Faith, Beer, and Other Things That Interest Geoff

How exactly could they have communicated this information to you to satisfy you?

You're talking about something that's not even on the level of a county election. How much coverage could/should it get? I can guarantee you it was mentioned in a newspaper at one point. It has to be by law, I believe.

And they only called people who would vote their way? Yeah, that's called campaigning! Should Bush's people have called up Democrats to remind them "tomorrow is Election Day"?

And by the way, at the HHHS website there is a ton of information on this bond issue. At one point they state taxes would go up roughly $300 per household.

Tuesday they are apparently voting on the budget. So you have another chance to stick it to the kids.

-Jess
 

Until Jess wrote it, I was going to say that guy was full of it with the $500 thing...actually there was publicity for it, and a big deal was made in the newspapers because this went on in several districts all throughout New Jersey. The reason being the state is offering money for school improvements this year, so many districts were scrambling to take adavantage so as to decrease the tax burden of residents. That's why it passed. Heights has a lovely rep. for not passing budgets whereas Haddonfield, one of the top schools in the state and nation passes it yearly. By the way the brewer guy is full of it on another level. He put that house up for sale months and months ago before that bond was ever passed. Chris J.
 

Also, I don't know how they would
"call up people they knew would say yes"..unless he means call up families that have children in the school system. With budget elections, it's typical procedure to call people to remind them that there's a budget vote. I disagree with they guy's view that there some sort of deleterious motive behind it. If it were that easy just to "call people who would say yes" i think the budget would be passed more than once a decade, don't you? Because this bond was passed here and in many districts is because it made sense to take advantage of the state's offer. Again, there's a reason why good teachers want to leave Heights...not too many people care about the school system. (Granted there are some teachers that need to go. But Gladding leaving is very symbolic of the problems) Chris J.
 

Incidentally, the vote was something like 900 yes, 500 no.

So if their strategy was just to call up people who would say yes, they failed miserably.

-Jess
 

I would have probably voted for it. He was for it. But, knowing people on the board, told me that they just called up people they knew were going to vote yes.

$500 is fine if doing nothing will cost $700 down the line.

Now, how do you notify the public? Good question. The new houses at St. Martin's for example. I only learned about that b/c of a flier from someone who lived next door to this. I don't read the newspapers so I will only hear about these things after the fact. I guess I have to scour their websites myself. This is why, unintentionally, I think local government is the least accountable form of government.

Incidently, I was talking to another person from a different town the same day who said (prior to me even knowing about the topic) that he automatically votes no on the school budgets b/c he assumes there is unnecessary padding (happens in the business world all the time). Then, they'll remove the padding. Then, the new budget will be approved. Don't completely agree with that, but there is a logic to it.

There is a balance that must be met. Schools need money, but people shouldn't be taxed into oblivion. And people need to realise this balance. Kids generally don't do well because of the lack of money spent on them. They do well b/c of good parents and good teachers, in that order.
 

Guy made another good point. We could probably afford to close one of the elementrary schools, but the voters wouldn't like that. Do we really need 3 schools in a town our size?
 

This is interesting: http://hhsd.k12.nj.us/Bond%20Info/bond%20frequent%20questions.htm

As I suspected, Haddon Heights High School does have a relatively low budget. However, most of the stuff they need to do is b/c of state regulations. Is the state going to give extra money for all the regulations they put in? Of course not. The federal government does this a lot too.

They do attempt to answer the elementrary school question I had. They claim there would be little saving in shutting down 7th Avenue school.
 

You said you don't read the local newspapers. Is it then anyone's fault but your own that you weren't aware of these things?

I don't understand the conclusion you've drawn that local government is somehow not accountable based on this. Any additional communication by the town on local events will cost the town money, which will then cause taxes to go up. And the cycle will go on.

And with regard to the success of the school system... there has to be some significant (not 1-to-1, but a very high degree of correlation) link between money available to the school system and the success of the students. What other factors explain the success of students in schools like Haddonfield, Moorestown, Cherry Hill, etc.?

-Jess
 

I would agree that it is my fault. But local government tends to be the least accountable b/c it tends to have the most quid pro quo arrangements and connections. It also has the least amount of sunshine. Now, that isn't necessarily the fault of the local government. Due to its small size, it gets little media attention. And that's not the media's fault. Can you really have a in-depth debate about a minor town's stuff. But the lack of information produces this situation.

Regarding money and school. More money gets spent per pupil on Camden than any of those districts. I would argue that money is not the cause of those doing well in school. But those with money are also those who will have parents who care and a stable environment required for learning. I would also argue that those who are poor most likely are in homes without a father, born out of wedlock, have high rates of drug use in the community, and have high incarcenration rates. Pouring money into the school system is like putting a band-aid on a shotgun wound. Fatherless households will have poor grades and be poor financially. People assume the causation b/c the other thing which affect education also cause poverty. Granted, having more money always helps with that. And money can help improve their situation. Money can also attract better teachers, which is a bonus. But money doesn't equal great education. I just don't buy that assumption.

Except for attracting good teachers, I find other education money to be superfluous to a good education. I don't want the building to fall down around them. But I feel no need for the kids to have state-of-the-art everything.
 

I would also argue many of the smart kids in college were homeschooled. I think that is another indication that parental involvement is the biggest factor in student success. Then teachers. Then whatever else.
 

Crap, just thought of something else. I bet a lot of the hidden cost is rising health care costs, which need to be controlled through tort reform and free market principles being brought to bear on the industry.