What We Can Do to Reverse The Berkeley Heights Declines in Math, Science, and ELA Part 1: The Budget

The First in a Series of Articles on How Berkeley Heights Can Repair the Damage under Dr. Varley’s Leadership

Since BHCW’s analysis of the Berkeley Heights School District’s declines in Math, Science, and English came out, I have had many conversations with different parents, teachers, and other school staff in the community on how to reverse them.  

In the second round of articles that shifted focus from the actual declines to the possible reasons for the declines, I provided a few suggestions on several key areas empirically connected to student performance.  

This series aims to expand on these suggestions, add more flesh to how they would look, and incorporate some of the feedback received from community members.

Budget:  As I wrote in an article on the budget process before the 2023 process began this year – the budget is where change has to start – it is the best evidence of our priorities. The 2022 and 2023 budget processes and budget documents were embarrassing.

Problem:  The District’s budget priorities are not aligned with a school that values academic achievement or student development. “Success for all students” is a mantra often repeated but never defined by our district. The budget can play a huge role in operationalizing what this term actually means for Berkeley Heights Families.

Source:

NJ Performance Reports

NJ School Budgets

Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports:

Analysis:

Putting It All Together – Rankings, Ratings, Proficiency, And Budget

Berkeley Heights Having The Highest Per-Pupil Cost With The Lowest Rankings Makes Sense

Action Steps We Can Take with the Budget to Reverse the Decline

(1) Community Involvement in Hiring the New Business Administrator

With the resignation of the Business Administrator who oversaw the 2022 and 2023 budget process, the District must include community members in deciding who will take the helm.  

The last round of replacements this summer involved parents representing a “cross-section” of the community; however, most of the parents I’ve spoken to did not get an email even letting them know of the opportunity. Given this Superintendent’s and BOE’s tendency to reward friends and allies with influence over the process and their strange definition of an “inclusive process”, anything other than an open-community-wide process involving everyone would need to be revised in rebuilding trust and assuring the public that a more normative Budget process will be followed.

(2) Increase Stakeholder involvement in the Budget Process

Administrators need to be more present and vocal during the Budget Process Meetings. Having the process driven by a Superintendent who is more interested in controlling messaging versus discussing facts along with a sidekick who needs to remember their duty to put the District above politics has led to disastrous results. Administrators should present their needs and concerns to the BOE directly and publicly.  Dr. Varley has demonstrated little to no command of the basic facts needed to inform the BOE of the budget process intelligently, and really, it would be better for the BOE to hear from the people doing the work on the ground. Greater involvement on the part of principals would give the BOE a greater sense of our schools’ real priorities.

The Budget process also needs to allow for more meetings and public input.  Students and Parents should be given ample opportunity to review the detailed budget and a forum to provide feedback that allows for more than a 3-minute sound byte. The Superintendent and BOE Majority have a strange aversion to town halls. Still, these are the best forums for public input for big decisions, and how to spend 63 million dollars qualifies. No “playing favorites” or weird “secret societies” you need to know a bizarre handshake to get involved in.

My favored position would be to put the budget to a public vote but that’s a long-term goal, and these interim steps may prevent the need for going back to that process. Our scores have slid since Berkeley Heights took the budget away from a vote. If you look at the budgets proposed by this Superintendent, it would be hard to imagine the community getting behind them. Our budgets are terrible because those who have the greatest interest in our school’s success have little to no influence.

(3) Cut back on costs that are clearly unnecessary

Central Administration Positions and what we spend on Attorneys need to go down – if there was ever a document that screamed, “These 63 million dollars exist to protect our Superintendent and her friends on the BOE”… it’s our budget.

Pam Stanley and Robert Cianculli should muster up the courage and move that the BOE drop the largely defunct ethics case they decided to use District dollars for in going after someone they don’t like, which has led to both of them, along with Ms. Young, Ms. Penna and Mr, Hyman needing District funded attorneys because they went along with their stupid idea. The District can also start following laws and policies, put out documents that should be public information anyway, stop paying attorneys to attend meetings, and creatively redact documents that end up in court.

Dr. Varley can reimburse the District all the money it spent in defending a nepotism charge she now admits to – even if it’s on a payment plan.

We can look to the nearly half million dollar cost savings the BHAA suggested as well.

We can then use this money to purchase textbooks. Out of seven Districts, Berkeley Heights was last in this area. Even prior to our analysis of the Budget that exposed this, parents were asking the BOE and Administration time and time again for books to be purchased. We can also pay for and implement drop-in virtual tutoring after school for homework help (an idea from one community member). We can pay teachers, college students, or even AP High School students to help. We may even be able to run virtual math, science, and ela camps during the summer for all kids who feel they need it.

(4) Transfer reports with clearly written explanations on transfers of money between line items need to be provided to the public and thoroughly discussed in BOE meetings.

This past year was another example of the games being played behind the scenes and offered another set of clues as to why the BOE Majority is obsessed with conducting business in subcommittees not subject to the Open Public Meetings Act.  Like our Town Council, the Board of Education can conduct all its business publicly with very few exceptions.

The suspicion I have about these transfers and money movements connect to a potential slush fund that harms our kids today for namesake legacy projects to be built in the distant future that have no benefit to our current students. A method that seeks to circumvent a publicly accountable process (like referendums) for big decisions.

(5) Hire Competent Attorneys and send Ms. Penna, Ms. Young, Mr. Cianculli, Ms. Stanley, and Mr. Hyman to training on how to be a Board of Education. 

I’m not trying to be funny here, but I can’t think of a single BOE Meeting in the last three years where at least one of the people listed above hasn’t done or said something that could cost the District money due to an ethics violation or violation of law.

Ms. Stanley and Mr. Cianculli took first prize last year, and Ms. Penna is looking to outdo them in 2023 since taking over as BOE President.

(6) Do not renew Dr. Varley’s Contract and hire a Competent Superintendent.

If you need an explanation on this after everything that’s happened in the District since Dr. Varley took over, nothing more I can write here will make a difference. You should also look into Scientology because you possess the type of reasoning they want on their team.

I believe the BOE has the ability to terminate Dr. Varley’s contract effective immediately due to the existing ethics violation. If we wanted to go the super safe route, the BOE simply needs to inform her that her contract will not be renewed before the end of this year which is set to expire next year. It is clear Dr. Varley would prefer to be out of here as well, evidenced by her application for a position in Florida. It makes sense, her brand is way too damaged at this point for her to be effective in her role.

Having a competent Superintendent, Business Administrator, and accountable budget process may mean that one day Berkeley Heights Public Schools can buy things most schools have – like books. It won’t have to carve and whittle away at language programs or twist our schools into strange configurations that cram kids into classrooms. We could afford evidence based initiative that would support students in the areas the District has declined in since Dr. Varley took the helm.

This is an area the District needs to act on soon and something BOE candidates should speak to this year during the election.

This is especially true if Mr. Cianculli and Ms. Young choose not to run. It is not uncommon for other candidates to run as replacements (sort of what Ms. Bradford is). Candidates have historically made vague promises for change then ended up being the same type of representative that chose not to run because their records were awful – again – see Gale Bradford.

BOE Candidates would do well to be clear and specific on what they intend to do to repair the damage and avoid the historically vague Pollyanna narratives that offer voters no clarity. The budget is the first area that ought to be addressed.

Read Part 2: Evidence Based Decision Making

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