Trenton Public Schools

Trenton Community Charter School officials to appeal pending closure

TRENTON — Officials with the Trenton Community Charter School on West State Street said yesterday that they intend to appeal a recent decision from the New Jersey Department of Education not to renew their charter, a move that would effectively shutter the school as of June 30.

“They’ve been less than transparent,” Lloyd said. “The DOE has not been open with respect to the corrective action plan; we have not received any feedback on the plan. They came and looked at certain areas and left. No meetings, no debriefings, nothing.”

DOE officials declined to comment specifically on the case as they expect it to end up in the courts.

Lloyd said that the board’s attorney, Greg Johnson, is expected to file the appeal with the appellate division of the New Jersey Superior Court by the end of the week.

Lloyd said the court would decide if the school remains open while the case is being heard.

“We are hopeful that we will prevail in the court in light of the fact that a lot of work has been done by the administration and most of the teachers and the parents are interested in keeping the school open,” he said.

The school was placed on probation in March and it was asked to craft a remedial action plan to deal with problems ranging from building maintenance and accounting to curriculum and instruction to help buoy low test scores.

According to a letter sent last week by the DOE’s acting commissioner, Christopher Cerf, the school’s plan did not adequately increase the rigor of instruction or provide effective instructional leadership.

“Staff observed poor classroom management that included a teacher’s failure to address a student’s sleeping in class, long transition times which detract from time spent on learning, low levels of student engagement, and limited evidence of small group instruction.”

Meanwhile, officials with TCCS pointed to higher AYP scores in some areas as proof that things at the school were improving.

The proficiency rate for language arts among elementary school students rose from 15.1 percent in 2008-2009 to 28.1 percent last year. In math, the rate among that group rose from 34 percent to 35.9 percent.

In the middle school age group, however, scores continued to sink. In language arts, the proficiency rate dropped to 29.1 percent from 36.8 percent. In math, it dropped from 32.4 percent to 24.7 percent.

Trenton halts school bus service, retains teachers, pool | Times ...

TRENTON — Hard times continue for struggling school districts in Michigan. The Trenton Public Schools Board of Education’s 2011-12 budget approved Monday resulted in hard choices and unpopular decisions.

In the case of suspending school bus services, district priorities were questioned during a public hearing prior to the budget approval. Board members approved a $250,000 demolition of the William C. Taylor Elementary School – now used only for day-care programs – yet cancelled general education transportation, an expense estimated at $400,000.

Suggestions for restoring bus service include the possibility of selling or leasing the Taylor Elementary School building, an option that may still be open.

“There were a lot of comments between board members which will continue,” Business Manager Gail Farrell said. “They are not opposed at looking at other options if they can find someone to rent or buy the building.”

The budget echoes a similar pattern throughout the state, as 43 of Michigan’s 800-plus school districts wrestled with hard decisions. It is against state law for districts to submit a deficit budget, and failure to approve a balanced spreadsheet could allow takeover by the state’s Emergency Financial Management.

The school district, with a projected June 2012 fund balance of $655,393, was able to avoid that situation. Farrell said that an audit of the current financial year, which ends June 30, will be finalized by September, at which time it may be determined that additional funds are available to potentially restore bus service.

“The board assured the public that it is a priority to try and reinstate that if funds became available,” Farrell said.

The news for the district has not been all bad. Last month four laid-off teachers and a behavioral specialist were reinstated and it was announced that the swimming pool at Boyd W. Arthurs Middle School would remain open.

(James Mitchell can be reached at jmitchell@bewickpublications.com.