CWA UPDATE ! 04/17/09

CWA Local 1022 http://www.cwalocal1022.org/ (Englishtown, NJ)
CWA Local 1023 http://www.cwalocal1023.net/ (Cranford, NJ)
CWA Local 1031 http://www.cwa1031.org/ (Monmouth Junction, NJ)
CWA Local 1032 http://www.cwalocal1032.org/ (Trenton, NJ)
CWA Local 1033 http://www.cwalocal1033.com/ (Trenton, NJ)
CWA Local 1034 http://www.cwa1034.org/ (W Trenton, NJ)
CWA Local 1037 http://www.cwa1037.org/ (Newark, NJ)
CWA Local 1039 http://www.cwa1039.org/ (Trenton, NJ)
CWA Local 1040 http://www.cwalocal1040.org/ (Trenton, NJ)
CWA Local 1058 http://www.cwa1058.org/ (Bridgewater, NJ)
CWA Local 1081 http://www.cwa1081.com/ (Newark, NJ)
CWA Local 1082 http://www.cwalocal1082.com/ (New Brunswick, NJ)
CWA Local 1150 http://www.cwalocal1150.org/ (NY and NJ)

Published: Friday, April 17, 2009
Press of Atlantic City

As we've noted several times recently, every budget cut causes pain. So it is with the proposed closing of 18 state-run schools for seriously disabled children.

The state Department of Children and Families expects to save $4 million by closing the schools. Some, including one DCF school in Egg Harbor Township, would close this June, under the proposal. All the schools would be phased out by 2010.

Parents are understandably upset. So are the pregnant teens and new teen mothers who attend six of the DCF schools that offer nursery care while the teen moms attend classes.

We won't quibble with the decision to close the schools, as painful as that decision is. We doubt it was made lightly. And state officials say the children will be placed in other programs in regular schools, county special-services schools or private facilities.

But we will quibble with how the closing of these schools has been handled so far.



Some of the students at DCF schools are so disabled that they must wear diapers and cannot feed themselves. Parenting such severely disabled children must be one of the more wrenching and trying experiences imaginable. And the uncertainty created by the announcement that the DCF schools would close unnecessarily added to the parents' anxiety.

This budget cut may be a sound one - but the state needs to be working more closely with the parents to come up with alternative placements and, quite frankly, to provide emotional support during the transition.

Some counties, including Atlantic and Cape May counties, have special-services school districts specifically created to accommodate disabled students. In fact, the DCF cited the presence of these county-run schools as one reason why the state-run DCF schools are not needed any longer.

But the DCF schools serve almost 560 students, and it is not clear how many can be accommodated at the special-services schools. Those schools will be the first choice for many parents. And while the superintendents of both the Atlantic County and Cape May County special-services schools say they are willing to help, the state made no effort to reach out to these superintendents before announcing the closings - so they have no idea what will be expected of them.

Better planning and better communication could be making this difficult process easier for the parents of these disabled students.

As for the pregnant teens and new teen mothers enrolled in the Teen Education and Child Health program at the DCF schools, the state or counties or individual districts need to keep that program alive.

It may irk many New Jersey residents that they must pay to provide nurseries and infant-care instruction for teen mothers trying to finish high school. But education and a shot at a productive life is better than a life on welfare - for both the young mothers and for the taxpayers, who pay either way.

Soliman: Special needs students get good news and bad news
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
BY AHMED SOLIMAN
NorthJersey.com
Record columnist

Special needs students get good news and bad news

IT SOMETIMES SEEMS everyone is for diversity in our schools. The average American understands the educational value of students attending schools with other students who are different.

But diversity is not just about race or religion. It’s also about attending school with students who have different needs.

The state Department of Children and Families made an announcement this week that contains both good and bad news. The bad news is that about 560 students with special needs or circumstances across New Jersey must begin searching for new public education facilities because the state will close its 18 regional schools and two hospital centers for such children. Thus far, the department has provided intensive 12-month educational services and support to children and young adults ages 3 through 21.

The facilities were needed, the department said, because the extent of the students’ needs required removal from the public school setting. The program was specifically designed for students who exhibit severe cognitive, physical, behavioral or emotional disabilities; exhibit a variety of moderate to severe learning disabilities; are at risk of school failure or who are pregnant or parenting teens.

The goal of the program was a successful return to school and participation in community life.

Expanding schools

The good news, however, is that the reason for the closing is that there has been an enrollment decline as local school districts expand their special needs and at-risk capabilities.

Fulfilling those special needs at the local school district is much better for both the special needs students and the rest of the student body in the local school districts.

Growing up, I attended a school district that offered a fantastic program for students with Down Syndrome and other learning challenges. As early as the fourth grade, they attended the same gym class with us, and we grew up with them all the way to senior year of high school, where we often had homeroom with those students as well.

Interacting with them as students in the same school was very beneficial. They learned from us, and we learned from them.

We realized at an early age that they had the same feelings and frustrations as we did. In homeroom, they would talk about the girls they liked who did not like them back, and they would crack a joke that would make you laugh.

Later in life, as a college student waiting for a train one day, I saw a child with Down Syndrome enter the waiting room of the train station. I also saw the other adults in the room treat him in a rude manner, and avoid him as he walked around the room.

Clearly those adults had not had the education benefit my district had offered by incorporating the special needs education program into our school. The loss was theirs more than anyone else’s.

Challenges

Parents and guardians of the special needs children received letters last week explaining that the centers would be phased out by June 2010. Not everyone sees this as good news; the parents will have to work quickly in the next year to set up their children in a program that fits into their lives and location.

But there can be no denying one clear silver lining in this transition: school districts that are truly diverse.

Ahmed Soliman’s column appears Thursdays. Send comments about this column to The Record at letterstotheeditor@northjersey.com.

Parents to rally tomorrow against Corzine's school funding plan
by Amy Sara Clark / The Jersey Journal
Tuesday April 14, 2009, 3:43 PM

Parents and Communities United for Education is holding a rally opposing Gov. Jon Corzine's School Funding Reform Act, which, the group says, "reverses decades of efforts under Abbott court decisions to provide educational equity for children in poor urban districts, predominantly made up of Black and Latino communities."

The rally will be held Thursday, April 16, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. at City Hall, 280 Grove St.

PCUE says the reduction in state aid to Jersey City has led to $24 million in cuts to the 2009-2010 school budget, and will particularly affect services for the district's Special Education students.

"The (Jersey City) school budget for next year includes cutting staff time, slashing tutoring, reducing social service and academic support programs that assist our children to stay in schools, perform better, and achieve academic excellence," the group said in a news release.

N.J. Dept. of Education list breakdown of $609M in stimulus funds for schools
by The Star-Ledger Continuous News Desk
Friday April 17, 2009, 11:27 AM

The New Jersey Department of Education posted a breakdown of funding by district of the $609 million in federal stimulus money that they can begin to spend as soon as this summer.

The money is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which President Obama signed into law in February, Gov. Corzine announced Thursday. The stimulus would provide $238 million for services for low-income children and $371 million for special education students over the next two years, about 50 percent more than the districts typically receive for these programs.

Founding by school district

NJ FUNDING FOR LOW INCOME STUDENTS 2009-2010


NJ FUNDING FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION 2009-2010



The funds are intended to give state economies an immediate boost by saving and creating jobs and also to beef up academic standards, expand teacher training, enhance collection of education data and improve low-performing schools.

Want to get the word out?

... wondering why your local paper isnt covering our story?

give them a ring, write them a email...send them a tweet!

NJ Media Sources!

04/17/09 4:29pm 

by Steve Chambers/The Star-Ledger
Monday February 09, 2009, 3:53 PM

State Education Commissioner Lucille Davy testified today that a reform-minded school funding law passed last year is constitutional and will do a better job of educating the state's poorest children.

Taking the stand as the first witness in a high-stakes hearing in Hackensack, Davy painstakingly detailed the steps her department went through to determine a fair way of causing state aid to follow poor children wherever they might live.

But to protesters outside the Bergen County Courthouse and lawyers for the poor inside, all the talk of complex formulas boils down to one thing -- cutting money to Newark, Camden and the 29 other poorest school districts in New Jersey.

"What I see Ms. Davy trying to do is deprive us of the money we need to educate our kids," said Willie Rowe, a Newark native who voiced concerns about his grandson, a seventh grader in the city's public school system. "If you listen to her, we have all the resources in the world, but last year I sat in on my grandson's class and they had a math substitute for six weeks who wasn't teaching to state standards."

Davy testified today that the formula -- spelled out in the School Funding Reform Act of 2008 -- will provide enough money for the poorest districts and also help other districts struggling with increasing numbers of poor and immigrant students.

The dispute stems from a quarter-century of Supreme Court rulings, part of an ongoing case Abbott vs. Burke, which have steadily increased the benefits to the poorest 31 districts. The court has progressively increased supplemental funding to the so-called Abbott districts and their 300,000 children, ordering state-funded full-day kindergarten and preschool, the repair or replacement of hundreds of decrepit, overcrowded buildings and enough operating costs to match the state's wealthiest communities.

The administration of Gov. Jon Corzine convinced lawmakers to go another way last year, abandoning the Abbott distinction and, instead, devising a formula that distributes state aid based on the number of children -- with bonuses for "at-risk" children who are poor, can't speak English well or have other special needs. The state gave a small increase to Abbott districts -- hiking their share of the $7.8 billion pie of all state aid to $4.1 billion.

But groups like the Education Law Center in Newark are concerned that in the coming years, the formula alone won't provide what poor districts need.

"The main concern is the very important protections of Abbott for equitable funding, for supplemental funding will be gone," said Stan Karp, a program director at the law center.

In November, the state Supreme Court ruled it didn't know enough about that concern to rule on the constitutionality of Corzine's reform plan.

It ordered the fact-finding hearing that began today and will go on for three weeks, appointing Superior Court Judge Peter Doyne to oversee it and report back. The court has not a set timetable for ruling in the case.

Where did the money go?!


Well... here you go!


Check It Out! NJ EARMARKS 2009

Lawmakers defend millions in federal earmarks for N.J.
by Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
Wednesday March 11, 2009, 8:51 PM

They range from the tens of thousands of dollars to the tens of millions, funding everything from road construction and after-school programs to beach replenishment and cranberry research.

Money will flow to hospitals for new equipment, colleges for new educational programs and police departments for new radios and cruiser-mounted cameras.

Amid a furor over the $7.7 billion in earmarks contained in the federal spending bill signed today by President Obama, New Jersey legislators who corralled big bucks for their home state stood firmly behind their projects, saying the earmarks contribute to the common good and address problems that would otherwise go ignored.

The $410 billion spending bill, which will fund the federal government through the end of the fiscal year in September, will bring hundreds of millions of dollars into the Garden State for individual projects.

According to the nonpartisan group Taxpayers for Common Sense, Sen. Robert Menendez is the state's top breadwinner, followed closely by Sen. Frank Lautenberg. In the 435-member House, Rep. Rush Holt (D-12th Dist.), Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-8th Dist.) and Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11th Dist.) were among the top 20 legislators in securing money.

View the list of New Jersey earmarks

Menendez, in conjunction with other lawmakers, requested 171 earmarks worth $159.8 million, Taxpayers for Common Sense found. His name appears on additional earmarks with the president's, bringing his total to at least $273 million.

Lautenberg and other lawmakers jointly requested 173 earmarks worth $158.8 million. In all, his name appears on at least 184 provisions totaling $272 million.

The group ranks Menendez and Lautenberg 15th and 16th, respectively, in the Senate for the amount of money they brought to their home states.

The two Democrats -- Menendez in an interview and Lautenberg in a statement -- said they had nothing to apologize for, shrugging off criticism from Republicans and squeamishness from the president over the scope of the spending in such lean times.

"But for these earmarks, we wouldn't have flood-control work in Somerset County on the Raritan River basin or something so critical as beach replenishment on the Jersey Shore," Menendez said. "We wouldn't be able to ensure that we'd have more conservation of the Highlands. I'm proud to put my name on these projects."

Lautenberg, while saying he agreed with Obama that the federal government's resources must be rationed out to the states responsibly, likened the earmarks to a tonic that will help New Jerseyans weather the recession.

"In these tough economic times, we need to do all we can to help New Jersey families -- and this bill provides the resources to improve education, access to health care, and enhance law enforcement and the transportation options that get cars off our roads," he said.

In the dust-up over earmarks, critics have called attention to dozens of eyebrow-raising projects across the nation. They include $1.7 million for pig odor research in Iowa, more than $800,000 for genetic research on catfish in Alabama and $2 million for the "promotion of astronomy" in Hawaii.

Most of New Jersey's projects tilt toward infrastructure, health care and education. The biggest single allotment, $48 million, will go toward the construction of a second rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River. About $86 million will be split between New York and New Jersey for harbor dredging.

Other earmarks will establish training programs, fund anti-gang programs and help YMCAs renovate or expand their buildings. The smallest earmark, at $35,000, will be used to equip police cars in West Amwell, Hunterdon County, with video cameras.

At first blush, a handful of the provisions would seem less than necessary during the deepest recession since World War II. One earmark, for instance, provides $451,000 for cranberry and blueberry research through Rutgers University.

Menendez, however, defended the project, saying it will create jobs and aid farmers. He said New Jersey is the second-largest producer of blueberries in the nation and the third-largest producer of cranberries.

"That research is going to generate a lot more in jobs and domestic output than the $451,000," he said.

Both Menendez and Pascrell suggested the criticism over earmarks has been taken out of context and contended that Democrats have made great strides in reducing wasteful spending since they gained the majority in Congress two years ago.

Under Republican rule, they said, earmarks accounted for 4 percent to 5 percent of the budget. They now account for less than 1 percent.

"It's a big change from what existed before, and that's why much of this is hypocrisy," said Pascrell, whose name is attached to about $60 million in earmarks. "To stand on the floor of the House and insinuate that anyone who is getting earmarks is in some way tainted is ridiculous.

"I stand by every one of the earmarks that I brought in," Pascrell said. "They're important for the district. They're for the common good.

"Does the process need to be cleaned up? Yes. We're doing that."

Essex's neediest school districts favored in receiving state school aid
by Philip Read/The Star-Ledger
Wednesday March 11, 2009, 10:32 PM

The doling out of New Jersey school aid today favored a few districts on the outskirts of Essex County's poorer ones while holding wealthier suburban districts harmless in a deep recession.

Among the handful of districts seeing a 5 percent surge in aid -- namely Bloomfield, Belleville, Nutley and Essex County Vo-Tech -- there was frustration in some quarters.

Tim Farrell/The Star-Ledger
A 2006 file photo of Bloomfield Superintendent Frank Digesere.

"We're one of the lowest in per-pupil spending in the state. We're about $9 million under adequacy based on the state's formula," Bloomfield Superintendent Frank Digesere said.

He said the bump-up in aid, just a hair above $1 million, fell far short of what was needed.

Just last week, Digesere wrote to Gov. Jon Corzine urging him to keep an earlier pledge to increase school aid to Bloomfield by 20 percent under new formulas instituted last year.

"I would assume that we would have received the most aid," he said. "I do believe we are one of the districts in the worst shape."

Only one Essex district broke out of the 5 percent pack.

Orange, one of the so-called neediest "Abbott districts," received an 8 percent spike amounting to $4.71 million.

Among the 22 Essex districts, 16 saw their state aid unchanged, including Newark, whose $715 million in state support amounts to $15,929 per student. Newark, however, is expected to see a healthy slice of federal stimulus money directed at districts with large numbers of poor or special education students.

Neither Judith Kronin, interim superintendent in Orange, nor Clifford Janey, superintendent in Newark, could be reached for comment.

Most getting "zero percent" were suburban districts, including little Glen Ridge, whose dearth of commercial ratables leaves homeowners largely supporting the top-ranked school system. The average Glen Ridge homeowner pays $15,832 a year in property taxes.

"We're relieved that we didn't get any reductions," said John Mucciolo, Glen Ridge's superintendent.

There, state aid remained unchanged at $1.2 million, or $661 per pupil.

"In 1988, we received more aid than we get now," Mucciolo said.

In neighboring Montclair, the pending school budget already reflects $1.4 million in budget cuts even with state school aid remaining unchanged. The budget carries a 4.4 percent increase in the money raised by taxes, or $379 for the average homeowner, even as it cuts $500,000 for classroom aides and $240,000 for elementary curriculum specialists.

In Belleville, which, like Bloomfield, received a 5 percent increase in aid, interim schools Superintendent Mel Persi was pleased with the $1.2 million uptick.

"I think we're ahead of the curve," Persi said. "We're below adequacy. That's why we got 5 percent."

Some non-Abbott districts with significant numbers of needy students, meanwhile, will have to decide whether the state is offering enough help to institute the governor's call to provide free preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds.

Belleville is one that has been negotiating with the state for a program that would educate 75 poor children in three classrooms. But in Bloomfield, Superintendent Digesere said the expansion is unlikely, noting he can't even afford to provide full-day kindergarten.

"To be honest with you," he said, "when you're a couple million dollars over cap, I need a preschool like I need a hole in the head."

Pls be aware that protest at Essex Regional on 04-20-09 has been changed from noon to 10 am.. pls come out to support us.. even if its for 15 minutes!

04/17/09
Gov. Corzine announces $609M in stimulus funds for N.J. schools


Gov. Corzine announces $609M in stimulus funds for N.J. schools
by Kristen Alloway/Star-Ledger
Thursday April 16, 2009, 6:48 PM

Mel Evans/AP
New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine in his office Friday Jan. 2, 2009, in Trenton.

New Jersey school districts will share $609 million in federal stimulus money that they can begin to spend as soon as this summer to preserve jobs and invest in education reform, Gov. Jon Corzine said today.

The money is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which President Obama signed into law in February, and it earmarks $238 million for services for low-income children and $371 million for special education students over the next two years. It is about 50 percent more than the districts typically receive for these programs.

The funds are intended to give state economies an immediate boost by saving and creating jobs and also to beef up academic standards, expand teacher training, enhance collection of education data and improve low-performing schools.

"This is a unique opportunity to provide districts with resources to improve outcomes for at-risk students and students with disabilities while stimulating the economy," Corzine said.

Although uses for the money will be limited by federal statute, and the state Department of Education will have to sign off on each district's plan, school districts will have some discretion in how they spend the funds.

"We're encouraging them to not just save jobs, but impact student achievement," state Education Commissioner Lucille Davy said earlier this week. "We really do want districts to use these funds to do professional development, or operate summer school or for enrichment opportunities for students."

But the districts have been cautioned that the money is temporary, and they should not invest in initiatives that will require repeated funding.

"It is a one-shot revenue infusion for two years. It's not certain what will happen after that," said Frank Belluscio, a spokesperson for the New Jersey School Boards Association. "You don't want to set up something that will depend on that revenue three years from now."

The federal funds also will come with unprecedented oversight dictated by the Obama administration. Davy said state websites will "track every nickel."

"People will be able to look at how did you spend it," Davy said. "We're using the bully pulpit so districts understand this is money for a finite amount of time. We have an opportunity that is unique but comes with great responsibility. We want to make sure we do it right."

Although the funds were expected after the stimulus bill was signed in February, districts had been waiting to learn the actual dollar amounts and the limitations. The announcement came late in the day yesterday, and school officials said they were digesting what the funding and the regulations will mean.

"We're in the process of interpreting the appropriate uses that would benefit our special education student population," said Ray Krov, school business administrator for the Hunterdon Central Regional school district. The district will receive $625,000 in special education funding and has 514 special-needs students out of 3,100 pupils.

"One of things districts will be faced with is how do we spend this money well," said Lynne Strickland of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, an advocacy group for about 100 suburban districts in New Jersey. "They're going to have to do it within a reasonably short amount of time."

The state Department of Education must approve how each district will spend the money, as required by the U.S. Department of Education.

Districts can begin applying this summer for funds to be used between September 2009 and September 2011. But there also will be a "streamlined" application process available for districts that may want to begin using the federal dollars this summer, according to the state DOE.

For a break-down of funding by district, visit: www.nj.gov/education/arra/

Details and directions to follow.. keep an eye on the calendar... hold these dates... MAY 5TH, 2009 There will be a hearing before the Assembly Comittee! I am encouraging as many parents to be there as possible.

These people have to see our faces and the faces of our children!

MAY 13TH, 2009 There will be a hearing before the Senate Committee!

Again, we need to MAKE them feel our presence!

JUNE 2ND, 2009 We will be picketing at the statehouse in Trenton! All of us United and in Solidarity!

I am tired and I am going to bed, but tomorrow I will put together an e-mail with more detailed information!

I NEED PRESENCE ON MONDAY! THERE WILL BE PEOPLE IN THE AREA THAT NEED TO KNOW WE ARE SERIOUS! SO PLEASE TRY TO COME OR SEND YOUR FRIENDS! MONDAY 12P-1P!.