“First and foremost school boards look out for students. Education is not a line item on the school board’s agenda—it is the only item. When making decisions about school programs, school boards incorporate their community’s view of what students should know and be able to do. School boards are accessible to the public and accountable for the performance of their schools. School boards are the education watchdog for their communities, ensuring that students get the best education for the tax dollars spent.” (Role of the School Board, Center for Public Education, National School Boards Association website)
Essentially the role of a Board of Education is…education. The quality of the education within a school district is its primary objective. Saving money is a boon to tax payers, but if it will be at the cost of the students’ experience in the classroom, then that takes precedent over anything else.
The Boards of Education for many Monmouth county school districts , and New Jersey school districts in general, have displayed, through tense contract negotiations in the past few years, a lack of understanding of their role in their communities. As a teacher, I represent a member of the community I serve. Yes, my address may fall out of the "district," but a community is not so arbitrarily defined as to be within city limits. My salary, like all other public employees, is paid for by the taxpayer, which is true. Yet, if you are not a public employee, your salary does not come magically from the sky. Maybe your salary is due in part to taxpayers choosing to spend money at your establishment, which, yes, is a choice and not a decree, but both represent participation in a society. We all choose to participate in a society because we would rather not go it alone. The concept of a social contract is not new, nor is it jeopardized by public schooling that is funded by property taxes. Ultimately, there may be a better way to fund schools, but that would be an argument for another time.
Furthermore, a quality education is an investment in the future of our country. By denying students quality teachers and a dedicated staff, you are not only doing the next generation a disservice, but yourself one as well. Working for Boards of Education that devalue the effort their teachers put forth, when coupled with the stressors of stalled contract negotiations, pay freezes, "0%" raises, rising benefits costs and an ever-increasing cost of living, may force the hands of many quality and prudent teachers to leave the profession outright for their own well-being.
The Boards of Education for many Monmouth county school districts , and New Jersey school districts in general, have displayed, through tense contract negotiations in the past few years, a lack of understanding of their role in their communities. As a teacher, I represent a member of the community I serve. Yes, my address may fall out of the "district," but a community is not so arbitrarily defined as to be within city limits. My salary, like all other public employees, is paid for by the taxpayer, which is true. Yet, if you are not a public employee, your salary does not come magically from the sky. Maybe your salary is due in part to taxpayers choosing to spend money at your establishment, which, yes, is a choice and not a decree, but both represent participation in a society. We all choose to participate in a society because we would rather not go it alone. The concept of a social contract is not new, nor is it jeopardized by public schooling that is funded by property taxes. Ultimately, there may be a better way to fund schools, but that would be an argument for another time.
Furthermore, a quality education is an investment in the future of our country. By denying students quality teachers and a dedicated staff, you are not only doing the next generation a disservice, but yourself one as well. Working for Boards of Education that devalue the effort their teachers put forth, when coupled with the stressors of stalled contract negotiations, pay freezes, "0%" raises, rising benefits costs and an ever-increasing cost of living, may force the hands of many quality and prudent teachers to leave the profession outright for their own well-being.
If there is a way that we can broach the discussion of education and in particular, contract negotiations, without it coming down to the same tired arguments, the staff at these schools would be much more productive and able to achieve further greatness than they have in the past. If you are not a teacher, but know one, you might have noticed that they fall silent when the topic of education arises in a group setting. Why is that? Do they have nothing to say? Or is it futile for them to express an opinion in the particularly hostile environment created by the current politicians in office?
What would we, as a people, be able to achieve if our schools had more competitive salaries that attracted the best and brightest graduates and seasoned teachers from not only NJ, but around the country? How can we hold to a standard of excellence without competitive compensation? With various new initiatives, like new observational templates, NJSMART, Common Core and PARCC, teachers are already feeling the immediate heat of change in their classrooms and school communities. New curricula may be more demanding and require more preparation time. New accountability requirements now link student growth to individual teachers. For the lot of us, these changes are something we will take on willingly. To ask us to do it while being demonized as not working our fair share, a reckless and untrue claim, is unconscionable.
If you are still not convinced by anything said above, Chris Christie and Barack Obama both send their own children to private school; the idea that spending money for quality education is not lost on them. They just do not care to ensure that it happens for your children at an equitable level to theirs. If we are going to be able to have a productive, vibrant democratic republic in the future, the continued focus on education needs to be at the forefront.
What would we, as a people, be able to achieve if our schools had more competitive salaries that attracted the best and brightest graduates and seasoned teachers from not only NJ, but around the country? How can we hold to a standard of excellence without competitive compensation? With various new initiatives, like new observational templates, NJSMART, Common Core and PARCC, teachers are already feeling the immediate heat of change in their classrooms and school communities. New curricula may be more demanding and require more preparation time. New accountability requirements now link student growth to individual teachers. For the lot of us, these changes are something we will take on willingly. To ask us to do it while being demonized as not working our fair share, a reckless and untrue claim, is unconscionable.
If you are still not convinced by anything said above, Chris Christie and Barack Obama both send their own children to private school; the idea that spending money for quality education is not lost on them. They just do not care to ensure that it happens for your children at an equitable level to theirs. If we are going to be able to have a productive, vibrant democratic republic in the future, the continued focus on education needs to be at the forefront.
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