The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
12-11-1991
MAHWAH SCHOOLS IMPROVING DESPITE CUTS
Date: 12-11-1991, Wednesday
Section: NORTHWEST BERGEN YOUR TOWN RECORD
Edition: 3 Star
Editor, The Record:
As an outspoken citizen who has been concerned with Mahwah's
educational system for 10 years, I was honored by the voters to be
elected to the Board of Education in 1990. I knew the task ahead would
not be easy: Any change in education is a slow process, and there were
years of complacency that had to be overcome.
The economic climate throughout the country is unstable and we in
Mahwah have not been spared. Now, more than ever, public bodies must be
responsive, open, and honest to the community in which they serve, and
must respond to misleading information and half-truths written by
defeated former board members for the purpose of negating the present
board's efforts at responsible leadership.
Yes, like many towns, Mahwah had a defeated budget. However,
despite removal of nearly $1 million from that budget, Mahwah's
schoolchildren have a new reading program, new computers to enhance more
programs, and a new superintendent who is responsive to improving
education.
Yes, class size has increased (we no longer have sections of 12 and
15 students per class). Yes, we have instituted a small fee for freshman
sports that has enabled us to add additional freshman sports for girls,
thereby creating a balance in offerings for boys and girls.
Yes, we have instituted a small maintenance fee for students who
use school-owned musical instruments instead of renting their
instruments from an outside company. This fee offsets some of the costs
for repairs.
Note also that both these fees are waived in some cases of
financial hardship.
Yes, all of these items address what the board is doing now, but
what are the plans for the future? One only has to read the papers to
note that science and math education throughout the country has failed
our children. We in Mahwah have followed the studies of the National
Science Foundation and will be instituting an integrated science
curriculum in the high school for all ninth-graders.
This program is an exciting and challenging new approach to the
teaching of science and will put Mahwah at the leading edge of teaching
for the 21st century. Furthermore, we are adding a calculus course to
the high school curriculum in addition to our existing
advanced-placement calculus course. Thus the AP course will more
adequately address the needs of the advanced math student, while the
average math student will have an additional math course available for
further study.
Yes, we have discussed the possibility of a new phone system to
replace an inadequate and highly inefficient system that presently
exists. However, the board decided that the phone issue will be
addressed during the next budget preparation, provided that savings are
achieved to offset the cost of implementation. Yes, as residents of
Mahwah can see, the Board of Education has taken its job most seriously
and is striving to provide the best educational experiences for the
children during a period of national economic uncertainty. I urge
residents truly interested in knowing how the Board of Education is
operating to attend meetings and learn the facts firsthand.
BARBARA BURGHARDT
Mahwah
Keywords: MAHWAH. SCHOOL. EDUCATION. BUDGET
Copyright 1991 Bergen Record Corp. All rights reserved.
