Budget put in voters' hands
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 03/29/06
BY BRIAN LEE
KEYPORT BUREAU

ABERDEEN — Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District's Board of Education members voted 6-3 late Monday to present voters with a $59.1 million budget. Historically, voters have rejected district budget requests, and some residents thought this one will also fail.

The "nay" voters — Charles Kenny, Kenneth Aitken, and Lawrence O'Connell — red-flagged the proposed $1.45 million capital athletic facility upgrade at the high school.

Their position was backed by Matawan's Bob Casagrande, who accused the board of "rubber-stamping" the project that would install turf and lights, and resurface the track.

Casagrande criticized officials' upkeep of the field, and was skeptical about whether the board had investigated alternative funding options.

"I am appalled at such poor planning," Casagrande said, adding that the board should have formed an ad hoc group of parents and concerned citizens.

But board President Kathy Zavorskas took "exception" to the lashing, and noted the proposed lease purchase over 15 years would account for a penny of the tax rate in both communities this year.

Parents group works to increase budget voters
BY TOM CAIAZZA
Staff Writer

ABERDEEN - Krista Ruprecht wants you to vote yes for the 2006-07 school budget, but she won't say it outright. Instead, she will settle for voter registration and absentee ballot distribution, anything that will get you to the polls.

As a member of Kidz Count, a grass-roots organization made up of concerned parents in the Matawan-Aberdeen School District trying to pass the budget, Ruprecht and a group of 20 are offering voter registration and giving out absentee ballots so that all those who are eligible to vote exercise that right. The group hopes to foster stronger ties to civic duty and hopefully give the budget a chance of passing, a goal that has remained illusive for the past four years.

"We are trying to get to people who don't vote," Ruprecht said, "like kids in high school who haven't registered."

They are giving out absentee ballots to the working voters who may not be able to get to the polls on April 18.

"We're trying to up the voting. Less than one-third of the population votes," Ruprecht said.

It is this lack of community support that Kidz Count feels has contributed to the string of defeated budgets year after year. There is one other reason, though - the tax rate.

The residents of Aberdeen are looking at an 18.25-cent increase in their tax rate per $100 of assessed value this year under the tentative budget. That number translates directly to $365 for the owner of a house assessed at $200,000.

Included in that dollar-a-day increase in the school tax is the district's plan to resurface the high school football field with artificial turf and create an alternative school to eliminate the cost of sending special-needs students out of the district. These projects are expected to save money for the district in the long run, according to Schools Superintendent Bruce Quinn.

Ruprecht and the members of Kidz Count feel that spending money on these projects now will help lower costs in the future.

"We encourage people to listen to Bruce Quinn and what he has to say about the budget," Ruprecht said. "The money isn't being wasted. It's only a good investment."

Kidz Count has issued letters and petitions to residents encouraging them to vote for the budget now, when they have a say in what goes into it.

A letter released from the organization said that voting down the budget is not going to save anyone any money. It simply takes the control out of the hands of the people and places it in the hands of the Matawan and Aberdeen councils, which Kidz Count says do not know what is really important for the district.

The group used full-day kindergarten as an example, saying that the councils and the arbitrators they are likely to hire to consult would chop that program from the budget because it is not a necessity for a middle-income district. The letter said cutting the program would likely save 2-3 cents on the tax rate, but a $45 increase can save full-day kindergarten.

Ruprecht and the small group of Kidz Count members are dedicated to getting out the vote and passing the budget, but recognize the need for public support.

"It is important for the people to say 'Hey, we're gonna help support the schools,' " Ruprecht said.

Artificial turf field good investment for Barnegat
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 03/21/06
BY WAYNE WEDDERMAN JR.

With civil wars, corrupt politicians and terrorism plaguing our world, it's hard to believe that Barnegat's proposal to put artificial turf on its high school football field would generate so many headlines. But it has. And, unfortunately for the young men and women who would benefit from this modification, quite a bit of misinformation has been bandied about.

In high school sports, artificial turf on a varsity football field is not just nice to have. It is becoming the standard. What's more, because the Barnegat Board of Education opens the use of district fields for outside recreational purposes, our fields demand more stringent maintenance to keep them safe and usable.

But there are statistics that drive home this point even further. Consider the following:

Artificial turf is safer for our kids. The American Journal of Sports Medicine completed a study in 2004 that showed head injuries from falls on artificial turf are significantly lower. In 150 football games played on artificial turf fields over five years, 10 players suffered minor concussions. In 90 football games played on grass turf over the same time period, 16 players suffered concussions — one of them serious.

The overall injury rate on natural grass was more than double that of artificial turf. Injuries were also higher on natural grass when the field was wet and any time the temperature was below 69 degrees. Since football is generally a cold weather sport, these statistics must be acknowledged.

In addition, the study shows there was a reduction in the severity of joint injuries, fewer field-contact injuries, no increase in abrasions and no increase in any type of skin infection. No infections have been reported at high schools in Monmouth or Ocean counties where football fields have artificial turf. Occasional staph infection outbreaks at colleges and on the professional level are most often the result of sharing personal items, like towels or razors or unsanitary locker room conditions.

Artificial turf means less maintenance and less money. The grass field we have now is subject to weather conditions. A soaking rain or snowstorm causes mud puddles and divots. In warmer conditions, rain will make the grass grow quickly. Because our kids can't play safely in those conditions, the field must be continually reseeded, resodded, leveled, mowed and cleaned. The time it takes to do all that maintenance is time that our kids could have been using the field.

Artificial turf is extremely porous, allowing for efficient drainage. Water does not pool on turf. Many users report that when it rains the turf is not as slippery as natural grass.

Also, the surface does not hold water, so it does not freeze like natural grass. This eliminates holes, gaps and crevices caused by divots made in natural surfaces that freeze in cold weather and stay until ground thaws in spring.

Throughout the year, we mow our field about 26 times, reseed, fertilize, de-thatch, water and maintain our sprinkler system regularly, remove debris and lawn clippings and repaint the field at a cost of up to $30,000. Grooming and maintenance of artificial turf, including repainting, will cost about $2,000 each year.

Artificial turf allows more diverse use of our field. The 2006-07 school year will be our first varsity season. I want it to be the best for our team. Therefore, our facilities must be top-notch. As a school district, we have the option of opening our fields for public use. It is an option the township Board of Education very much favors.

However, in order to keep our fields safe and in proper condition for our first varsity season, we must make sure they are not damaged through overuse. Grass fields easily wear out. Artificial turf assures the condition of our field will remain the same from day one of our season right on through the playoffs and beyond.

It also makes us the "host with the most" for regional and state conference games and opens more opportunity for community events that need a large area. We will have the facilities and accommodations that make our stadium most desirable. That is a powerful motivator and morale booster for our high school athletes.

The statistics speak for themselves. Artificial turf on the Barnegat High School football field will be a tremendous benefit for the district, its taxpayers and, most importantly, the kids who will use and enjoy their sports and our fields for years to come.

Wayne Wedderman Jr. is head athletic trainer at Barnegat High School.

TOPIC OF THE DAY: Artificial fields
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 03/17/06
Make education top priority

Anyone who has followed the recent "turf wars" in Barnegat should wonder why this issue is being pushed down the residents' throats. It seems odd that despite numerous objections from the general public, both the Township Committee and the local Board of Education are intent on pushing this project through.

When it seemed like a bond could not be pushed through because four committee votes were needed, Walters Homes stepped up to the plate and offered to front the money against recreation fees they will have to pay for future projects. Now only three votes are needed to use recreation money for this project. That makes Deputy Mayor Maxine Blumenthal's vote unnecessary to ensure the project goes through.

My concern about the turf is the safety of the athletes. Many articles have been written over the past few years on the dangers of both "turf burn" and "turf toe." Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) recently made the national news because athletes are coming down with this superbug.

I have other concerns about spending three quarters of a million dollars on a project that benefits so few. It appalls me that my eighth-grade son cannot bring a math book home every day because he shares that book with students in other classes. Do we put more emphasis on athletics than education?

My other concern is with Walters Homes paying into the recreation fund in advance. Will this influence committees, commissions and boards to give Walters Homes carte blanche on future projects? With pay-to-play reforms in the papers, I question the propriety of this payment.

I urge residents of Barnegat to think, at election time, about replacing the Board of Education members with people who think the education of our children is our top priority, and send a message by defeating the budget. I also ask parents of young athletes to think about letting your children play on such a dangerous surface.

Robert Municchi

BARNEGAT

Mat-Ab submits tentative budget
Tax rate could rise 18 cents in Aberdeen, 16 cents in Matawan
BY TOM CAIAZZA
Staff Writer

The Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District submitted a tentative 2006-07 school budget to the Monmouth County superintendent of schools that would significantly raise the tax rate from last year.

If adopted by the board and passed by voters in its current form, the $59.1 million tentative budget would raise the tax rate 18.25 cents per $100 assessed property value for Aberdeen homeowners and 15.68 cents for the in Matawan. The school tax rate rose 13.89 cents in Aberdeen last year and 5.91 cents in Matawan.

If approved, the owner of a home assessed at $200,000 in Aberdeen would pay an added $364.98 this year, and their Matawan counterparts would pay $313.67 more this year.

Schools Superintendent Bruce Quinn said that all numbers are still tentative because the state has yet to officially provide a number for how much aid will be given to each district. Quinn said they are using the $11 million figure from last year and are pretty much operating "in the dark" when it comes to state aid and a final spending cap number.

He did speculate that the state aid figure is likely to remain flat, as it has in previous years, which due to the rising cost of teacher salaries and health care costs amounts to a loss of money each year.

"We don't have a lot of things the state would give us for budget preparation," Quinn said at the meeting. "It seems apparent that we will not get additional state aid."

According to the district Business Administrator Charles Shay, the local tax levy for the general fund will be $43,144,422 with $2,426,000 in debt service for a total of $45,570,422.

Quinn told members of the public at a special budget meeting held on March 6 that under this budget, all existing programs will remain unchanged and will not incur any cuts.

Some additional programs would be created, the largest of which is the proposed lease-purchase program that would replace the high school field with synthetic turf as well as replace the track surface and the field lighting. The funding would come from a $1.45 million capital outlay built into the final budget.

"Our field has got into terrible shape," Quinn said. "One way or another it won't survive another season."

The budget passed 6-0 with board members Lawrence O'Connell, Carolyn Williams and Charles Kenny absent from the meeting.

Board member Ken Aitken said that he was initially unwilling to vote yes for the new field expense without having received bids. Aitken was assured that this was simply a tentative budget and in no way binding.

Also in the budget are a counselor for students in grades K-3 to deal with crises at home or in school. A librarian would also be added, so that each school would have at least one full-time librarian. Keyboarding classes for sixth-graders and library skills classes for seventh-graders are included in the tentative budget.

New sports programs like field hockey, cross country and track at the middle school level, and freshman soccer at the high school level are also being proposed.

The district also plans to create an alternative school for students in grades seven to 12 with special needs, who are currently sent out of district at the district's expense. Quinn said that this could save the district money.

Not in the budget are a new world languages teacher and funding for girls lacrosse, volleyball and gymnastics, which will remain a pay-as-you-go program, Quinn said.

Shay said that the large hike in the tax rate is a result of the state's S-1701 regulations that required the district to dump a large portion of their surplus into the operating budget, causing an artificially low increase last year. This year's numbers show the tax rate readjusting itself.

The Board of Education will hold a public hearing on the budget March 27 at the Cambridge Park School starting at 8 p.m. President Kathy Zavorskas urged the public to attend the meeting and weigh in on the budget, which has been publicly defeated for the past four years.

"We really need to know what's on your mind," Zavorskas said.

LESSONS IN INNOVATION

Instructor encourages students to put scientific principles to use … one LEGO brick at a time.

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 03/15/06

BY SHANNON MULLEN
STAFF WRITER

In the basement of a 130-year-old school building on the campus of Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, Liesl Hotaling is trying to buttress America's sagging reputation as a scientific superpower.

And guess what's she's using: LEGO bricks.

Hotaling, 37, of Highlands, a marine scientist and a specialist in seaport management, is the assistant director of Stevens Institute's Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science. The center's mission is to find new and better ways to teach mathematics and science using technology, principally at the K-12 level.

That's a daunting challenge: For years, U.S. schoolchildren have lagged well behind such countries as Estonia, Latvia and the Netherlands, not to mention much of Asia, in math and science aptitude. Some say the reason is that American kids simply have other priorities.

"In China today, Bill Gates is Britney Spears. In America today, Britney Spears is Britney Spears … and that is our problem,'' New York Times columnist and best-selling author Thomas Freidman observed in his book about technological globalism, "The World is Flat.''

Could LEGO bricks be part of the solution?

Hotaling thinks so. In a new four-week mini course she's co-teaching with two Stevens colleagues, Rustam Stolkin and Richard Sheryll, teams of freshmen engineering students are using LEGO pieces, cut-up flotation "noodles'' and modeling clay to create something a good deal more ambitious than the LEGO dinosaurs and pirate ships they played with as kids.

By the end of the course, each team has to figure out how to turn those materials into a remotely controlled underwater robotic vehicle.

That explains the kiddie pool sitting among the high-tech laboratory equipment in the basement of Edwin A. Stevens Hall, where the class meets on Friday afternoons.

The mini course, called Engineering Experiences, uses an educational approach known as "discovery-based learning.'' As the name implies, the idea is for students to learn by doing, through trial and error. Hotaling and her colleagues try to remain on the sidelines, guiding the students with questions, rather than spooning out solutions.

As Stolkin, a robotics expert, explained, "You've got to let them do it wrong, and figure out why it went wrong.''

So far, every team to go through the course since last summer has managed to pass the final test. That means getting the vehicle to sink to the bottom of the pool, retrieve a hole-studded plastic ball, deposit the ball in a metal basket and return to the surface. And no two vehicles have been alike.

Hotaling, who hit on the idea of building underwater vehicles with LEGO bricks, said the curriculum she and her two colleagues developed for the course works equally well with high school students.

A former teacher at The Ranney School in Tinton Falls and Red Bank Regional High School in Little Silver, Hotaling thinks the discovery approach is one of the keys to improving science education at the K-12 level, where, she believes, science is too often taught as if it was history, rather than something dynamic.

At Stevens, the mini course provides freshmen who are immersed in theory in their other classes a chance to put the principles they're studying to practical use. The hope is that by engaging their minds this way, in the early stages of their undergraduate studies, Stevens can reduce a high drop out rate among engineering majors, a chronic problem at engineering schools nationwide.

"Not to say LEGO is going to solve the world's engineering ills,'' Hotaling said. "It's just an example of what students can do to hone their creativity.''

There was plenty of honing going on one recent Friday, as students began constructing retractable arms for their vehicles. This was the group's third session; the final test was a week away.

"Don't try to spear the Whiffle ball,'' Hotaling advised while students busily snapped LEGO bricks and gears together. "It's a waste of time. You really have to grab it.''

Samantha Strimpler, 18, of Manasquan, wasn't worried about the grasping task just yet. She and her teammate, Brooke Bizub, 18, of Glen Ridge, who were huddled at a long work table, still had to figure out why their vehicle was sinking too fast and listing to one side.

To address the sinking problem, they sorted through their box of LEGO pieces for some plastic tires and secured a few of them to the vehicle's frame.

"All right,'' Strimpler said, when she was satisfied, "let's put it in the water.''

When they did, the vehicle promptly sunk.

"We need more tires,'' Strimpler proposed, but the extra tires didn't help. After repeated trips to the pool, she and Bizub figured out that some of the tires were filling with water, making the vehicle heavier. By then, class time was running short, as Hotaling would soon point out.

"What we want to see in 20 minutes is a vehicle that goes up and down in the water,'' she announced. "It doesn't have to do anything fancy.''

Strimpler and Bizub kept at it, trading the tires for a "noodle'' wedge secured to the vehicle with a couple of rubber bands. Back at the pool, they looked on quizzically as their submersible continued to flounder.

"Right at this point they're as confused as hell,'' Sheryll, one of the instructors, observed, speaking about the class as a whole. "Once they get the thing in the water, they figure it out. By the last 20 minutes of the last class, they all have vehicles picking up balls and putting them in baskets.''

Strimpler tried to think of a quick fix, just to get the up-and-down task out of the way. They'd have time next week to make the final product look pretty.

"What if we just added clay to the back?'' Strimpler asked.

"Would clay be enough, though?'' Bizub wondered.

They tried the clay and it worked . . . for a few seconds. Then Sheryll, who has spent the past 14 years developing a deep-sea probe capable of collecting pristine samples from the ocean floor, up to 7 miles down, suggested the students position the noodle wedge higher on the vehicle.

That did the trick. And some extra clay corrected the listing problem. By then the class period was over, though most of the students continued working.

"They're so engaged,'' Hotaling said. "We basically have to kick them out.''

Among the students who stayed was Strimpler, who had another, presumably less engaging class next period. A mechanical engineering major, she said the mini course was right up her alley.

"This is fun. I like it … the gears, building everything, seeing how it works, seeing how it moves,'' she said.

Working overtime shows real dedication to the job. But as all professional engineers can attest, there is something to be said for quitting while you're ahead.

Riding the momentum of their noodle breakthrough, Strimpler and Bizub began collaborating with teammates Glenn Shevach, 18, of Hurley, N.Y., and Joe Amorosa, 18, of Somerville, who had paired off to build the retractable arms. Just when the team seemed to have the arms secured to the vehicle and functioning properly, though, there was a loud, splattering crash, after which Bizub pivoted slowly away from the table, gaping in mute disbelief.

Hotaling winced when she heard the crash, but she knows what that noise represents. It's the sound of learning in progress.

Matawan-Aberdeen plan would increase taxes

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 03/9/06

BY BRIAN LEE
KEYPORT BUREAU

ABERDEEN — If a preliminary budget is approved, the owner of a home assessed at $150,000 in Aberdeen could see school taxes increase by about $274; taxes would go up by $235 on a $150,000 home in Matawan.

Using last year's state-aid figure of just under $11 million, Matawan-Aberdeen's Regional Board of Education submitted its tentative 2006-07 school budget to the Monmouth County superintendent on Wednesday — a total of $59,137,261, with a tax levy request of $45,570,422, including debt service.

It translates to a projected school tax rate in Aberdeen of $3.538 per $100 of assessed property value, an increase of 18.25 cents, or 5.4 percent, from last year. In Matawan, the rate would be $3.24 per $100 of assessed property value, an increase of 15.68 cents, or 5 percent.

At Monday night's meeting before about 40 residents, Superintendent Bruce Quinn said all existing educational programs and services were spared while remaining under cap.

A total of $1.45 million was rationed for capital outlays, or school facilities projects. The budget sets aside funding for a significant athletic facilities upgrade.

The preliminary budget was approved, 6-0, with board members Carolyn Williams, Charles Kenny and Lawrence O'Connell absent.

Board member Kenneth Aitken's yes vote came with a strong caveat: he said he was uncomfortable setting aside funding for athletic facilities without having received bids.

Officials want to replace the regional high school's worn-out grass football field with synthetic turf, similar to surfaces at Middletown High School South and all three public high schools in Toms River.

In January, ground was broken for a similar project at Holmdel High School, while Hazlet officials recently authorized installing turf at Raritan High School.

The Matawan-Aberdeen project also calls for resurfacing its track, and putting up lights for night competition.

Quinn said the athletic project would raise taxes by a penny this year, with a penny carried over four years. The surface, estimated at $700,000 to $750,000, would pay for itself after nine years and will last as long as 12 years, he said.

Conversely, Quinn said, installing grass would raise taxes 2 cents this year, and the downside is that it requires expensive re-sodding and continual maintenance.

The superintendent said a synthetic surface would put Aberdeen in position for a $400,000 Green Acres grant, a model successfully used in other communities to lower the tax rate. He said Aberdeen Mayor David Sobel was receptive of applying for the grant on behalf of the district.

Quinn also proposed a number of educational modifications:

Employing a counselor for students in kindergarten through third grade to help students whose difficult home circumstances affect classroom performance.

Also at the elementary level, Quinn wants to add a fourth librarian; three currently cover four schools.

Bolstering the middle school's exploratory program, with a keyboarding program for sixth-graders, and a research library skills component for seventh-graders. Quinn said better keyboarding skills would increase computer usage.

At the high school level, officials are also looking at creating an on-site alternative school, as the district pays tuition and transportation for each "disaffected student" who is not classified and is sent out of the district.

"We've put it in as a break-even proposition," Quinn said.

New athletic programs are also slated: in the middle school, field hockey, cross country and track; and at the high school, boys and girls freshman soccer teams.

Meanwhile, four items deemed "low priority" were erased from the tentative budget — a world language teacher for elementary grades, the implementation of high-school girls lacrosse and volleyball programs, and upgrading gymnastics from pay-as-you-go to fully funded.

MATAWAN-ABERDEEN REGIONAL SCHOOLS: Gerald F. Donaghue, 51, of 79 Overbrook Lane, is running uncontested for a three-year term representing Matawan.

In Aberdeen, also for three-year terms, challengers Debbi Aquino, 37, of 207 Springlawn Ave., and Michael Vail, 37, of 64 Brookview Lane, hope to unseat John Barbato, 50, of 16 Donna Place, and Patricia Demarest, 42, of 35 Ingram Circle.