The Hammonton Gazette 02/18/15 Edition | Page 6

Page 6 • Wednesday, February 18, 2015 • The Hammonton Gazette The Hammonton Gazette “The Paper of Record” gabriel J. donio, Publisher gina rullo, Editor-in-Chief dan russoman, Sports Editor benny mendez, Staff Artist marySusan hoffman, paul J. macrie iv, michael hozik, donna brown, Joseph bruno, brittany mauro, lauren bucci, lauren crescenzo Staff The Hammonton Gazette is located at 233 bellevue ave. to reach a staff member, call 704-1940 or fax at 704-1938. the mailing address is p.o. box 1228, hammonton, nJ 08037. editorialS The Hammonton Gazette is published Wednesdays, by The Hammonton Gazette, Inc. Copyright © 2015. All rights reserved. ISSN 1093-6181 parcc: the divide The upcoming Partnership and Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) testing and the reaction to it are highlighting the fact that the public schools in New Jersey — and other states using the testing — have entered a new era of division. As seen by the dialogue between a concerned parent and local and state education officials at the February 5 meeting of the Hammonton Board of Education, there are parents who have concerns about their children taking the test. Equally legitimate are the concerns of the elected and appointed school officials throughout the state — and other states using the test — who want some kind of assessment of the educational proficiency levels of the students and teachers who are the beneficiaries of the majority of taxpayer dollars. Some members of the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) — the statewide teachers’ union — take issue with the testing, claiming it takes too many hours away from classroom instructional time. Some parents have similar concerns. For many years, standardized testing has been the method of assessing how students, and by extension, schools, are performing. These test names may sound familiar to you: CAT, NJASK, HSPT, HSPA. They were tests that were given to students for years, and the scores on those tests, coupled with sweeping government initiatives like No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Common Core have been the government’s method of attempting to make sure students have been educated, teachers have been held accountable and taxpayer money has been well-spent. Those last two initiatives — NCLB and Common Core — also created division. What has changed about the reaction to the latest standardized testing are two major facts: PARCC is the first test to be conducted online-only, with no pencil and paper as in years past; and the parents of today, unlike the parents of the past, are far more likely to question the authority of public school districts regarding sweeping edicts like testing. Unlike in years past, some parents are attempting to avoid the testing entirely. It appears to be another example of the divide between the needs and wants of the government and the needs and wants of the governed. It would not be accurate to state that all administration officials are for the test and all parents are against it, but there is division, and that division has been vocal. The online testing and protests of some dissatisfied parent s, combined with a statewide school union that is not always predisposed to welcome standardized tests as a method of assessing student and teacher performance are being met with state, school board and school administration officials who are using the testing as means of accountability. The divide between the two factions has, in our view, led to the current debate about PARCC. School districts throughout the state — including Hammonton — must be sensitive to these concerns as they move forward, providing the best information to all staff, students and parents so everyone understands all they can about PARCC before the testing begins in March. perSpective/county budget On January 27, I presented my 2015 Executive Budget Message to the Atlantic County Board of Freeholders. I explained that with the closing of four Atlantic City casinos and the subsequent loss of more than 8,000 casino jobs it is imperative that we find a balance between reducing costs and maintaining important services that are needed by increasingly more people facing economic challenges. To our credit, Atlantic County government has planned for such rainy days with conservative financial management which has earned us 15 consecutive perfect audits and strong bond ratings by both Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s Investment Services. Our low debt, surplus reserves, and pay-asyou-go policy have contributed to our strong fiscal health. Long before casinos closed, Atlantic County government implemented employee furloughs, reduced our workforce through attrition, and routinely did more with less. As a result, we are already lean, which only makes it more difficult to find excess to be trimmed. Approximately 122 positions have already been frozen or eliminated countywide. We have also privatized several programs such as the youth shelter, the medical examiner, senior citizen case management and social services at the county jail. This year we are also privatizing our claims adjusting by joining a joint insurance fund. Wherever possible we have also centralized support staff such as purchasing, human resources and information technologies, to avoid unnecessary and costly duplication. This is not to say that there may not be room for further reduction, but these choices must be carefully considered so as not to allow things to deteriorate to a level that makes our overall goal of economic recovery more difficult and protracted. With this in mind, I am suggesting two ways in which we may be able to reduce costs without significantly impacting the quality or provision of our services. If we cut the Open Space Tax in 2015 to oneeighth of a cent we will realize a savings of approximately $1.5 million and sufficiently cover our debt service. An additional $310,000 could be saved this year by reducing the hours of county library operations on some evenings and eliminating current vacancies. But all 10 branches would remain open with the same variety of services. We fully recognize the importance of open space and libraries to our communities and hope that these sacrifices may only be needed temporarily until our economy is stabilized and begins to diversify. What we have tried to do, in the face of uncertainty regarding the unprecedented decline in Atlantic City’s ratable base and its impact throughout Atlantic County, is to put forth a realistic financial plan that will not exacerbate the current economic hardships. Be assured that Atlantic County government will continue to look for opportunities to reduce costs by taking advantage of new technologies and resources as they become available. We will also continue to strive to ensure that the quality of our services is not diminished, especially when so many have come to depend upon them. Quote of the Week: dennis levinson county executive atlantic city “Smiling iS definitely one of the beSt beauty remedieS. if you have a good SenSe of humor and a good approach to life, that’S beautiful.” — Rashida Jones The Hammonton Gazette welcomes letters to the editor that are no more than 800 words long. All letters must include the name of the author and an address and telephone number for verification. Letters should be mailed to The Hammonton Gazette, Editorial Page, P.O. Box 1228, Hammonton, NJ 08037. Letters also will be accepted via fax. The fax number is 704—1938.  Or by email to [email protected]. Deadline for all submissions is 2 p.m. Monday. The Hammonton Gazette reserves the right to edit any submissions. The opinions expressed in letters, perspectives or in guest columns do not necessarily reflect those of The Hammonton Gazette.  The Gazette is not responsible for factual errors in letters, perspectives or in guest columns. The Gazette retains the right to refuse any submission or advertisement.