August - September 2002 Edition 

The Students' Perspective   by Matthew Greenfield, FLHS Student Government Vice President A town's public school system is the ultimate measure of its success. Its capacity to foster education speaks volumes about the true strength of any community. It is not despite this gauge of prosperity - but rather because of it - that Fair Lawn should take heart in the continued achievements of its schools and students.    At the core of our precious community that is Fair Lawn, we find neither commercial institutions nor industrial parks nor partisan politics. At the core of our community we find the establishments which breed morals and teach virtue, we find the academies where students go to learn a broad range of subjects from arithmetic to government to chemistry to economics, and we find the classrooms where the nearly palpable richness of education conduces to sculpting the leaders of tomorrow. It is a school system which has educated Rhodes Scholars and a school system which has received Blue Ribbon honors from the US Department of Education.   According to the Mission Statement of the Board of Education, it is the goal of Fair Lawn Schools to "afford each student the opportunity to learn, to achieve success, and to become a confident and productive member of a global and technological society prepared to face the challenges of the 21st Century." In order to pursue such objectives, the school system must have access to adequate funding.   The High School presently operates 21% above the average capacity of a public high school, and other schools within Fair Lawn are in similar states of congestion. Many students study without the needed textbooks, while others learn without a computer in their classroom. In order to meet the ever-growing needs of a technological society, the needs of an ever-growing school system must be met. Enrollment in Fair Lawn Schools is at its highest in several years. Many facilities and materials are in disrepair beyond description, and looking into the near future there is no relief in sight.   In a recent election within the borough, the School Board's budget failed by four votes. This lead the Borough Council to impose drastic spending cuts, forcing the school system to operate with an overly restrictive budget. This past spring, the people of Fair Lawn voiced the opinion that the core of their community, that the measure of Fair Lawn's success, and that the guarantee of Fair Lawn's future did not merit a nominal expense (the lowest proposed school board budget increase in years).   This December 10th, we will have the opportunity to reevaluate our priorities. In the upcoming referendum, Fair Lawn will decide whether it values its educational system or whether extra change in our pockets should take precedence over securing the education of the tomorrow's leaders. We will have the opportunity to appreciably update the facilities and quality of Fair Lawn's public school system. The bond referendum, which will appear on a ballot on the second Tuesday in December, is an opportunity for voters to decide if the school district will be authorized to raise funds to address specific educational requirements and direction, as well as facility additions, repairs or renovations in every school. These include many classrooms, new fire alarm systems, extended administrative office space, and renovated recreational facilities.   There is no excuse for turning a deaf ear to our community's schools. If we are to build a better Fair Lawn, where better a place to start than in the schools where tomorrow's Fair Lawn is bred?