HAMMONTON BLOG

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Only 4 School Districts in the State spend less than Hammonton on their students

Date: 06:28 PM Mar 19, 2008

See I knew it our children are being cheated.....Another $3000.00 per student will make our district the best. We are terribly underfunded and underpaid. When will the people of Hammonton realize that if we follow the what the state recommends our district will improve.

Date: 11:30 PM Mar 19, 2008

Anonymous wrote:

See I knew it our children are being cheated.....Another $3000.00 per student will make our district the best. We are terribly underfunded and underpaid. When will the people of Hammonton realize that if we follow the what the state recommends our district will improve.

As a nation we spend Billions to send our kids to war but not a few thousand more for our kids to get a quality education in today's global economy. Hammonton is the best. THINGS ARE NOT ALL GOOD. THINGS SHOULD BE BETTER. America's greatest threat isn't Al-Qaeda, it's China, India, Japan.

Date: 12:26 PM Mar 20, 2008

The Democrats stand ready to help increase spending at the school. The taxpayers of Hammonton won't mind a little higher taxes & the Democrats will deliver!

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The Democrats stand ready for the school to deliver a tax reduction in next years budget. The school is still massively underfunded by the state according to the new formula the state uses. The only reason we did not get even more of a boost in funding this year is because there was a cap of 20% on the amount of additional aid a district could receive this year. If the funding formula stays in place and Hammonton again receives all it is due up to the cap, the district will be in a position to be able to give back to the public some of the increases we have seen over the last 6 years since the state stopped funding schools properly.
The Democrats will be the first in line demanding this give back. Let's hope the funding formula remains intact and we catch up to our proper funding level.

Date: 12:46 PM Mar 20, 2008

Good job to School Business Administrator Barbara Prettyman and Finance Chairman Steve DiDonato. The second straight year of no tax increase at the school. With three in a row from the town, things are looking good!

Date: 05:24 PM Mar 20, 2008

Is it true that the fiscal oversight committee will look into replacing all the teachers in the Hammonton District? This idea would be as dumb as eliminating the Hammonton Police Dept. with NJ State Police. Is anyone else tired of the Hammonton Firsters coming up with crazy ideas that upset the majority of Hammontonians.

Now that the new town hall is built downtown near their business properties it maybe time to get back to some normal people running the local government.

Date: 08:42 AM Mar 21, 2008

Anonymous wrote:

Is it true that the fiscal oversight committee will look into replacing all the teachers in the Hammonton District? This idea would be as dumb as eliminating the Hammonton Police Dept. with NJ State Police. Is anyone else tired of the Hammonton Firsters coming up with crazy ideas that upset the majority of Hammontonians.

Now that the new town hall is built downtown near their business properties it maybe time to get back to some normal people running the local government.

The fiscal oversite commitee is out to get us. We need to watch out for them. They just want to cut the budget.

Date: 09:05 AM Mar 21, 2008

The Fiscal Oversight Committee has nothing to do with saving the town money. Their only goal and purpose is to get HF re-elected, no matter what the cost or consequence to the citizens.

Date: 01:12 PM Mar 21, 2008

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Is it true that the fiscal oversight committee will look into replacing all the teachers in the Hammonton District? This idea would be as dumb as eliminating the Hammonton Police Dept. with NJ State Police. Is anyone else tired of the Hammonton Firsters coming up with crazy ideas that upset the majority of Hammontonians.

Now that the new town hall is built downtown near their business properties it maybe time to get back to some normal people running the local government.

The fiscal oversite commitee is out to get us. We need to watch out for them. They just want to cut the budget.

Who's overseeing the fiscal oversight committee? So far they're recommendations and comments have ripped the very fabric that keeps Hammonton strong and together. Who did we elect Town Council or the FOC'kers?

Date: 01:22 AM Mar 26, 2008

Hammonton is one of the Best schools in NJ because of it's dedicated staff and volunteers not any politicians.

Date: 12:31 PM Mar 26, 2008

Hammonton is one of the Best schools in NJ because of it's dedicated staff and volunteers not any politicians.

You did mean dedicated overpaid staff? Right. and without the current school board. I think the current school board. Steve , joe. have done a great job in restoring responible spending to the school.

Date: 12:54 PM Mar 26, 2008

Anonymous wrote:

Hammonton is one of the Best schools in NJ because of it's dedicated staff and volunteers not any politicians.

You did mean dedicated overpaid staff? Right. and without the current school board. I think the current school board. Steve , joe. have done a great job in restoring responible spending to the school.

Since school teachers are really just glorified babysitters since you think teachers are overpaid, let's just pay teachers the going rate for babysitting.

Let's pay them $3 an hour per kid, and they work 8-4, with a half-hour lunch. After all, why should we pay them for 'planning' or to eat?

So that's 7.5 working hours a day, and an elementary teacher works with about 20 kids a day.

So $3 X 7.5 hours a day X 20 kids = $450.00.

And I'm sure not paying them for weekends (more 'planning') and I'm sure not paying them for summers off for 'training' or advanced 'education,' so really, we are only going to pay them for 180 days a year.

So $450.00 X 180 = $81,000.

And just to be nice, if you have a master's degree, I'll give you $4.00 an hour.

That means we are going to pay teachers/babysitters $80,000 to $108,000 a year.

So which is better paying the current teacher salaries or paying babysitting salaries?

Date: 12:58 PM Mar 26, 2008

Low teacher pay comes at a very high cost. How can we expect educators to be focused, committed and at their best on a daily basis when they are fearful of the consequences of not earning enough to support their families? Each year we lose excellent teachers in Hammonton because they cant afford to make ends meet. Low teacher pay shortchanges the teaching profession, and students end up paying the price.

Date: 02:18 PM Mar 26, 2008

Drive by the teachers parking lot. enough said. Let's try this out teachers how about a full work year. or how about this a full work day. Oh my god I can't go to ocean city this summer. Please. and oh by the way find me a baby sitter with a masters. A masters that my tax dollars paid for. Get this straight the teachers are paid just fine , but don't complain I am sure with all the extra state money the teachers will get a nice bump too.

Date: 05:57 PM Mar 26, 2008

Anonymous wrote:

Drive by the teachers parking lot. enough said. Let's try this out teachers how about a full work year. or how about this a full work day. Oh my god I can't go to ocean city this summer. Please. and oh by the way find me a baby sitter with a masters. A masters that my tax dollars paid for. Get this straight the teachers are paid just fine , but don't complain I am sure with all the extra state money the teachers will get a nice bump too.

Your tax dollars did not pay for my wife's masters degree. You're talking a lot of bull saying not to complain when you're the ones saying teachers are overpaid. My wife is content with her pay yet you disrespect her and her profession by your statements. The extra state money goes towards the kids you fool not towards teacher's salaries. If a teacher was paid based on a baby sitter's salary scale then teachers would make double.

I think school should be year round too. How about them apples but it WILL COST TAXPAYERS more. Not all classrooms have Air Conditioning. It's a sweatbox in the classrooms in Late May and June. Spend some time in a classroom and your views will greatly change.

Date: 06:17 PM Mar 26, 2008

Anonymous wrote:

Drive by the teachers parking lot. enough said. Let's try this out teachers how about a full work year. or how about this a full work day. Oh my god I can't go to ocean city this summer. Please. and oh by the way find me a baby sitter with a masters. A masters that my tax dollars paid for. Get this straight the teachers are paid just fine , but don't complain I am sure with all the extra state money the teachers will get a nice bump too.

Enough said? based on what. If you're issue is their work schedule compared to yours then why not become a teacher if you think it's so easy. If you don't like your job so much then quit and get a job that will make you happy. The topic at hand is that the state has mandated many programs in all our schools and have not adequately funded them. No Child Left Behind is a joke. America has suffered long enough with these unfunded mandates.

Date: 06:21 PM Mar 26, 2008

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Hammonton is one of the Best schools in NJ because of it's dedicated staff and volunteers not any politicians.

You did mean dedicated overpaid staff? Right. and without the current school board. I think the current school board. Steve , joe. have done a great job in restoring responible spending to the school.

Since school teachers are really just glorified babysitters since you think teachers are overpaid, let's just pay teachers the going rate for babysitting.
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Let's pay them $3 an hour per kid, and they work 8-4, with a half-hour lunch. After all, why should we pay them for 'planning' or to eat?

So that's 7.5 working hours a day, and an elementary teacher works with about 20 kids a day.

So $3 X 7.5 hours a day X 20 kids = $450.00.

And I'm sure not paying them for weekends (more 'planning') and I'm sure not paying them for summers off for 'training' or advanced 'education,' so really, we are only going to pay them for 180 days a year.

So $450.00 X 180 = $81,000.

And just to be nice, if you have a master's degree, I'll give you $4.00 an hour.

That means we are going to pay teachers/babysitters $80,000 to $108,000 a year.

So which is better paying the current teacher salaries or paying babysitting salaries?

Very good post. Can't dispute those figures. Too bad there will always be people who vote No on School budgets no matter if it's an increase or decrease. My sister is a teacher in the district and she doesn't complain about anything she just wishes Hammonton First wouldn't make things in Hammonton so political. In that respect teachers are fed up just like most Hammontonians.

Date: 09:47 PM Mar 26, 2008

I see the NJEA in Trenton has come up with a very clever tricky way of crying the blues about how underpaid and underappreciated teachers are in today's schools.

I wonder who on State Street in Trenton came up with this way of describing teacher's salaries? Very tricky, very clever....it reminds me of how they sold the local taxpayers that it will only cost a cup of coffee a day to build the new high school.

It is a shame that the leaders of the NJEA spend so much time finding new ways to enrich themselves while helping bankrupt the state of New Jersey. Can some of the math teachers in the public school system help the politicians in the state balance the books?

Date: 10:29 AM Mar 27, 2008

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Hammonton is one of the Best schools in NJ because of it's dedicated staff and volunteers not any politicians.

You did mean dedicated overpaid staff? Right. and without the current school board. I think the current school board. Steve , joe. have done a great job in restoring responible spending to the school.

Since school teachers are really just glorified babysitters since you think teachers are overpaid, let's just pay teachers the going rate for babysitting.
Advertisement
Let's pay them $3 an hour per kid, and they work 8-4, with a half-hour lunch. After all, why should we pay them for 'planning' or to eat?

So that's 7.5 working hours a day, and an elementary teacher works with about 20 kids a day.

So $3 X 7.5 hours a day X 20 kids = $450.00.

And I'm sure not paying them for weekends (more 'planning') and I'm sure not paying them for summers off for 'training' or advanced 'education,' so really, we are only going to pay them for 180 days a year.

So $450.00 X 180 = $81,000.

And just to be nice, if you have a master's degree, I'll give you $4.00 an hour.

That means we are going to pay teachers/babysitters $80,000 to $108,000 a year.

So which is better paying the current teacher salaries or paying babysitting salaries?

Very good post. Can't dispute those figures. Too bad there will always be people who vote No on School budgets no matter if it's an increase or decrease. My sister is a teacher in the district and she doesn't complain about anything she just wishes Hammonton First wouldn't make things in Hammonton so political. In that respect teachers are fed up just like most Hammontonians.

If its good HF takes credit for it, even it its' at the school, while most dislike everything about it.Its always about their ego. If its bad they are quick to blame and beat up people they are a disgrace. They have a new saying at HF "ITS' ALL ABOUT US" Rich bitches who don't clean their own yards but pick on everyone else.Lets' see if they take credit for a dirty town, no they will blame prior administrations, they make me sick.

Date: 07:08 AM Mar 28, 2008

Candidate Costa, just doesn't get it. The tax rate increase is ZERO, no increase to the taxpayers, but the district will have increased services at NO COST extra to the taxpayer. He was one who barked when bussing was cut, now its back and he says cut, hey Tom what issue do you really support. If we all remember correctly you voted by yourself to give money back to Waterford last year, guess thats really looking out for the Hammonton taxpayer? Tom says one thing and does ANOTHER.

Date: 07:30 AM Mar 28, 2008

That candidate talks about costing taxpayers money? what about the 30,000.00 ethics suit he cost the taxpayers? What about the post office problem last year. Say NO to Costa he has already cost us all to much.
Much more to come.

Date: 12:58 PM Mar 28, 2008

Anonymous wrote:

That candidate talks about costing taxpayers money? what about the 30,000.00 ethics suit he cost the taxpayers? What about the post office problem last year. Say NO to Costa he has already cost us all to much.
Much more to come.

Costa is gonna Cost 'ya

Date: 07:23 PM Mar 29, 2008

Vote for a voice not an EcHOOOOOOOOOOOO. What happens when the state funding is no longer there?

Date: 08:06 PM Mar 29, 2008

Anonymous wrote:

Vote for a voice not an EcHOOOOOOOOOOOO. What happens when the state funding is no longer there?

When the state funding is no longer there then our children's and our nation's future will be affected. Funding and mandates like NCLB have hurt America. NCLB was good on paper but hurt our schools. All Hammontonians should be outraged that our kids have been shortchanged for years while Abbott disricts get most of the state funding.

Date: 07:56 PM Mar 30, 2008

I hope the Hammonton school board does not spend every penny of the extra 4 million from the State of New Jersey. We were lucky to get this extra money from our bankrupt state government.

I hope the School Board does not spend every cent on higher salaries and more administrators that will have to be paid by the local taxpayers in the future years.

Pay down the debt of the district with the extra money and help the future students of the Hammonton district by keeping the school district's fiscal house in order. I am sure the local citizens are going to watch very closely how the additional 4 MILLION (39 million increased to 43 million this year) will be spent.

A school tax reduction would greatly help the loss of state aid the town must suffer this year.

Date: 08:01 PM Mar 30, 2008

Anonymous wrote:

I hope the Hammonton school board does not spend every penny of the extra 4 million from the State of New Jersey. We were lucky to get this extra money from our bankrupt state government.

I hope the School Board does not spend every cent on higher salaries and more administrators that will have to be paid by the local taxpayers in the future years.

Pay down the debt of the district with the extra money and help the future students of the Hammonton district by keeping the school district's fiscal house in order. I am sure the local citizens are going to watch very closely how the additional 4 MILLION (39 million increased to 43 million this year) will be spent.

A school tax reduction would greatly help the loss of state aid the town must suffer this year.

Those monies are believed already slated to pay for mandated programs. I think. The increases in taxes were because of expectations that the state would pay their fair share. I think the future budgets should be set not expecting the state to pay their fair share. If people would speak out more for the state to give their fair share to Hammonton instead of campaigning to vote no on every school budget than Hammonton schools would be in a much better position. Instead we have those who will vote NO on every single budget no matter if it's an increase or even a decrease.

Date: 09:15 PM Mar 30, 2008

Does the state mandate we all go broke together?

It is time to stop acting like the state has any idea how to run or mandate anything.

Save a little money for a rainy day please. It will soon be pouring in the State of New Jersey. I have very little faith in Jon " I want to sell our assets for a quick fix" Corzine. We must control local spending in town and our school.

Date: 01:15 PM Mar 31, 2008

Anonymous wrote:

Does the state mandate we all go broke together?

It is time to stop acting like the state has any idea how to run or mandate anything.

Save a little money for a rainy day please. It will soon be pouring in the State of New Jersey. I have very little faith in Jon " I want to sell our assets for a quick fix" Corzine. We must control local spending in town and our school.

I have little faith in both Governor Jon and Mayor John. The state and federal government mandate special education, speech services, bilingual/esl services, free and reduced lunch. These cost the district more money. The state and federal government MANDATE that we have this because of NCLB No Child Left Behind. VOTE NO TO anyone who supports NCLB.

Date: 03:18 PM Mar 31, 2008

I will be voting no to any tax increase until the state budget gets fixed by the state politicians. It is not right to pass on huge amounts of debt to future generations. We must say no to all tax increases. We must get rid of any politician that increases our taxes because it will only get more difficult in New Jersey.

We need to elect leaders that have the guts to say no any tax increases. Any responsible citizen will only elect leaders that balance the budget.

Date: 06:30 PM Mar 31, 2008

Anonymous wrote:

I will be voting no to any tax increase until the state budget gets fixed by the state politicians. It is not right to pass on huge amounts of debt to future generations. We must say no to all tax increases. We must get rid of any politician that increases our taxes because it will only get more difficult in New Jersey.

We need to elect leaders that have the guts to say no any tax increases. Any responsible citizen will only elect leaders that balance the budget.

I agree. I just hope you realize that NCLB makes things worse for taxpayers.

Date: 04:21 PM Apr 1, 2008

No Child Left Behind sucks! Our unclassified (classified are special education classifation and handicapped) children are being tossed into classrooms with not one classified stupid, not two but over half the class. In each grade there is at least one classroom filled with classified and a handful of unclassified students. You know what happens to the unclassified students? They are loosing an entire year of school because the classroom is out of control with outbursts and behaviorial problems not to mention the lessons are geared for the classified and the unclassified student is going to be lost come the following school year. How is this fair? Oh and my personal favorite, "we can't do anything about little so and so hitting your child or screaming so much in class your child comes home with no clue what they were supposed to learn that day because little so and so is classified and we can't touch him." No Child Left Behind Sucks!!!! Where are my kids rights.

Date: 12:48 AM Apr 2, 2008

Anonymous wrote:

No Child Left Behind sucks! Our unclassified (classified are special education classifation and handicapped) children are being tossed into classrooms with not one classified stupid, not two but over half the class. In each grade there is at least one classroom filled with classified and a handful of unclassified students. You know what happens to the unclassified students? They are loosing an entire year of school because the classroom is out of control with outbursts and behaviorial problems not to mention the lessons are geared for the classified and the unclassified student is going to be lost come the following school year. How is this fair? Oh and my personal favorite, "we can't do anything about little so and so hitting your child or screaming so much in class your child comes home with no clue what they were supposed to learn that day because little so and so is classified and we can't touch him." No Child Left Behind Sucks!!!! Where are my kids rights.

NCLB also expects classified kids to be on par with regular students. I think all kids should show improvement but it is unrealistic to expect a student with limited learning abilities to do well on standardized tests. Schools get penalized and lose money if classified kids don't test equally as the regular students. Some classified kids can adapt to being in a regular classroom but I think that is very rare. Most kids are in special education for a reason. Not all but many are behavior problems that affect instruction in the regular classroom.

Date: 09:46 AM Apr 2, 2008

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

No Child Left Behind sucks! Our unclassified (classified are special education classifation and handicapped) children are being tossed into classrooms with not one classified stupid, not two but over half the class. In each grade there is at least one classroom filled with classified and a handful of unclassified students. You know what happens to the unclassified students? They are loosing an entire year of school because the classroom is out of control with outbursts and behaviorial problems not to mention the lessons are geared for the classified and the unclassified student is going to be lost come the following school year. How is this fair? Oh and my personal favorite, "we can't do anything about little so and so hitting your child or screaming so much in class your child comes home with no clue what they were supposed to learn that day because little so and so is classified and we can't touch him." No Child Left Behind Sucks!!!! Where are my kids rights.

NCLB also expects classified kids to be on par with regular students. I think all kids should show improvement but it is unrealistic to expect a student with limited learning abilities to do well on standardized tests. Schools get penalized and lose money if classified kids don't test equally as the regular students. Some classified kids can adapt to being in a regular classroom but I think that is very rare. Most kids are in special education for a reason. Not all but many are behavior problems that affect instruction in the regular classroom.

No kidding my kids living the nightmare this year and I fear what will happen next year. Tuitition at St. Joe is expensive and not the same education you'll get in Hammonton Public but we won't have to deal with this anymore. The problem is our district is putting all the classified students into one classroom not dividing them up evenly amongst all the classrooms. Same with English as a second language students; all in one classroom with a few english speaking children thrown into the miss. They miss out as well because their lesson is mostly in spanish. Unfair practice by our districts is the problem too.

Date: 02:33 PM Apr 2, 2008

I dont know the last time you were in an ESL or bilingual classroom... but the teaching is done in english.

Date: 05:36 PM Apr 2, 2008

First you have to teach them english and that's unfair to the other kids that have to sit and wait for their instructions especially at the kindergarten level. You'd actually have to have had a child in the classroom to get it.

Date: 07:41 PM Apr 2, 2008

People will be so surprised by the high teacher turn over rate caused by the failures of NCLB.