% of the professional staff at WO High never sees the inside of a classroom . Department Heads can't carry a teaching schedule, but they can moonlight. A full -time, fully staffed Unionized Guidance Department, non- supervisory coordinators , a substance abuse coordinator , an in- school suspension officer ad infinitum . Safety issues are sacrosanct . Beyond that , the amount of money the WO School Board spends STRICTLY BY CHOICE, is mind boggling . Again, what's the rule people? Take care of your friends !

How many times have we heard teachers say , " We could make ALOT more money in the private sector, but teaching, is our calling . It's not about money, nor has it ever been, but it's a job we love. It's our passion. " My Professor cousin always said , "The term "teacher salaries " is an oxymoron " So why don't they quit their Public School teaching jobs, and take a lucrative private sector job ,say , as the C. E. O. of a Fortune 500 Company , and pile up the mega - bucks ? But wait a second , teaching is their calling , it's what they love to do, it's thrie passion. It's not about the money . So teach for free. The town needs volunteer after - school tutors. Docents from Turtle Back Zoo come in to the schools to talk to the children about the Zoo and it's inhabitants . Parents come in and read to the children . On Career day, parents come in and talk to the children about their occupations . There is a very high illiteracy rate among people who are incarcerated .If you're a religious person , there's Sunday School , Bible Study, and more . You know what I kinda , well sort a, just a wee bit suspect ? That the money and the benefits and Summers off and tenure and the like DO matter . Even Eugene Ionesco would marvel at how absurd The Theatre of the Absurd has become .

Alan:

I ballpark the figure using +/- 18,500 properties (residential/commerical) to arrive at a $540 annual property tax savings, IF $10,000,000 could be cut from the municpal or school budget.

I think 20,000 and 2.5 people per is too high; the last census says we have 16,480 households and a population of 46,207.

In any event, a $10 Million cost reduction to achieve a $500 property tax reduction is close enough for a general discussion...and still very, very difficult to achieve.

Mark:

I'd like to hope that the valuable role I play is to trying get people to see things how they really are, rather than embellishing or minimizing either what's positive or negative about a given situation.

I don't know that there is a "knight on a white horse who can come to save the day" but, I do very much believe that time can heal most (though not all) wounds and that the disparity we see in educational performance will close (hopefully) as the species continues to evolve...and I mean that in every sense of the word.

Hell folks, 100 years ago most people didn't have indoor plumbing!

Ken:

Your logic is inescapable but, would you like to consider something even more startling, as it pertains to the public schools?

With +/- 7,000 kids currently enrolled, there is an average of 538 students in each of 13 grades, divided up among 11 different school buildings.

Assuming they are evenly dispersed among each grade/school, take 538 kids out of the system and tell me if a penny can be saved.

That's 41 kids per grade or (given 7 grammar schools) less than 6 kids per grade, per school and, given two classes (of +/- 25) in each grade in each school, a reducation of 3 kids per.

Can you close a classroom?

No.

Can you layoff a teacher?

No.

Again, the savings are marginal (more time devoted to the 22 kids left) and 3 sets of textbooks left in a storage closet but, that's about it.

Will Rod:

Perhaps it has escaped your notice but, "look(ing) at what we are spending money on" is precisely what the elected Board of Education is charged with doing.

it's all fine and wll to say this expense "could be" reduced or "I propose we can save some money there" but, without an in-depth examination as to exactly what that entails, it is meaningless.

Sure, we can cut $900,000 for fuel oil, so long as nobody minds our children freezing to death and my guess would be that any concessions realized from collective bargaining (concerning benefit contributions) will be offset by premium increases.

If you'e suggesting nobody is minding the store here, the really simple solution would be for you to throw your hat in the ring and run for the Board.

At that point, you'll either confirm your worst fears and be in a position to do something about it or realize your concerns were unfounded.

Brett:

I'm not at all sure what you're referring to here.

I think he means: 'We know our special ed programs are good because people keep moving to town to enroll their kids in them."

Alan Sanders:

Well, my ratio is certainly higher (2.8 vs. 2.5) but, your number of domiciles is .176% higher! :-0

As to your joke, you'd be equally hot and cold...depending on the foot. :-)

My example (concerning student reductions leading to potential savings) isn't real world but, the it does point out the fact that any significant redction in overhead expense (staff, facilities & utilities) would require a significant reduction in student population...and that's unlikely for the foreseeable future.

The exercise was more directed to those screaming "We've got hundreds of illegal kids in the schools," because we DON'T and, if we DID, removing the 250 or so who ARE investigated each year wouldn't save very much of anything...spread out over the district as they are.

Will Rod:

I'm not saying any such thing.

What I am saying is that we, as a community, have elected a Board of Education and vested in them the responsibility to oversee the management of our public schools.

Absent anyone providing hard evidence to the contrary, I trust they are doing so to the best of their ability, exercising their best judgment and judiciously guarding the public pocketbook.

Anyone is free to voice whatever opinion they wish but, unless they can back it up with hard data and with the requisite professional expertise necessary to take specific action, it's simply not something I'm inclined to do.

I don't recommend anyone treat cancer without the best professional medical help aviailable and I don't recommend cutting educational expenses/positions/programs without the advice and guidance of professionals either...and that is precisely how the Board treats the schools system...as they should.

It's no more complicated than that...and taking such a stance is far from a double standard.

Will Rod:

Please, I am neither naive nor did I just fall off a turnip truck.

My own civic activism and willingness to take action against corrupt politicians and public employees is a matter of public record; if you're not personally familiar with it, spend a couple of bucks and do a newspaper archive search.

Rather than being "dead set on assuming its fine," my challenge to all remains the same; anyone with actionable evidence of misfeasance, malfeasance or criminality by any elected or appointed official (and lacking the stones to do anything about it themselves) need only bring it to me and I will.

Again, anyone suggesting I would "protect my friends" and do nothing has no reason to make any such assumption, as the premise has never been tested.

Will Rod:

Not to be obtuse here but, my plate is already pretty full with the voluntary tasks I've long been involved in (on behalf of the school district and the community at large) and, perhaps that I am so involved (and know the people steering the ship) is why I do not share your concerns.

That said, while the municipal government has maintained a Citizen's Budget Advisory Committee in the past (current status unknown to me) you might inquire with the Mayor's Office about joining and/or reinstituting it.

Insofar as the Board of Ed is concerned, I need not intercede on your behalf, should you wish to volunteer your time and expertise; the Board member's individual e-mail addresses can be obtained at www.woboe.org

I would caution you that, given the Board's fiduciary responsibilities and the fact that so much of what they do involves minors, confidentiality issues might preclude them from allowing you the kind of access you might think necessary to review many of the financial decisions they make...let alone be an active participant in theri public or executive session meetings.

The only thing that we can do is vote these folks out and hope and pray that someone with real credentials and IDEAS wants to take the helm. This crowd and the folks that came before them have squandered whatever good reputation the district had a long, long time ago. My understanding was that West Orange was a beacon for innovation and fresh ideas in decades past.

Adam Kraemer:

In all due respect, for a guy suggesting you're the answer to the Township's educational prayers, all your post offers is a series of time worn bromides sans anything one can sink theri teeth into...and your spelling and grammar are atrocious!

Kindly cease with the "may like" and "may look" and please provide one, original, concrete idea (with the requisite cause and effect fully fleshed out) that will save meaningful public education dollars.

If your only answer is "we have to look at X, Y and Z and make hard choices," that's exactly what the fannies in the seats are already doing and yhou're bringing nothing new to the table.

You should really switch to Mozilla. It is a browser with built-in spell check. No one will ever take you seriously if you cannot master basic English. You are an Ivy League graduate for goodness sake.

I find it interesting that this comment which is rich with ideas, which I find reasonable avenues to pursue, has not drawn any comments pro or con. This BOE budget reminds me of the military budget: costly, sacred cows, admirable mission, status quo, insiders with something to gain. One problem is that we need to look at this w/o fighting like a bunch of children and without gold medal bloviators competing for attention.

Alan Sanders:

I've left a private message on your profile.

Mr. Sanders, Thank you for the interest in some of the proposals and ideas I put forth here. I believe the budget and our educational system in WO has been bloated from years of adding programs and never subtracting anything or offsetting these new initiatives with the canceling of an old initiative. Granted there are state mandates we must comply with but a forensic audit of the budget would uncover all of this and allow us to appeal to the state for relief. The State Commissioner of Education and Governor Christie are on our side and ready to help us.

Three years ago when the school budget was handily defeated there were calls by a number of concerned individuals to request a forensic audit of the BOE budget, but our status quo BOE members and administration fought this initiative. Many of the same status quo members who are on the BOE today were the same individuals fighting an audit three years ago. Since it appears their judgment is not favorable to the taxpayers, residents and ultimately the children of our town we have but one alternative left and that is to defeat them and remove them from office come November. Several of these same status quo members are under investigation and costing the town additional legal fees to defend their wrongdoings. We must replace these members come November with individuals who have fresh ideas and the backbone to get the job done.

wohopeful You're right .The list is endless. Many years ago, the State reviewed West Orange's school budget The State presented the Board with a book full of potential savings . In the book, many comparisons were made between West Orange and similar and even more affluent Districts. West Orange was the most generous District in many areas of employee compensation and terms of employment . As far as I know , the Board has never implemented even one of the State's recommendations.. Who's kidding who? William Willis BOASTED about how he succeeded in substantially raising the teacher's starting salaries . West Orange teachers are the benefactors of the fewest number of salary steps that I know of .The High School provides 14 days less yearly instructional time than the State average . The benefits package of a West Orange teacher will soon exceed the average New Jersey resident's yearly salary . As the State mandates increase year after year {e.g. Anti- bullying and Tolerance} the District adds it's own programs . {e.g. two Field Days and fitness testing } So NATURALLY, the Board has scheduled several early dismissals of the Grammar Schools, does not make up hours lost because of bad weather, and guarantees that the teachers have at least one free period a day. Based on their contracted hours { And what else would you base it on ?}, 40 year old West Orange teachers make $150 an hour in salary and benefits. I agree that the football program should be eliminated .

Gary,
The article at the link you've provided is very interesting. I'm only on screen 2 of 11 but I've sent it to someone who works with these 'kids' after they are too old (21) to stay in school. Many of them live their lives unable to be independent and competitively employed (be productive at a paying job), although many of them do find minimum wage jobs and are good, reliable employees.

Alan Sanders:

Yes, it is an interesting article, though my primary reason for posting it was Sick of the Bull's having questioned my veracity concerning the upper level costs of special education.

Surely, there are case where all the time, effort and resources in the world will not result in a particularly satisfactory or satisfying outcome for anyone.

Even if I did not have the general awareness of these costs that I do, I AM intimately familiar with the treatment of traumatic brain injured veterans, a number of whom have been treated at Kessler and whose families we've endeavored to support while they temporarily resided here.

Given the resources I've seen devoted to treating these injured soldiers, I'm not at all surprised at the high price tag associated with educating severely disabled children.

Alan Saunders: Well, off the top of my head, I'd certainly say that the decision not to renew Dr. Cavanna's contract, and to terminate his employment for cause, would certainly count as one tough decision.

Certainly, the Board has taken some heat through all of this because the matter must be treated confidentially but, I'm reasonably sure they have more that ample ground or they wouldn't be doing it...and unanimously at that.

Second, the decision to layoff personnel (when faced with a massive state aid cut a couple of years ago) was surely a tough decision...as are any management makes that adversely effects people's lives.

Hiring one person over another is a tough decision, terminating over employees for cause are tough decisions and both are done routinely by the Board.

Insofar as expenditures are concerned, they are weighing issues and making tough decisions every time they meet.

Alan,

I'm not "hammering Adam K," I'm pointing out a very major truth that has been an integral part of his repetitive runs for various public offices: his "platforms" are comprised of old bromides and completely lack any historical perspective.

Given he's the one making the proposal, wouldn't you think it would behoove him to know the specific history of the subject matter?

The fact is the Board of Ed DID subscribe to the state benefits plan and withdrew a number of years ago to save money while maintaining the same coverage it was contractually obligated to provide its employees.

Frankly, as many times as he's run for so many different offices, I really don't believe the man is truly focused on public education but, simply getting elected to some office...any office!

I also think he's completely out of his depth in most every subject I've ever heard him speak about.

For example, Adam Kraemer is the same guy that was championing a Mandarin Chinese language school, suggesting sending a veritable handful of our children to it (see discussion above) would "save the district money"...when it would clearly send tuition dollars out of the district and place the additional financial burden of transporting those kids back and forth.

As it turned out, not even the state Department of Education thought the proposal had merit and the charter was not granted.

Alan Sanders:

I have no problem with students learning Chinese; in fact, we already have a quite extensive program at WOHS.

The point I believe you are missing is that Mr. Kraemer championed establisng the Mandarin charter school in Maplewood as a means of "reducing costs and school overcrowding" when it would do neither.

Per student tuition dollars would be sent out of West Orange, the district would have to absorb the additional cost of transporting the students (to and from Maplewood) and the number of students being recruited was so small that there would be no reduction in overhead...only in the dollars we currently used to pay for it.

Again, see the discussion above that you yourself agreed with! :-)

Will Rod:

All of this is fine and well but, one opinion is as valid as any other and this article is completely devoid of any actual comparison of the (state vs. private) plans and costs.

That, in concert with the vagaries of exsting agreements with collective bargaining units is the litmus test.

FYI...a voluntary initiative started by the Whitman Administration (note Republican), circa 1998, to financially audit municipal governments and school boards was full embraced by the (largely Democratic) Township of West Orange and our Board of Education.

The net result?

The report was glowing and cited both the Township and Board for numerous "best practices" that had been initiated and were ongoing.

The few very modest suggestions made were already in the process of being implemented as the audit was being conducted.

Alan,

Sorry for the "Saunders" an unintended/Freudian typo as I have an old friend with that surname.

1. The decision to suspend Cavanna and not renew his contract WAS hard, not because there were not ground sbut, due to the battering the Board took during the year leading up to it. Even still, with all the facts in hand unable to be revealed, the Board continues to be pilloried by certain people and factions.

2. The decision to layoff personnel was not "forced" as their WERE options (program reductions, moving to 1/2 day kindergarden, etc., etc.) and, while surely defensible, again, the Board was pilloried by certain people and factions in the community. The point remains that the Board was faced with very tough choices and decisions.

3. The Board voting on matters of personnel IS routine (hirings, firings, leaves of absence, temporary hires, etc.) and occurs at virtually every meeting, as a review of a few meeting agendas would clearly indicate. That the backstories (not public knowledge) to any of these actions could present them with tough choices is rather obvious, having hired, fired and disciplined numerous people during my career.

4. The Board's mandate includes overseeing its expenditures and virtually every meeting involves approval of a "bill list" and minutes/agendas are easily accessible on-line at www.woboe.org

For your edification, here are the most recent Board meeting minutes available, supporting all of my contentions (above):

http://schools.woboe.org/Board/Meeting%20Minutes/Minutes%202011-2012/WOBOE%20Meeting%20Minutes%202012-06-04.pdf

Brett, If my comment was offensive it was done innocently if ignorantly. I have great respect for the Chinese culture and attend the Newark Museum regularly. I actually forgot, not having kids in the school system, that W.O. has a Chinese curriculum. Do they teach language?

Arrgh. Now I remember one of my WOHS tutees told me about the difficulty he was having picking up Chinese in school and how his classmates of Chinese descent are much, much, better at it. Mea Culpa.

Alan,

There's an excellent program (yes, the language is taught) making West Orange's participation in the proposed Mandarin charter even less attractive, the detrimental financial implications aside.

Will Rod:

I'm not painting myself into a corner at all.

First, the comptroller's opinion concerns the County of Essex, not the Township of West Orange.

Don't assume they are animals of the same stripe.

I'm not opposed to seeing a comparison of the current state vs. private carrier costs for West Orange employee benefits but, I'm also fairly confident that the Administration and Council already routinely review them.

Believe it or not, they ARE looking to save every dollar they can while maintaining the level of services the community expects and demands.

Alan,

Having been employed by municipal government for five years and state government for another five in management positions and charged with full budgetary responsibility, I'm pretty well versed in the budget protocols and ongoing review process.

Can I tell you, to a certainty, that the current employee benefits package was reviewed on such and such a date?

No, I can't and you are certainly free to inquire about it with the Mayor, Business Administrator or Council.

FYI...Mayor Parisi's profession is an employee benefit's consultant and, while clearly precluded from serving the community in that capacity, he is as surely aware of the current market as most anyone.

If there were savings to be realized by the municipality going in another direction, I have full faith he would direct that it be explored.

Alan,

By the way, requesting "hard data and concrete solutions" from someone running for public office (and continually purporting to have both) is quite a different kettle of fish than requesting them (at every opportunity) from an obviously well infomed citizen, expressing a personal opinion. :-)

Alan,

The Board approved $6.7 Million in bills, awarded another nearly $1.0 Million in bids and approved another dozen or so personnel action (albeit all of these were leaves).

What leads you to believe that their isn't a significant amount of reading, research, debate and wringing of hands that goes on with most, if not all, of these business decisions? :-)

How many months do you spend $6.7 Million and obligate an enterprise to spend another $1 Million or so more?

Alan.

Their system must be malfunctioning, as I didn't get yours either.

My e-mail address is grenglert @ aol.com

Alan,

Perhaps I didn't pick the best set of minutes to illustrate the point but, I assure you, each Board member receives a very thick package of material to review, consider and and be prepared to debate, prior to each meeting.

Knowing that the essence of management is the allocation of scarce resources, I know the Board is faced with difficult decisions all the time.

With some exceptions, it's not a "rubber stamp" enterprise and it requires a significant devotion of time, energy and intellect.

Alan,

The "minutes" presented are clearly a written record of the formal, legal actions and votes taken concerning them, during the subject meeting and publishing them is a statutorial requirement.

The entire meeting is recorded...containing debate on the issues, public commentary and direction given for specific action/follow-up not requiring a formal vote are available at the Board's office.

Providing a fully transcribed version of what's typically a 3-4 hour meeting would necessitate the hiring of a certified court reporter and would cost thousand of dollars per meeting...as anyone who has ever had to pay for a court transcript will tell you.

Oh yes, what a wonderful idea...let's eliminate football...and all that springs from that well?

The football team itself is comprised of +/- 120 athletes, +/- 60 of whom suit up for varsity games (with a JV team and Freshman team also fielded), and a half-dozen or so other kids involved as managers, statisticians and support staff.

The football team is, like it or not, the fundamental reason for being of the high school's award winning marching band...+/- 100 strong with the same half-dozen or so kids in supporting roles.

The marching band begat the flag twirlers/step dancers, et al...perhaps another 50 kids all told.

Football also begat cheerleaders, 50 or so strong on the Varsity and JV squads.

So, yes, in a world where encouraging kids to stay in school and excel wherever and whenever they can is essential, do let us eliminate an activity that involves 16% of the student body (and that engages a great many more as spectators and supporters) and teachers them lessons to last a lifetime.

Yeah...that's the ticket...eliminate football.

Sports CAN have value in building character and social skills (something in short supply on this list!). There must be some middle ground between nothing at all and something of value. Personally I'd put academics first and require 'decent' grades to be on a team. Maybe that's done, I don't know. A number of accomplished high school athletes that I've met weren't very good at the fundamental academic subjects (like minimal math, writing and thinking skills) that will likely serve them better in their lives than their sport. Not a statistically valid sample, I know.

Alan,

The NJISAA has promulgated Rules and Regulations that pertain to high school athletics, including minimum academic standards for participating athletes.

http://www.njsiaa.org/REFERENCES/10-11njsiaaConstitutionBylaw.pdf

Why can't the band, cheerleaders, et al perform for other sports like soccer? Many school districts do not have a multi-million dollar football program and their students are going off to top notch schools.

I'm afraid the status quo resistance is just more excuse of can't do which is what some of the posters here seem to be all about.

The first and better question is: Upon just what basis does anyone believe that a football team is so ourageously expensive that eliminating it is even worthy of consideration?

Not that many years ago, a nearby High School eliminated the football program . Those players had the right to play for another school. I have never read or heard that that policy has been changed or eliminated . Eliminating the program does not mean eliminating the players .Several years ago, the entire backfield of the West Orange football team suffered serious injuries. There was a dislocated shoulder , a broken thumb , a broken ankle, a severe groin strain , and severely bruised ribs. One might argue that college players and pro players are " Big boys, who know what they're getting into " Generally ,NFL linemen don't live very long . Running backs are often crippled for life. Concussions are getting much greater attention and scrutiny. People should watch a show called "Disposable Heroes " It deals with the incredible number of players at ALL levels who suffer serious injuries which affect many of them for the rest of their lives . High School players are not " Big boys, who know what they're getting into " They are usually between the ages of 14 and 17. Young ACLs tear as easy, perhaps easier, than older ones As I've said, safety issues are sacrosanct.This is an issue of safety. I will not support a program I don't believe in because of a possible { And not very likely } Domino Effect. Contact sports ? Wrestling, Lacrosse, Hockey. Cheerleaders? Baseball, soccer , softball,field hockey, basketball, Marching Band? Soccer, Baseball, Tournaments , Lacrosse etcetera

I think I just figured out why Mr. Prignano's gym failed: If "I lift things up and put them down" was the only sport he was willing to train or advocate for, it's no wonder his clientele went elsewhere to work out.

Alan,

As few, if any citizen, ever have any real reason to do such a thing, it's as much a matter of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" as anything else.

Alan,

I WAS at the forefront of getting Council meetings televised (16 years ago at the height of the Bobby Spina controversy) and have since concluded that the time, effort and expense devoted to doing so has simply been less than fruitful.

Written transcripts of audio/video recorded meetings are rarely, if ever, required these days but, remain expensive; my remark meant to convey why complete copy of written Board of Ed meeting minutes are not posted on-line.

I'm also more than passingly familiar with the technology necessary to actually record decent audio and video (having too been responsible for having Council Chambers hardwired) and the simple fact that the acoustics (in the available meeting space) in most every public building intown simply don't lend themselves to particularly clear sound recording...absent a direct feed from a PA system into the equipment.

So, far as I know, the Township Council engages an outside vendor (with the requisite equipment) to tape their meetings, at what current cost I do not know.

A dozen years ago, it was +/1 $10,000 a year for X number of meetings not to exceed 2 hours each...with an additional hourly overtime fee for meetings (most) that ran longer...and an additional base meeting fee if there were more meetings called than detailed in the base contract.

"You NEED ALL of the extra curricular activities you can get to the kids...no matter what they are...without them you will see a massive decline in our schools"

Then how is it that students from so many other schools that do not have all of these costly extracurricular programs are able to succeed?

Brett Kaiser:

Believe me, I'm not trying to denigrate the marching band (let alone the music program) in any way but, it is a given that high school and college marching bands, cheerleaders, twirlers, etc. CAN trace their genesis to fledgling entities that began supporting football teams.

I'd also wager a bet that part of the thrill and attraction for these kids is peforming before their parents, friends and neighbors and, what better place than the high school football game?

Anyway, I'm primary advocating to retain ALL existing programs and took this particular tactic when cutting football was brought up.

That said, I don't know that you can put a price on an enterprise that brings the community together 4 or 5 Saturday afternoons each fall. :-)

Brett "You NEED ALL of the extracurricular activities you can get to the kids.. no matter what they are... without them you will see a massive decline in our schools ". You advocate for full - contact karate , mixed Marshall Arts. Strong Man Competiitons,Triathalons, Iron man Competitions and double marathons .....no matter what they are....

"That said, I don't know that you can put a price on an enterprise that brings the community together 4 or 5 Saturday afternoons each fall."
"You NEED ALL of the extra curricular activities you can get to the kids...no matter what they are...without them you will see a massive decline in our schools"

At best, these are anecdotal observations based on no evidence that has been submitted or accepted as factual.

Actually, these are NOT anecdotal observations, as a myriad of studies exist confirming the positive effect that extra curricular activities have on academic performance and reducing drop-out rates.

Knock yourself out reading some of them:

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=extracurricular+activities+and+school+performance&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart&sa=X&ei=-_4SUJa0Gce90QGB8YGICQ&ved=0CFUQgQMwAA

Yet not a single article specifically states that multi million dollar football programs have a positive impact on academic performance.

At best, an anecdotal observation based on no evidence that has been submitted or accepted as factual.

It's incumbent upon the individual suggesting that millions could be saved eliminating highs school footballl (that would be you, wohopeful) to support the premise in some tangible way.

I maintain the program costs nowhere near what you think it does.

For example, the most expensive pieces of equipment are a player's helmet and shoulder pads and state of the art versions can be had for $375.99 and $441.99, respectively (see http://www.riddell.com/) with quantity discounts undoubtedly available for school ahtletic programs.

While the high school doesn't replace these annually, they could for around $800 per player or $96,000 for the entire 120 man roster.

Now where you think the other $904,000 is spent is beyond me.

Adam Kraemer:

While your willingness to serve is certainly admirable, the fact that you continue to offer time-worn bromides and broad brushed suggestions is simply not anywhere near substantial enough to bolster your candidacy.

Also, youtrfailure to address specific questions addressed to you, one of which I will repeat, since you again mention your previous support of the proposed Hua Mei Charter School:

As was proposed, the Mandarin immersion charter would have drawn 18 grade school children (in year one) from our public schools. The district would be obligated to pay the charter an amount equal to 90% of the tuition currently apportioned to those students (in the existing budget) and absorb the cost of transporting those students to and from the charter.

The tuition (+/- $20,000 x 90% x 18 = $324,000) is currently used to offset fixed overhead and expenses currently being incurred by the district.

The removal of these 18 students will result is no measureable savings of any kind, nor do much of anything to eliminate any classroom over-crowding.

The cost of transporting these children (to and from the charter) is being estimated at $12-15,000 per student; as much as an additional $270,000.

That's a $594,000 direct drain on the district in year one.

Please tell us just how supporting this initiative would "save money?"

Term limits for every elected office are definitely appropriate. The amount of Empire Building in Boards of Education and all the branches of government could be greatly reduced by one simple rule. Following that thought, post limits are definitely required for this, and every, forum. Several West Orange communities have been destroyed by righteous, rabid writers who mistake acerbity for acumen,

Anyone asserting term limits for all elected offices is denying the very significant role that seniority, experience and historical perspective play in both our state and federal legislatures and, in the case of the latter, the order of Presidential succession.

So long as seniority dictates eligibility for leadership roles, and district without represetatives possessing any will be at a distinct disadvantage.

Insofar as the vast majority of local office holders are concerned (Council, Committeemen, Alderman and those on Boards of Educational), that single elective office is all they ever hold and "empire building" is neither the aim nor the end result.

The people already posess the tool to regulate who represents them and for how long and the opportunity to use it regularly at the ballot box.

Term limits won't create a more informed electorate but, it most surely will limit its choices.

I see acerbity in far larger doses than acumen on Internet message boards but, I can't say I've seen any "West Orange communities" destroyed by it, or the righteous, rabid writers who try to combat it.

As I stated before John, if I may call you John, Mr. Englert's comments are nothing more than anecdotal observations based on no evidence that has been submitted or accepted as factual. That includes things like the football program bringing the community together.

Just more nonsense coming from the status quo camp that has failed oiur children and community for the last 50+ years. Until we purge our BOE, Town Council, Mayor, Administrators, and community of these status quo failures by voting them out we can just expect more of the same.

It's incumbent upon those of you suggesting that millions could be saved eliminating highs school football to support the premise in some tangible way.

I''ve started the process for you by detailing the cost of a mass purchase of helmets and shoulder pads.

You're free to pick up the football and carry it across the goal line by fleshing out the rest of the program's costs in similar fashion: x dollars for cleats, y dollars for jerseys, etc., etc.

Of course there are personnel costs as well (stipends for coaches, trainers, doctors) and transportation cost too; be sure to add it all in.

You still won't come anywhere near a million bucks as the cost of the program.

Feel free to continue the exercise and prove me wrong.

Wwohopeful Of course you can call me John . Forgive me , but I must take you to task . Your suggestions for savings regarding the Football program are vague at best . Estimating a savings of $1,000,000 is simply not realistic.Looks at Englert's figures on the costs of helmets and shoulder pads . TO THE PENNY! Please, I implore you , that in the future . you do as I do now, defer to Englert's expertise : " the football team, like it or not, is the fundamental reason for the being of the High School's award winning marching band. 100+ students and 6 or so in support." The football team also begat the flag twirlers/step dancers et al. 50 students . The football team also begat the cheerleaders , varsity and JV , 50 students .Without the football team, these programs would cease to exist . The full- time cheerleading coach makes approximately $18,000 a year . What is the total cost of these programs ; Uniforms , instruments, professional staff, transportation, etc.? Isn't the name of that new field at the High School the FOOTBALL field ? What did it cost, what does it cost to maintain, and what is it's lifespan ? Naturally,we shall pro rate the costs . How many hours does the PAID Athletic Director and his staff commit specifically to the football program ? Carol Kulik was at every game. Now, what is the yearly cost related to injuries? I refered to a broken ankle and broken thumb and dislocated shoulder and more. But let's estimate the total costs of just the first

Once again:

It IS incumbent upon those of you suggesting that millions could be saved eliminating high school football to support the premise in some tangible way.

I''ve started the process for you by detailing the cost of a mass purchase of helmets and shoulder pads.

You're free to pick up the football and carry it across the goal line by fleshing out the rest of the program's costs in similar fashion: x dollars for cleats, y dollars for jerseys, etc., etc.

Of course there are personnel costs as well (stipends for coaches, trainers, doctors) and transportation cost too; be sure to add it all in.

In my considered opinion, you still won't come anywhere near a million bucks as the annual cost of the program.

I think that's an educated and reasonable opinion, though I COULD be wrong: please feel free to continue the exercise and PROVE me wrong.

And during a ten-year study (1982 -1992) school deaths by homicide and bus accidents exceeded those from sports injuries by a 2 to 1 ratio.

http://books.google.com/books?id=MuMl0Aid0DoC&pg=PA75&lpg=PA75&dq=What+percentage+of+high+school+athletes+incur+serious+injuries?&source=bl&ots=4WqU5eyi--&sig=2-AgjY_HcrypaGov-60GgQc-Bmw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=A0oUULGbKYrZ0QHPuoHgCA&ved=0CFcQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=What%20percentage%20of%20high%20school%20athletes%20incur%20serious%20injuries%3F&f=false

So, what's your point?

Children, adolescents and adults all suffer sports (organized or otherwise) related injuries but, they also suffer far more deaths and injuries in automobiles.

If your position is that we should curtail teenagers from participating in activities in which they have a greater possibility of injury, you should probably start with driving motor vehicles.

Adam Kraemer:

I read, write and speak the King's English as well as anyone but, I'll be damned if I know what your opening sentence means!

You're also going to have the explain this as it makes absolutely no sense: "The those opposed to charter often use double accounting as they forget that when a student goes to a carter other then tuition or transportation in district costs for that student are gone."

If you remove one or two children from a single class in a grade school, and send them to a charter school, what exactly are the savings?

Have you eliminated a teacher salary?

No.

Have you reduced the cost of the upkeep of the physical plant or utilities?

No.

At best, you keep a set or two of texbooks in a storage closet and a teacher is left with a still well populated classroom to educate.

All you have done is to send 80% of the pro-rated, per pupil tuition cost to a charter school and incurred an additional per child transportation cost.

Any argument that charter schools will (1) save our district money, or that (2) enough of them in reasonable proximity to us will open and solve any potential future student capacity problems is (1) either at variance with documentable fact or (2) very wishful thinking.

Charter schools have a place but, it is not with a district that isn't failing and they will only serve to further diminish our scarce financial resources.

Adam Kraemer:

A year and a half or so of proposals and revised proposals, a couple of rallys and dozens of Internet post and now you've finally concluded that "one small charter school will not take enough students out of the public schools to save money."

Congratulations!

Now, if you acknowledge that West Orange sending students to "one small charter" would diminish its financial resources and increase expenses, you'll truly have the whole picture.

Come on Adam....admitting you were wrong might be hard but, you can do it!

Now on to the next hurdle:

So, "if a significant part of our student population were to attend charters we could avoid school construction costs and hire fewer people in the public school district?"

The problem with this little fantasy is the assumption that there are a slew of empty school buildings sitting dormant out there.

Do yourself a favor; get yourself a detailed street map of Essex-Morris-Union Counties and try this: get a compass, spread it wide enough to give you a 15 mile radius, stick the point in Essex Green (as close to the geographic center of town as you'll get) then draw a circle.

How many empty school buildings are inside that circle?

The former parochial school that Hua Mei had their eye on, maybe?

They simply do not exist in any quantity and construction costs, whether they be to establish a charter school or simply to educate a growing public school population, will not be avoided forever.

Adam:

Whether space can be found in a religious institution (not already in use as a parochial school or yeshiva?) or an office building, there are still state mandates as to building codes, life-safety requirements, per pupil square footage, course work (like phys ed) and amenities that even a charter needs to provide...and that calls for an investment in infrastructure...a fact that will knock most fledgling charters out of the box, if their intent is to open in anything other than an existing school building.

Further, without such fledgling institutions being able to rather quickly provide a full curriculum for their targeted demographic (K-12, K-5, Middle School, 9-12, or whatever combination thereof) and a respectable number of them, they won't survive long enough or grow in size sufficiently to do a thing to alleviate any space constraints in the communities from which they draw students.

No sir, you can't open a charter school in a broom closet or somebody's basement playroom and expect it to have a positive impact on anything.

Hua Mei was shot down because it was an ill conceived proposal to create a charter designed to draw students from communities already doing a decent job with public education and essentially duplicating services already available in them.

While some charters schools do have issue I think they can be a useful means to improve education and help on the cost structure of education in West Orange if they they are given a fair chance to grow and if they obtain a certain size. While our public school do some good things they don't have the answer for every educational situation.

Thank you again for your keen observations John. I in no way ever advocated discontinuing all extracurricular programs. I do think that there are many less costly activities that would be appealing to the broader population of our students and children that the WOBOE must explore the alternatives. A multi-million dollar football program is no longer sustainable nor necessary in today's society. Given the fact that there are also other programs in town (i.e. PAL & MTL) that offer these programs for our youth it is unnecessary that the WOBOE spend taxpayer dollars to compete with these venues. We must also recognize that the demographics of the student population has changed and that it is far easier to field a soccer team than a costly football program. I would also advocate that activities which have a civic component to them take a priority over very expensive spectator programs.

Again, absent any hard evidence to the contrary, the assertion that WOHS football is a "multi-million dollar program" has no basis in fact.

PAL and MTL (which doesn't have a football program, by the way) do not compete with WOHS varsity sports as they are age specific programs that essentially prepare kids to participate on the high school level.

Insofar as adding or deleting specific varsity sports and activities, this has historically been a matter of student/parent initiative and dwindling participation, respectively.

Prior to 1966, soccer did not exist at WOHS and began as a club activity when I was in high school.

Similarly, my senior class president (Larry Model, MD, WOHS '69) began a fencing club that endured for a number of years, though I don't believe it ever was elevated to a varsity sport.

During one year I was in high school, marching band participation had fallen so far that a "Cowboy Combo" performed at half-time during football games.

A move to rejuvenate the band took hold and, the following year, there were as many marchers holding instruments and mimicking playing them as their were legitimate musicians.

One of the impediments to establishing any new varsity sport is whether or not it is sanctioned by the NJSISAA; Greco-Roman wrestling, Judo and Karate (for example) are not.

Some sport thats are (diving and gymnastics are two) would surely require additional facilities/infrastructure that aren't readily available.

Alan Sanders:

Let's agree to disagree on term limits as I simply don't share your your concerns or think term limits are the panacea for the ills you see.

If you have concerns about my making "disparaging posts" and/or "negative personal characterizations of others," please bring whatever it is you're talking about to my attention and I'd be happy to discuss them with you and offer suitable apologies if indicated.

Let's do that off line, shall we?

You have my e-mail address.

Alan Sanders:

Fair enough but, I think history would show that my demeanor is quite civil and respectful to those who reciprocate in kind and that, in the acerbity and sarcasm department, I never draw first blood.

I believe that Greco-Roman is the type in Olympic competition so I'm surprised that free-style predominates in college competition. There used to be much Greco-Roman in college competition. As far as mats for floor exercise (ala the Olympics) or run-up space for a pommel horse I don't envision a program that extensive. There's much to do on a horse other than vaulting over it. Rings require height but parallel bars really don't; any ordinary gym is adequate for them. I'm just thinking out loud about ways to provide sports activities that aren't expensive.

Alan Sanders:

Pertaining to gymnastics...be that all as it may, to field a sanctioned, varsity team, a school must compete in all (not some) of the requisite events and additional gym space WOULD undoubtedly be required in order to do so.

Like it or not, the basic laws of physics do apply here: two bodies can't occupy the same space at the same time! :-)

For what it is worth, having wrestled myself in high school and having continued to support the high school's team (and attend matches since) I am aware that it has become virtually a year round sport for the most dedicated athletes.

Many WOHS wrestlers compete year round in AAU events, clinics and camps and, yes, some even delve into Greco-Roman for the novelty of it.

By the way, in case you were unaware of it, the WOHS wrestling program celebrated its 50th Anniversary this past season and also won its first State Sectional Championship.

By the way, I should have more properly identified "uneven parallel bars" as the appartaus requiring significant ceiling height (read gym) on which to practice and perform a routine.

Brett Someone named Brett Kaiser named " You NEED ALL the extracurricular activities you can get to the kids.. no matter what they are .... without them you will see a huge decline in the schools " Brett, I think Brett makes a good point . Sir , I have heard you and I have responded .YES !!! More programs ! We NEED ALL the extracurricular activities we can get to the kids, no matter what they are ..... EXCEPT boys Fall and Spring volleyball , girls Fall volleyball, fencing , gymnastics, Fall tennis, and a Greco - Roman Wrestling Club .wohopeful, didn't I say there would be problems ? And that the arguments would be largely in the form of non -sequitors ? wohopeful, the average lifespan of an NFL lineman is 46. Arthritis and heart disease begin to take over in the 30s. Apparently, many people desperately need their bloodsports , perhaps to the point of addictiion.The enormous financial expense and the skyrocketing serious injury rates at all levels and the suffering and the premature deaths from a variety of causes don't matter in the least to these people.

Should read Brett , someone named Brett Kaiser WROTE. And Brett, why would I support what we have, when I don't support it ? That's... what's the expression ? Oh,i know . It's called defending the status quo ....in the most pejorative sense of the term . We defend the status quo because we are... because it's essential that.....and also because the ... no, we defend the status quo solely because it's the status quo .

Alan: As discussed previously, I believe the premsie that WOHS football costs "millions of dollars" annually is unfounded.

That said, considering that more than 10% of the male student body is actually on the team, I believe that looking for lower cost alternatives than would garner as much interest is an absolute exercise in futility.

Like it or not, football is an American sport and garners more interest on all levels than any other...even baseball, once considered the "national passtime."

At best, an anecdotal observation based on no evidence that has been submitted or accepted as factual.

"Anecdotal observation?"

Hardly, as my number of students and percentage of participation are accurate, wherea your alledging the cost of the football program to be "millions of dollars" annually remains unsupported.

Make your case P.F.

Alan:

Should have read "looking for lower cost alternatives that..."

Will Rod The contract is a fait accompli. Rest assured it will be signed, sealed and delivered before the November election . The inevitable raises will be slightly less than County average .{ County average, when there's no County residency requirement . Oh well } The High School provides 14 days less instructional time than the State average .The Union will agree to a longer school day , which they've done before . It will still be significantly less than the State average . The Union will also make concessions on the Health Plan . They will be small, but the Board and Union will tout the savings and ignore the huge increase on one of the most expensive health plans in the State. When we moved to West Orange 32 years ago, I started drinking 35 cups of coffee a day . When there's the inevitable outcry about a tax hike , we have long been told that to pay for it , we need only give up the equivalent cost of one cup of coffee a day. So go ahead, raise my taxes . I can still afford to drink 3 cups of coffee a day..... for now.