N.J. school monitoring finds faults in districts 17 receive low grades in 1st round of results Thursday, May 22, 2008 • BY JOHN MOONEY • Star-Ledger Staff A new monitoring system by state education officials has cited deficiences in half of the 120 public school districts examined, with 17 districts scoring so low they could lose some local control. Launched last year, the monitoring system will eventually evaluate more than 600 districts operating in the state. The districts are graded on five broad areas -- from curriculum to fiscal management. In the first round of results released yesterday, 60 of the 124 districts were deemed "high performing." In the rest, the state found at least some fault, with some surprises, as low grades showed up in poor urban and wealthy suburban districts. The evaluators graded the district on a scale of 1 to 100, with 80 considered passing. Scores below 50 prompt follow-up with the possibility of state intervention if improvement isn't forthcoming. Some local officials said the painstaking process yielded valuable feedback -- even if it wasn't always flattering. Red Bank schools, for instance, generally fared well, but fell below the passing line in instruction because of lagging test scores from Hispanic students. "Going in, I knew this was one area where we would have difficulty, although I guess I didn't know how many points it would cost us," said Laura Morana, the Red Bank superintendent. "They certainly haven't left anything out," she added. "They are looking at every aspect of a school district." For others, the scores were a source of pride. The one-school district of Beach Haven in Ocean County missed perfect 100s in all five areas by just two points, and superintendent Patricia Daggy said she was grateful for the vote of confidence. The two points deducted were in fiscal management because of class sizes falling below the state's 15-student "efficiency" standard, something Daggy said was unavoidable in a K-6 school of fewer than 70 students. "We average about 10 per class," she said. "We are a small school, and one of the reasons we perform so well is we are a small school." The new monitoring process started with a dozen of the state's most troubled districts last year, but yesterday's release was by far the largest data dump. All districts will be reviewed at least once every three years. For some, the results come with clear consequences. Hoboken was among the lowest scores, falling below 50 in three of five areas. It now must submit improvement plans for each or cede decision-making to the state. "We needed things to be uncovered, and this helped," said Frances Kearns, the Hoboken school board president. "I know there are people who frown on it, but I think it had to be done." Union Township was the only one of six districts reviewed in Hunterdon to fall below 50 points in any one category when it drew a 33 in the area of governance -- a category that examines decision-making by the school board and administration. The district lost a lot of points there for a nasty internal battle on the board several years ago that ended with ethics complaints and lawsuits being filed. "They didn't take into consideration what has happened in the last year and a half," said Superintendent Jeffrey Bender. "I think we can work with the (state's) county office and get those points back quickly." State Education Commissioner Lucille Davy told the state Board of Education yesterday that her office continues to fine-tune the process to make it fairer and clearer for schools. Davy said even some of those with scores below 50 could easily rectify the situation with strong improvement plans and follow-up. "This is not some royal inquisition," she said in an interview. "The goal is to have them look at what they are doing and take action." To view the complete list of results released yesterday at the state board meeting, log on to www.state.nj.us/education/sboe/meetings/agenda.shtml and click on the agenda for the May meeting. © 2008 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.