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Health & Fitness

Bridge Builder: A Conversation with Fort Lee School Superintendent Dr. Raymond Bandlow

A look at the challenges facing the Fort Lee Schools and Fort Lee itself.

As the 2010/2011 school year winds down, I sat down with Superintendent of the Fort Lee Public Schools, Dr. Raymond Bandlow, to discuss the events of this past school year and what challenges lie ahead.  The 30-minute conversation covered many topics including the ups and downs faced by the Board of Education (“BOE”) and administration.  I came away from the meeting both hopeful yet cautious about what the future holds for the Fort Lee School system and in my opinion, the future of Fort Lee as a town.

I asked Dr. Bandlow about misperceptions and/or misunderstandings in the community about some of the things the BOE has done in the past year.  Dr. Bandlow discussed that during the campaign of the Bond Referendum at the end of last year, the BOE was accused of “not trying to inform the public” about the details of the Referendum.  Dr. Bandlow countered that the BOE held “40 meetings in 40 days,” in which at least one board member and one administrator was present at a public meeting to discuss the project and take questions.  I attended many of these meetings, many of which were advertised in local media, but drew relatively low attendance.  Obviously the Referendum was not passed and if a vote is not taken on a revised project before January 2012, Fort Lee forfeits approximately $18 Million in state grant moneys, that does not have to be repaid, but which will go to another district (The state granted a final extension until January 2012).  This is particularly disheartening to me, in light of the fact that as I look out my window, I see a brand new school being built in Edgewater for much less than most believed, given low interest rates and construction costs.

Dr. Bandlow and I then discussed the reasons for the lack of support of the Referendum and low voter turnout for the recently, barely passed school budget.  Dr. Bandlow stated, “there was a time when there was a greater sense of citizenship.”  He went on to elaborate that in his view, “citizenship” meant people, “having a responsibility to their community and a responsibility to others in it, in this case, school children.”  According to Dr. Bandlow, it is this sense of citizenship that goes to the essence as to why we have public schools “as opposed to everyone just going their own way.”  In my opinion, Fort Lee needs more participation at public meetings and events to bolster support and show of “citizenship.”  In discussing these issues with people from other towns, the attendance at typical Fort Lee BOE and City Council meetings have the same public attendance of other towns a fraction of the size of Fort Lee. 

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The 2010/2011 school year brought another round of layoffs of teachers and staff, as well as, dealing with difficult budget issues.  If there are not significant changes to the BOE’s annual costs, this trend of layoffs and cuts may continue for the foreseeable future.  However, even in light of these difficulties, the Fort Lee School District had many bright spots including greatly improved proficiency test scores over the past 3 years at the high school, specifically 11th graders.*

According to Dr. Bandlow, Fort Lee is a high achieving district, where kids do extremely well compared to other towns in its state classification, “for less than the average cost in Bergen County.”  In light of these academic results, at a below county average cost per pupil, I am confused by the opposition to the school budget (especially by the crowd who stuck anonymous flyers in mailboxes attacking the BOE budget).  However, these academic successes may be difficult to maintain.  As Dr. Bandlow discussed, there is a 2% cap on budget increases and potential further cuts in state aid, however, there is no cap on costs and they continue to rise, particularly, health care costs.

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I have been greatly disappointed in what I perceive as a lack of participation and lack of support for the Fort Lee schools by the public at large.  In many towns in Bergen County, the public school system is a source of pride and a way for the community to rally around a common purpose.  However, after regularly attending BOE meetings in Fort Lee for the past four years, I see our school system, unfortunately, as a source of animosity and disunity. 

With the current economic climate and the public’s concern over rising taxes, I understand the concerns over spending and I too at times disagree with the BOE.  However, at the end of the day, I want them to succeed for this district.  Unfortunately, I do not necessarily see this underlying support by some who constantly criticize the BOE.  Given Fort Lee’s demographics and mix of single and two family homes and high-rises, Fort Lee is not your typical white picket fence suburban town.  What gets lost in the discussion is that if the Fort Lee schools fail, Fort Lee as a town will ultimately decline.   As we move forward, the BOE will continue to face issues including overcrowding, aging and failing infrastructure and severe budget constraints.  Unfortunately, I do not have all the answers, but I do want the BOE and the schools to succeed.  Do you?  

* To illustrate this point, Dr. Bandlow provided me with the following information: The Math proficiency for General Education students in 2008-09 was 88.90%.  In 2010-11, 94.50% were proficient.  In Language Arts, in 2008-09, 93.0% of General Education 11th graders were proficient and in 2010-11, 99.5% were proficient.  The increases were even more dramatic among Special Education Students; in 2008-09 24.10% were proficient in Math, in 2010-11, 37.50% were proficient.  In Language Arts, Special Education Students went from 40% proficiency in 2008-09 to 71.9% in 2010-11.

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