Low costs and salaries don’t hold back district

BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer

Despite its funding woes and low salaries, Spotswood High School fared well in many areas on the latest state-issued report cards.

SAT scores were up, as was the number of high school graduates going to four-year colleges. The district is largely ahead of the pack in its district factor group (DFG), which compares school districts in similar communities. On the downside, the report card showed the high school’s relatively low participation in Advanced Placement (AP) classes.

Board of Education President Alan Bartlett said the district has soldiered on despite the fact that its budgets have been rejected by residents annually for more than a decade. The schools have made up for what they lack in funding by focusing on other motivational strategies, though Bartlett did say more money is needed.

“Teachers’ salaries are relatively low, and it is a concern of ours, especially the low starting salary,” he said. “We have limited resources, and our budgets are usually defeated.”

The state Department of Education’s latest report cards, for the 2003-04 school year, show Spotswood’s SAT scores on the rise from the previous year. The high school’s average went from 501 to 510 in mathematics, while the average for verbal rose from 492 to 500. Both new figures were approximately 30 points higher than the DFG average. Spotswood was even with the state for verbal and six points less than the state average in math.

The low AP participation is a concern for officials, though. While across the state 29 percent of high school students took AP courses, in Spotswood only about 7 percent did. And that’s been the recent trend, as the state average in 2002-03 was about 16 percent, compared to Spotswood’s 3.3 percent participation that year.

“We do offer some courses, but the participation is low,” Bartlett said. “We are trying to promote the classes, and we have mentioned them to the incoming eighth-graders. AP is difficult, so sometimes kids feel a little overwhelmed by it.”

Other facets of the high school’s report card were more favorable.

For instance, the number of graduates going to four-year schools increased to 59 percent from 51 percent the previous year.

The school was also ahead of the DFG in student performance indicators such as high school proficiency assessments for both math and language arts literacy.

Superintendent of Schools Anthony Vaz said he believes in test scores, but that they only measure a portion of a student’s success.

“Kids show achievement and growth through everyday actions in the schools,” he said.

Faculty and administrator salaries are low compared with state averages. The average teacher’s salary in Spotswood was $41,453 last year, while the state average was about $50,500. The state average for an administrator was $98,767, whereas Spotswood’s was $93,479. Yet the amount of teacher and administrator experience was similar in Spotswood as it was across the state.

“Our teachers are really terrific,” Bartlett said, adding the district simply cannot afford to invest more money in salaries.

Bartlett credits the people within the district for the positive performance numbers in the face of low finances.

“We have a terrific superintendent who instills teamwork and unity,” he said. “We try to create as nice an environment as we can. We treat people professionally and with respect. We have a great group of kids, and our parents are very involved.”

He stopped short of saying money is not needed.

“We would like newer textbooks and computers. I don’t know if [money’s] necessarily overrated. I do know it’s an absolute necessity to a good education,” he said.

Vaz said the district places a premium on teacher training.

The one place the school differed wildly from the state was in the student-to-administrator ratio. Spotswood as a district had one administrator per 132 students, while the state average was 1 to 168.

Still, in an effort to save money, the district has tried cutting back on the number of administrators, Bartlett said. Officials realized that was not possible, however.

The district’s tight budget was also apparent in per-pupil cost. While the state average was nearly $12,000 per student, Spotswood’s was $10,876.