HoLa oral argument re-scheduled


As some of you know, the Great Blizzard of 2017 (NOT!) caused the re-scheduling of oral argument for Hoboken BoE v NJ DoE/HoLa (SAD!).

Oral argument has been rescheduled for May 2, 2017 in Jersey City, this time... an Uber away!

In fact, this will be the third date set for oral argument; the first was on January 31, postponed to March 14, which was snowed out.

All those delays mean that Hoboken BoE v NJ DoE/HoLa  will be argued in a very different environment- with the backdrop of pending draconian cuts to federal funding for public schools.

The Trump budget proposes cutting the U.S. Department of Education by 13% "eliminating funding for teacher training and after-school programs"   while redirecting funding for private school vouchers and charters "a historic $1.4 billion federal investment in school choice, including new money for private school vouchers and charter schools, as well as directing $1 billion to follow students to the school of their choice."

This budget may not pass, but Trump's governing philosophy remains hostile to public education. Which means the kids and parents served by Hoboken district public schools can expect a new set of problems.

So... looming federal de-funding of public schools may not be relevant to the determination of Hoboken BoE v NJ DoE/HoLa.   It just feels like it is.

With respect to the contested HoLA expansion, it is curious to note the 47% drop-off of enrollment from 6th grade to 7th grade in the 2015-2016 school year- see charts below.



Comments

  1. Don't worry- Petro the Dino will save the day. Very anti-trump except when he imagines the enemy is Kids First. Then he turns into Mike Pence.

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  2. Did Petrosino get the boot? His term on Holas board ended this month.

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  3. When & where are the HOLA board meetings? I'd like to sit in some time.

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    1. There's one tonight!

      PUBLIC NOTICE
      Revised Public Meeting Schedule

      HOBOKEN DUAL LANGUAGE CHARTER SCHOOL
      In compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act (N.J.S.A.10:4-6et.seq.), notice is hereby given that the Hoboken Dual Language Charter School Board of Trustees has approved the following meetings to be held at the dates and times below. The meetings will be called to order at 7:00 p.m. at 123 Jefferson Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030. Formal action will be taken.

      2016- 2017 (7pm at 123 Jefferson St., Hoboken)

      March 21, 2017
      April 18, 2017
      May 16, 2017
      June 20, 2017

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  4. Didn't they have less than 20 6th graders last year? Are they supplementing with more out-of-towners?

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    1. Why out of towners? Does Hoboken get reimbursed?

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    2. It's the traditional district that imports kids for cash.

      I believe the reason there were only 20 kids in that grade is that it was one of the original classes. Looking at the following classes you can see where the numbers will be going forward.

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    3. Per their 2016 Annual report, HoLa does not report their out-of-district enrollment, unlike the other charters which do report out-of-district enrollment/wait-list.

      Why not disclose this information?

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    4. As Hola enrollment is determined by weighted lottery, with low income applicants being a greater chance of attending, what would the Hoboken/non-hoboken ratio tell us other than parents in other districts think Hola is a better option than their own traditional district?

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    5. 11:34- if the "weighted lottery" was working the low income enrollment would not have gone DOWN. It has. Your argument doesn't hold water... it raises questions. Like why wouldnt HoLa disclose the number of out of district kids like the other charters? Just like Trumps tax returns, you;ll never see them.

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  5. As I understand it, the anti-Hola expansion legal argument is based on the idea that HoLa is pulling disproportionately white Hoboken kids out of the district schools making the district schools more more segregated than otherwise, and the cost of paying about 12,000 a year per Hoboken kid who attends HoLa is pulling needed funding from the District which serves a largely poor minority population.

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't a smaller enrollment in the expanded classes weaken the Districts arguments since HoLa having only a small enrollment of Hoboken resident children in the middle school classes would substantially diminish any conceivable segregatory effect from those classes as well as substantially diminish the financial cost to the district?

    The district's legal arguments are far stronger if you assume fully populated classes populated largely if not entirely consisting of Hoboken resident kids. That's the scenario where the district is most negatively impacted. And frankly, it's the scenario everyone involved on both sides assumes will occur in the near future.

    The out of district kid argument has always been a red herring, especially given the District's own highly successful school choice program. Hoboken taxpayers don't pay anything for out of district kids, whether they attend regular District schools or charters. In fact, the out of town school choice kids bring in more than they cost to the district helping reduce our school taxes. The out of town charter kids are revenue neutral - they cost taxpayers nothing and save taxpayers nothing so they really have nothing to do with anything.




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    1. That is not the legal argument. The district is asking the NJDoE commissioner to follow and enforce the states own rules on the expansion of the charter- including rules which address the demographics of a charter population to match the demographics of the districts SCHOOL AGE population. Whether or not the class size for a grade is 20 or 40, the law is the law, including the parts which address proportional demographics to the Hoboken district's school age population.

      Whether or not % of out of district students is a red herring issue, your opinion, it is still data that is going unreported which raises a red flag. But I disagree- it is NOT a red herring issue when HoLa's lottery excludes residents from attending because their spaces are filled by out-of-town kids. On the other hand, public schools cannot turn children away, so School Choice does not impact a resident student's ability to attend a Hoboken district school.

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    2. Turn away children? Doesn't the traditional district import kids from outside Hoboken for cash money?

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    3. Does HOLA educate any special needs students? (rhetorical question). The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that school districts need to go the extra mile to provide educational opportunities to special needs students.

      http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/supreme-court-special-education-236363

      BYW, the Court overruled a very stupid decision authored by nominee Gorsuch, which limited what a school district had to do.

      My question is who is going to pick up any increase in services that Hoboken may need to provide in order to comply with the SC decision? Certainly not HOLA. That burden is solely on the back of the TAX PAYERS!! who fund the school system who DOES have special needs students to educate. It is time to drive that slimy BOD of HOLA out of town and stop them from ripping off the rest of the taxpayers in Hoboken. Or at least toss that idiot Petrosino in the garbage can.

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