Fall 2003 Edition 

Spending Money Wisely by Matt Greenfield The first step in improving secondary education anywhere is improving the school’s ratio of resources to students.  There are two common ways of doing so: committing more funding and lessening the size of the pupil population.  Rarely do school administrators apply the innovation needed in order to achieve the latter, leaving spending increases as the sole path to restoring quality in education.   Those in charge of Fair Lawn Public Schools defied that trend this year when the Board of Education announced that it would re-enroll all students in the school system.  The idea was not favored by all, but its effects could have been predicted long before the results were made public.  Eligibility to attend Fair Lawn schools was found to be questionable for nearly 300 students.  Already, almost 100 students have withdrawn from the school system.  For some, this was done voluntarily with the knowledge that Board of Education policies would prohibit them from returning.  Others were forced to remove themselves after inquiries exposed ineligibility (74 such investigations are still being performed).   Spending $9,762 per student in the school system each year, Fair Lawn schools will save more than $900,000 each year as a result of the re-enrollment initiative.  That is a true testament to the fiscal diligence of the Board of Education.  The use of such innovative financial scrutiny is precisely what Fair Lawn’s taxpayers need in their public school system, and this sort of program is truly representative of the budgetary diligence practiced by the administration.  The argument can no longer be made, when voting for a budget or referendum, that the school system misuses its budget.  It will no longer be said that the Board of Education should, or even could, be more pennywise in spending.   More important, perhaps, than the money that will be saved is the benefit we will find in the increased quality of education.  Smaller classes will allow for more opportunities in the classroom.  The lower student to faculty ratios which can now be achieved will ensure that students get the personal attention they need in order to learn.   The effects of the Board of Education’s sumptuary prudence are far-reaching.  This school year, more resources per student will be committed to the district because of re-registration.  When the taxpayers open their bills in the mail this year et sequens, less will have been spent by the Board of Education because of their fiscal responsibility.  When residents decide to sell their homes, they will find real estate in Fair Lawn to be worth more than ever because the borough is home to a school system that educates extraordinarily well.   The natural consequence is better instruction for less money.  The bottom line is a better Fair Lawn for all.   See Matt Greenfield's Previous Columns Student Governance (Summer 2003) School Budget (April 2003)  (April 2003) Seven Wonders in the Schools (February 2003) Smoking:  Story of Reconciliation  (December 2002) Support The Referendum (October 2002)