Guest Column
Unfair criticism overlooks the good
Mike Macagnone 

  A few individuals have submitted to this paper for publication much criticism about the Sayreville Board of Education, but unfortunately it has been laced with inaccuracies, innuendo and intentional misinformation. Criticism is fine because if you are not criticized, you may not be doing much; however, the criticism can't change the fact that much good occurs in Sayreville schools.

The present Board of Education is very diverse and includes nine members; six of whom have children in the district. We are all residents, taxpayers and parents who have a vested interest in our schools and our town. We have had some tough decisions to make lately and they were made with much debate, thought and consideration of the outcomes. We will continue to be challenged in the foreseeable future with hard choices as our town grows, our costs rise, and our revenues decline. We are lean when it comes to administrators. The State Report Card, published by the New Jersey Department of Education, lists our district as having the fourth highest ratio of students to administrators in the state out of the 104 districts our size. This year our administrative team was awarded grants totaling $1.3 million to purchase equipment and provide necessary programs for our students at no cost to the taxpayers. The notion that the board serves the administration is as absurd as it is dishonest.

The district is in the midst of the largest construction project in scope and cost in its history. Yes, there have been setbacks, but we are addressing them and moving forward. In three years, we will have a state-of-the-art addition to our high school that will serve our children for many years to come. Within the high school, we have undertaken several initiatives this year to deal with student discipline issues. An in-school suspension program was established, a dean of discipline position created, and three full-time security guards are now on duty daily. As a result, we saw an amazing 5,529 fewer tardies, 163 fewer class cuts, and 125 fewer suspensions. Several students have been prosecuted and received monetary fines for smoking in the building. We have our collective hands around student discipline and will continue to keep this a high priority with a no-nonsense approach.

This year has seen student achievement in academics, the arts and athletics. Federally mandated academic yearly progress was met in every student category in every school. Seventy-three percent of the district's basic skills students scored high enough on state and local assessments to exit their programs. Increases in the High School Proficiency Assessment were noted, and our science team competed in the Plasma Physics Laboratory at Princeton University. Truman School's on-line art gallery, Artsonia, ranks second in the state and 14th in the nation. The high school's marching band performed in the Pulaski Day Parade in New York City and the concert band performed at Carnegie Hall. In athletics, the boys soccer team won their division title and the wrestling team set a new school record with 22 wins. This is just a sample of our numerous student accomplishments and I will be the first to say much more needs to be done to prepare our students for college acceptance and entrance into the workforce.

A survey conducted in December 2006 confirms that the Board of Education and administrative team are moving in the right direction. Ninety-two percent of the over 1,600 parents who responded stated that their overall experience with the Sayreville Public Schools was very good/good. In addition, 96 percent of those same parents rated the school administrators as very good/good.

Academic achievement for all students is more important than a construction project or anything else that goes on in the district. This board understands that and will address this full throttle. The bottom line is I am proud of our schools and I am fortunate to preside over a very competent and professional school board. To the critics, I say it is easier to criticize than to be correct. Constructive criticism is necessary and welcomed, but we can all agree that defamation and dishonesty have no place in the public discourse.

Mike Macagnone is president of the Sayreville Board of Education.