New tool gives public
info., voice on issues
By vincent todaro
Staff Writer
Residents who feel powerless in attempting to influence government officials regarding education issues may have a new weapon.
East Brunswick Board of Education member Patrick Sirr is an active proponent of a recently created information service called Citizen Action Project, designed to help provide residents with the ears of state and federal legislators.
Sirr, who is vice president of county activities for the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA), which created the service, said it is a computer-based effort that provides residents with information on important education bills pending with the state Legislature and Congress. It also provides information on the educational ideas and policies of the federal and state administrations.
"You go to the Web site [www.njsba.org] and click on the link. There’s no charge at all," he said. "When bills come up in legislation that impact education, we send you an e-mail telling you what you can do.
"As more and more people become aware, hopefully we can have an impact to have more quality education and funding," he said. "We’re trying to get information out to as many people as possible."
The service was started about two months ago. Most of the communication is done via e-mail in order to keep costs low and to disseminate the information quickly.
Actions taken by the state and federal governments often have a profound impact on the quality and cost of public education, according to the NJSBA.
"Many escape widespread public notice, or surface in the media only when it is too late to change the course of events, leaving citizens feeling frustrated and powerless," the organization states.
In addition to providing information, the service will also have sample letters available on its Web site so residents can write to state and federal officials. The service may also include online petitions in the future.
Anyone who enlists in Citizen Action Project receives a free grassroots advocacy kit to provide them with ways to make their voice heard in both Trenton and Washington.
Sirr said there are many important education issues being debated, not the least of which is the funding of school aid under Gov. James McGreevey.
Bills regarding a possible state constitutional convention and funding for New Jersey education are being heard in Trenton. In addition, mandates for public schools are being discussed.
"Mandates have an impact on us," Sirr said. "We have to convey to legislators that they need to fund these mandates."
The federal government also needs to be stirred, he said, in part because of its refusal to fund the appropriate amount of costs associated with its own Individuals with Disabil-ities Education Act (IDEA). The government was supposed to fund 40 percent of the costs, yet provides only about 17 percent.
Another federal program that could leave school districts scrambling for dollars is referred to as "No Child Left Behind." Sirr said the program, created by the Bush administration, sets difficult standards, stipulating that districts must reach "adequate yearly progress" standards despite whatever obstacles there may be.
School districts will be required to show yearly increases in the numbers of students who meet "achievement" levels. In other words, a certain percentage of students in a particular achievement range must reach the next achievement range every year.
"If, after two or three years, you don’t achieve these goals," he said, "tuition and voucher issues kick in."
He said that after 10 to 12 years, all of the students in any particular level must have advanced to the next one. That is an impossible standard for districts to reach, he said, especially for those that have a large number of transient students. Those students will be educated elsewhere, but the district that tests them will be responsible for their results.
"It’s underfunded right off the bat," Sirr said.
"The mandates make sense, and we want to educate everyone," he said. "But there has to be some funding."
Sirr said the NJSBA was formed in the early 1900s. It works as an advocate of all school districts in the state and provides training for new Board of Education members.