District outlines items that will impact budget
Superintendent gives a ‘State of the Schools’ report at board meeting
BY DANIELLE MEDINA
Correspondent

BRICK — School officials laid the groundwork for the upcoming budget preparation season by delivering a “State of the Schools” address at the Board of Education’s Jan. 20 meeting.

According to a parent survey, more than 90 percent of the 5,177 respondents believe that Brick’s schools offer a rigorous academic curriculum in a safe and secure educational environment for its 11,560 students.

“These are extraordinarily high numbers,” Superintendent of Schools Thomas L. Seidenberger said. “Our board and administrative staff are very pleased with the results of the survey.”

The parents surveyed also overwhelmingly agreed that the district provides them with easily understood information about curriculum and academic standards; that an outstanding school system is vital to the overall quality of life in a community; and that providing children with a modern array of technological experiences is a necessity in a fast-paced world, according to school officials.

However, the district didn’t score such high marks from parents when they asked if the district spends its budget in an efficient and effective manner. Only 61 percent of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with that statement, while 22 percent of the parents said they didn’t know.

“This is no surprise since the budget was defeated [by voters] the last three years,” Seidenberger said. “This is an opportunity to convince 1,118 parents that we are fiscally prudent.”

To reach that goal, Seidenberger said the Board of Education will host a series of budget workshops and discussions on the various factors that impact the budget in the coming weeks.

Thursday evening’s presentation, however, was designed more to give the public an overview of the district’s wants and needs and the factors that impact the budget. No dollar figures were included in the presentation.

“We want to open a dialogue about where the district is headed,” Seidenberger said. “We want you to listen tonight, reflect upon it and come prepared to the list of meetings to have conversations and get into the nitty gritty.”

Seidenberger said that even though all the issues that were discussed would end up in the budget, he thought it was important to communicate the district’s needs anyway.

“We need to work together to develop an operational budget that will be passed by the voters,” the superintendent said.

One of the biggest challenges facing the district is improving the aged technology system.

“Technology is not a luxury anymore,” said the school district’s technology director Leonard Niebo. “We have to think of technology as a utility.”

In addition to refreshing classroom workstations — 90 percent of which run the now obsolete Windows 95 operating system — Niebo said he would like to create a centralized student information system and add a tech support person at each level (elementary, middle and high school).

“We currently have one person for 15,000 users,” Niebo said. “Nationally, the average is one person for 175 users and in New Jersey the average is one per 160 for grades K-12.”

On the elementary level, Assistant Superintendent of Schools MaryAnn Ceres said that the district must find a way to avoid bilingual education at Drum Point Elementary School next year. Currently, 14 Spanish-speaking students at the Primary Learning Center are slated to move on to Drum Point Elementary School in September, which would require the district to have a bilingual program at each grade level.

Ceres said that two English as second language teachers would have to be replaced with five bilingual teachers.

Increased enrollment, new state and federal mandates that raise the testing standards for eighth-grade and 11th-grade students, and a new writing section on the SAT, are all factors that are impacting the secondary schools, Assistant Superintendent of Schools Walter Hrycenko said.

Hrycenko said that he would like to purchase new textbooks for senior English, geometry, high school social studies, and middle school science. He also hopes to begin working on establishing an autistic classroom in the middle school; restore the television studio at Brick Township High School (BTHS); and upgrade the science equipment and practical arts facilities at BTHS.

At the special education level, Alan Ferraro, the district’s director of special services, said that Brick’s major challenges will be complying with state code class sizes and providing high-ratio staffing for autistic children.

“We’re moving forward in a very excellent way, but there is a lot of work we need to do,” Ferraro said.

Additionally, the transportation department will find ways to improve upon its efficiency rating, while replacing old buses and rerouting buses to avoid traffic problems in the community. The athletic department will look to reinstate the “B” teams to fight obesity, replace old uniforms and hold collegiate recruiting seminars.

Among the major capital projects needed at Brick’s schools are continued roof repair/replacement; replacement of aging mechanical systems such as boilers and windows; and the resurfacing of parking lots at various schools.