Don’t let platitudes interfere with good judgment.

We are beginning to see the expected parade of letters published ‘supporting education’. Often these letters are written at the behest of the administration, current board members or board candidates to accomplish two things. The first is to whip up support for the status quo and keep the ‘party line’ in front of the public. The second is to cast doubt or criticism upon anyone who would dare disagree with 'the party line.’ In his March 12 letter to the Sentinel, Mike Hennessy asks us to support our ‘outstanding educational system.' He claims our schools are ‘among the best, if not the very best, in the nation.’ Such platitudes have been used for years to encourage blind support for ever-expanding school budgets. At the risk of clouding the issue with the actual facts (National Center for Education Statistics) consider: compared to the national average, NJ has 27% more schools; 43% more students; 80% more teachers and spends 128% more money on education while producing student scores that are: 3% higher for grade 4 math and reading; 2% higher for grade 8 math and 3% higher for grade 8 reading. After spending more than twice as much money as the national average it’s not unreasonable to expect better results than a 3% margin in student performance. Perhaps Mr. Hennessy was thinking of other core subjects like science when he asked us to believe our schools are the very best in the nation. The National Center for Education Statistics tells a different story. New Jersey actually ranks 21st in the nation for 8th grade science performance in 2005. These ‘planted’ letters to the editor will use a variety of other devices to try and maintain the status quo. Mr. Hennessy uses a popular one when he crafts the argument that anyone that waivers from the status quo doesn’t support education or long-term plans, is shortsighted and shirking the obligation to our children or is simply gullible enough to submit to temptation. Forty years of research have repeatedly demonstrated that more money, even significantly more money does not equate to higher student performance. This same body of research has consistently identified two factors as being the most significant impactors of student performance: race and socio-economic status. Is it surprising then, that tens of billions of dollars have been spent in Abbott districts without appreciable changes in student performance? Spending more money or maintaining the status quo is simply not supported by the abundant research available. Supporting education is the responsibility of all, as is the use of responsible judgment in determining what that support should look like. Platitudes must not take the place of sound judgment. When the East Brunswick school board and administration made the judgment to neglect Memorial school while desperately trying to sell the idea of a bond issue, the result was more extensive damage than was done by the original fire. The administration and the current board should be held accountable for this fiasco, not the taxpayers or the students. We can maintain a quality education for our children AND question the judgments being made by our elected officials and school administration. These are not mutually exclusive ideas. In fact, maintaining a quality education REQUIRES the use of sound judgment by all.