Can Galloway Trust the Greater Egg Harbor Regional School District…..?

Can Galloway Trust the Greater Egg Harbor Regional School District…..?  

The upcoming school board election on Tuesday, November 5th may be one of the most important school board elections in recent memory. The outcome of this election will determine the direction of the GEHRSD and the well being of Absegami High School for years to come. At stake are tax rates for seniors, and for parents, a school we can be proud. Our building is in dire need of repair to its structural integrity.

A gauntlet of difficult questions comprises this election. The most important question is, can we elect NEW BOE members who will not be a pawn of the Superintendent, but will fight to ensure that Absegami is no longer short changed when it comes to educational funding? Currently our taxes are the highest in the district, yet we receive funding unequal to the percentage we pay. What are we going to do about that?

So here is a quick overview of our situation:

“Is the BOE truthful to Galloway residents?……. NO!”

Marge Guenther, Vicki Hood and Carol Houck deceived us when the issue of building a 3rd high school surfaced for a vote. Ms. Houck, more than any other BOE member, knew that student population totals were declining and the argument for building a 3rd school to alleviate overcrowding at Absegami was really just a matter of time (WAIT DON’T SPEND).  Gami’s present student population is almost a 1000 students less. In practical terms, even with the loss of Egg Harbor City, and the students from Galloway who participate in the Cedar Creek’s magnet programs, the reality of this number would mean approximately one less student per class. Simply, a teacher would teach 25 students per class instead of 26. But the biggest impact has simply been declining enrollment. The Galloway Middle School is operating with two less sections of students in each grade. A situation that Carol Houck knew was going to occur. You can plead ignorance to the facts, but teachers in a district, if they are paying attention, are aware of population trends and student ability trends, i.e. a trending class is weaker in math and we need to prepare a remediation plan …. and the list goes on. But with her help, and the salesmanship of Marge Guenther and Vicki Hood, the former Superintendent took advantage of the situation. Wanting to increase his salary by becoming the administrative head of a three high school district, he solicited Marge, Carol, and Vicki to support his foolish agenda by misrepresenting the facts. We were not told the truth, and we are now stuck with a big bill for Cedar Creek while our own school is badly in need of repairs.

This deceit is common practice, since Gov. Christie passed legislation allowing schools to bypass the process of submitting school budgets for public approval as long as the budget remains under a 2% cap increase per year. The result: we have lost our ability to scrutinize spending by the GERHSD. I have sought financial information through the OPRA process.  The results have been shocking. For example, Absegami sports teams are being funded at the same level as Cedar Creek athletic teams even though Absegami has more sports and supports a varsity, JV and freshmen level of competition and Cedar Creek only supports two levels. No wonder they have three uniforms and college style warm-ups while we are forced to fund raise in order to support our programs.

Board meetings are no different. Generally, poorly attended by the general public, unless a major incident sparks their interest, i.e. our two disastrous graduations, BOE meetings are highly scripted affairs with decisions pre-crafted behind closed doors. These affairs lack openness and again lack a chance for public scrutiny. Have you ever witnessed a vote?  Marge gathers up a few of her choice topics from the agenda and puts them to the vote despite the comment that indicates only BOE members possess the factual information being voted on. So, in reality, the public sits there twiddling their thumbs wondering what actually got voted on.

We deserve greater openness. We need to demand that BOE members and school administrators  have their decisions subject to public review. Let me sum it up quickly:

25 year old “temporary” trailers’ still used as classrooms  (eyesore)

The worst Athletic Facilities in the Cape-Atlantic

NO voter approved budgets

Highest taxes in the district

Deceived by the BOE as to the reasons for building a third high school

Lack of transparency – hidden agendas – no administrative accountability

Significant change in school environment have resulted in  student exodus & low staff moral

Administrative salary grabs have resulted in bloated six figure salaries.

“Is Our School Administration Effectively Meeting the Needs of our Students and Curator of an Inspiring Academic Environment ? ………   NO”

I have yet to meet a parent who has a favorable opinion of Absegami’s top administrator. Since her first days on the job when student’s created-shirts and sold wrist bands in protest of her policies, her numerous gaffs involving graduation and other school traditions have brought the school’s morale to an all-time low, both among students, as well as the professional staff. Her finger waving, belittling of students, staff and parents, have created a great divide between the school and the community. She has been brought before the state’s labor relations board and continues to minimize the student’s experiences by making issue of unimportant matters. For example, why suddenly even consider cancelling Halloween for the students, despite the school sponsoring its traditional hallway Halloween event that involves numerous teams and clubs together in a spirited school function? Our children work hard, can’t they have some fun. Has school become a source of pure skull drudgery?  BTW, the other two schools in the district have no plans to follow her lead. They believe in school spirit. So what drives her to make these unfounded decisions?

To sum it up:

·         I believe schools thrive when students and teachers are happy.

·         I do not support the outrageous number of supervisors and administrators we currently have on the pay roll. Supervisors have no bearing on student achievement but teachers working closely with students does affect student outcomes. We can easily realize financial savings of $3 million to $2 million dollars with a restructuring of our district organization. Money that can be used to support student activities and create new programs, such as an ROTC program or another magnet program to advance our students career opportunities.

·         BTW, this class of administrators never existed until the former Superintendent and his principals created a class of minions to blindly follow their druthers and be their friends.

·         Let me be clear, our tax money is for the kids and teachers, not to buy friends and lunch buddies for administrators. Need a friend, get a dog.

·         Furthermore, with this history can we trust her with the implementation of our new magnet program?

“Has the GEHRSD kept our District on the Cutting Edge of Educational Developments?……  NO”

Where once we led all other districts in the utilization of technology in the classroom, we now find ourselves limping along at a time when technology is considered vital to a thorough and efficient education for our students. This is generally true in schools across our district but it is virtually absent at Absegami.

To Sum it up:

·         Teachers are sharing projection devices because not all rooms are equipped with this vital technological tool. This simple level of technology is the minimum standard in classrooms statewide but not at Absegami.

·         At the pinnacle of our technological leadership, teachers were issued laptop computers for the development of lessons that relied heavily on technology. These lessons were interesting and diverse. Now teachers must rely on work space computers that do not guarantee them access for this type of work. Furthermore, portable computer labs that use to be able to be brought to classrooms where students and teachers could work together are no longer available.

·         Currently, the NEW “Bring Your Own Computer to School” program, strong armed teachers to bring their own computers to Absegami so they can perform their jobs  adequately.

·         Can it get worse? SURE! … The Distance Learning Lab must share a key component with Oakcrest in order that students can participate in distance learning situations. Recently, students were very excited to view an expensive program purchased by the district that allows students to interact with persons in the program, i.e. asking questions, engaging in conversation about the operations, etc., was essentially lost, when more than half of the designated time allowed for the special event became a casualty to “sound” caused by the transferring/reattaching of this piece between Oakcrest and Absegami. Is this the district’s idea of technology at work?

Do you understand why the election on November 5th is so important?  We clearly cannot count on the GEHRSD administrators or Current Galloway BOE members to protect the educational interests of our children. Marge Guenther, Vicki Hood and Carol Houck have not been forthright with us. They have allowed themselves to be pawns of the Superintendent and his growing administrative class; a group who represents a significant cost to this district and does nothing to enhance the educational experience of our children. Clearly our Galloway BOE members do not have Absegami High School as their priority.  They have shamefully neglected Absegami High School and abandoned the most important commodity our community has to offer, our children.

Please take the time to support the children of Galloway and Absegami High School and come out on Tuesday, November 5th and vote for me,

Together, let’s be the solution…Vote for Doug Shiner!