The school board approved goals for the 2004/2005 school year.
By: Michael Ross
HIGHTSTOWN School district Superintendent Ronald Bolandi said last week his top goal will be to improve student academic performance this school year.
Four primary and seven secondary goals for 2004/2005 were approved by the East Windsor Regional School District Board of Education during its Dec. 13 meeting at Hightstown High School. The board also set the timetable and criteria by which the improvements will be measured.
These are "four principal goals that we wanted to work on," board President Bruce Ettman said last week. These include: improving students’ academic performance, faculty and administrative team-building, a re-evaluation of special education placements outside the district, and creation of a schools construction and contingency plans for delays.
"I’m responsible for the implementation and evaluation of these goals," Mr. Bolandi said Tuesday, adding "everyone (staff) is responsible for attaining" them.
The district’s first goal is "to demonstrate increased emphasis on raising academic standards and academic achievement to reflect positive outcomes for students and with state and federal accountability mandates."
"I think the academic goal is the most important one," Mr. Bolandi said. "We’re right on top of that one."
The goal calls for a complete audit of the "academic health" of the district, to be delivered to the board by March 1, and for the development of strategies to improve prioritized areas.
"We’d like to be above the standards," Mr. Ettman said of the accountability mandates.
The second goal is, "To develop a high quality administrative leadership team."
"One of the reasons that we hired Mr. Bolandi is that he believes in a team approach," Mr. Ettman said. In the past, Mr. Ettman said, faculty and administrators worked ineffectively together, adding that there is a need among professionals to "bridge the gap" and move forward as a "cohesive unit" rather than as "factions."
The goal calls for the restructuring of existing teams so that individual strengths and abilities can be optimized. The goal also requires the documentation of leadership improvement and team building activities and the development of a performance evaluation process and product for leadership.
The district’s third goal is, "To evaluate the effectiveness of the special education program based on identified needs and trends and communicate those findings to the board of education and community."
"Right now, we believe it to be inefficient," Mr. Ettman said, adding that the district spends a disproportionate percentage of its budget on special education.
According to Business Administrator/Board Secretary David Shafter, the district budgets roughly $12.7 million or 18.5 percent of the $68.8 million annual budget for special education programs (including transportation). Mr. Shafter said an Oct. 15 report classified 740 children, or 15 percent of the 4,959 total student enrollment, as special education students. He said 609 students are placed within the district, while 131 students are placed out-of-district.
"If you look at districts our size and larger, we have a lot more kids placed outside," Mr. Bolandi said last month. On average, Mr. Bolandi said, districts the size of East Windsor enroll 70 to 80 students in out-of-district special education programs.
"We want to have an analysis done on how we can make this more efficient," Mr. Ettman said.
The analysis will interpret the classification system used to categorize children as special education students and identify the special education services that can be provided within the district. The analysis will help "maximize efficiency" of the special education budget while ensuring individual student needs are filled, according to Mr. Ettman.
The analysis should be completed in January, Mr. Bolandi said.
The fourth goal is to, "Effectively and efficiently manage the district’s construction projects."
The goal calls for the development of a construction schedule and a contingency plan in the event school openings are delayed next fall. It also requires the identification of additional costs to be incurred, the responsible parties to incur such costs and the budget implications of current projects.
Mr. Bolandi said the district needs to ensure end results are achieved and that "riding herd" on ongoing projects is necessary to protect the taxpayers and make sure students and staff have the space they need.
One secondary district goal is to "fix the student transportation system."
"Its very inefficient," Mr. Ettman said, adding that timeliness and staff absenteeism are problems that need to be fixed. "Typically, it’s been one of our weak points."
"We run a very big operation," Mr. Bolandi said, adding the district uses 80 to 100 buses. He said the goal will examine the efficiency of the operation and measure how "cost-effective" it is.
Another secondary goal is to, "Fix the district technology delivery system."
"That one is a mess," Mr. Bolandi said, citing the April arrest of Robert Parker, the district’s former director of technology and instruction.
Mr. Parker was charged April 30 with 12 counts of official misconduct for selling at least 12 computers and was suspected of keeping approximately $20,000. In July, Mercer County prosecutor’s office spokeswoman Casey DeBlasio said Mr. Parker was suspected of selling 75 computers and pocketing $105,000.
Mr. Shafter said Mr. Parker resigned for personal reasons at the end of August and was replaced by Michael Dzwonar, who came aboard the same month as the director of evaluation and grants, curriculum and technology. Previously, Mr. Parker was suspended with pay; he earned $108,000 per year.
On Wednesday, Ms. DeBlasio said no further charges have been brought against Mr. Parker and that the investigation is ongoing.
"That department was in total disarray," Mr. Bolandi said.
"We have not used technology that much or that effectively in diagnosing students weaknesses," Mr. Ettman said. He added that technology can be used as a "teaching tool" and as a means to "diagnose areas of need."
The board approved five other secondary goals during the meeting. They include building collegiality within the district, evaluating staff policies and procedures and evaluating potential cost-savings and alternative revenue resources. The also include ensuring a high quality staff development program and studying the feasibility of offering expanded curricular opportunities at the secondary school level.
It’s a "gradual, evolutionary process," Mr. Ettman said. We will "keep moving and plugging along until we solve the problems."
He said the goals follow the recommendation of McPherson and Jacobson of Omaha, Neb. an executive recruiting firm that helped find Mr. Bolandi.