If you believe that the voters of a district should determine whether a new charter school opens and is paid for by their tax dollars, join Save Our Schools NJ (saveourschoolsnj.org), a nonpartisan, grassroots organization started by parents in Princeton that now has members in each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts.

Save Our Schools NJ believes that every child should have access to a high quality public education and is fighting to protect New Jersey's excellent public schools. We are working with the legislature to help pass legislation to require a local vote before a new charter school can open -- See Assembly bill 3852/ Senate bill 2243.

Unfortunately, the current approval process for new charter schools gives the host districts absolutely no control over whether a charter school is allowed to open and draw students and tax dollars from that district. This decision is made entirely by the NJ Department of Education. There are a number of districts whose parents have tried to fight the approval of new charter schools, but their wishes have been completely ignored.

You can learn more about Save Our Schools NJ and sign up for action alerts on our web site -- saveourschoolsnj.org

Save our School are you for real with your HOGWASH I can see you make 6 digets with the school system cause if you really do care instead of your name being save our school it should be SAVE OUR KIDS ........Just care I do ..........Thank you and have a nice day

Charter schools will give parents and students an alternative to Gloucester Twp Public schools. What we have seen from the school district so far are poor test scores and the idea to fix a problem is to keep throwing money at it instead of coming up with creative solutions and fixing it and who pays students and taxpayers and don't forget the waste . You want to know where your tax dollars go check 'Data Universe" on the Courier Post website and check out the salaries of District Administrators it will make you sick. So as for Charter Schools even Mr. Seddon, Superintendent of the Schools said, "I think competition is good".

In New Jersey, the original intent of the charter school law was to give parents, teachers and other members of a community the freedom to create new public schools if they believed the district school system was lacking.
In cities like Paterson, Newark, Trenton, Jersey City and Camden, the need for charter schools is unquestioned. The public is well aware that charter schools have provided high-quality options for children seeking to escape the ills of urban public schools.
But the lesser known story in New Jersey is that charter schools are flourishing in what many consider to be “high-performing” suburban districts, such as Princeton. The Princeton Charter School, which opened in 1997 and was awarded federal “Blue Ribbon” status in 2004, is a great example of how an innovative charter school can help raise the standards of a traditional public school system.
In the Princeton Regional School district, 59.5 percent of the students tested as advanced proficient in the NJ ASK eighth-grade mathematics assessment. That’s impressive; especially considering the state average is just below 30 percent.
But at Princeton Charter School, 84.4 percent were able to score advanced proficient on the eighth-grade math assessment. That’s because the founders of the school believed students needed to focus on math. Princeton Regional has since adopted many of the principals that have proven so successful in the charter school’s mathematics curriculum.

Even though the GT schools are above average, taxpayers should have a CHOICE for their children.
Whatever happened to ummm PRO CHOICE?????

Shouldn't the local tax payers have a say in whether or not a charter school is opened within their township? To me that is CHOICE! Let those who are helping to foot the bill have a say in the establishment of charter schools. Just because something is new doesnt make it necessarily better.

The last time I checked, the parents' of students in the Gloucester Township schools do pay taxes. Obviously if enrollment is filling up quickly, then there must be a reason. GTPS is not all that is appears to be. I agree with giving parents a choice on where to send their children to school especially if they feel that their local school is inadequate.

Mr. Lali's statement that Charter Schools lack accountability really, you mean like our Gloucester Township Board and it's Administrators that have led this once proud District and turned it into a joke with their leadership poor test scores, State investigation of improper help on State tests, and the monthly Budget shell game of moving money from account to account. Don't forget the rumor about the Bus mechanic who pointed out waste and improper use of District vehicles by an Administrator. The Administrator is still there in the same position and the Bus mechanic was moved to another department and another shift and eventually terminated. I guess Mr. Lali means that kind of public accountability. A District and Board that refuses to listen to the Public and feels the only way to fix a problem is to keep throwing money at it and it will go away.
Charter Schools will bring a breath of fresh air to the District and competition. Hopefully the children of Gloucester Twp. will be the winners in the end.

Why not allow voters to decide if they want a charter school to open in their community? Isn't that what democracy is all about? NJ is the only state that completely leaves voters out of the decision to approve a new charter school in their district yet expects them to pay for that charter school. If you believe there is a lot of pent up demand for a new charter school, then let those supporters come out and vote for it. The state should not be able to force it upon a community. Our charter law is broken!

Let the voter decide I'm for that "WAIT one minute" Did the voters say no to the school board budget OOOO yea they did and were did that get us they just knock 300,000 out PLEASE we need real change ...The system is broken and I will be Glad to help fix it ......Just care I do

Let the voters' decide what's best for our children and schools? I don't remember there being a vote when our township recently redistricted the High Schools. The BOE didn't even bother to inform parents of what was going on until it was too late. Logistically the redistricting makes no sense, you have students that live within a mile of the school being bused to another school and so forth... Parents will vote with their enrollment and support.
I really could care less what the NJEA thinks about it b/c they are as corupt as the school system.

I agree with I t Paine, our township once had an excellent school district that has fallen apart over the last 5 years.

If you want a vote on Charter Schools, lets vote for everything...Principals, teachers, salaries & benefits. We have no say in those areas but our taxes pay for it...but that's ok...right?

Most of us do vote on all those things. We vote on school budgets and we vote for school boards, which make local decisions about salaries and benefits. Charter schools are decided without any local input. Just a top-down decision by the State Department of Education that completely ignores the community's wishes. Do you really want decisions about your community's schools make by big government? Why are you afraid of democracy?

Nobody should be afraid of democracy, however that is not the system we currently have. We have a Town Council, a School Board and it's Administrator's that refuse to listen to the public's wishes and continue to do as they please, that certainly doesn't sound like a democracy. Charter Schools will offer residents an alternative to the current broken system. As with any new idea there are always those that will use scare tactics and half truths to keep the status quo. Most often you will find the ones that cry the loudest also have some type of vested interest in keeping the system as is. This country was built on the constant flow of new ideas and Gloucester Township School District is in dire need of new ideas as well as leadership.

If other residents agree with your assessment of the current school system, they would presumably vote to approve new charter schools in order to provide the alternatives you write about. Why be afraid of democracy?

The Charter School will finally offer residents a choice and isn't that part of what a democracy is? A choice of the Status Quo or something different.

By having Charter school, you are giving parents a CHOICE, as to where to send their children. Taxpayers do not need to vote on having a charter school, but after they have been established, rate them. THAT is what choice is. If they do not produce, then judge them. Not before you even see how the end result is.

Save our schools: I think Mr. Gladden is correct on this one. Save our CHILDREN. Let's not take the choice away before we even have the option to see what is best for our children.

Actions will speak so much louder than mere words.

Why are you afraid of giving your community the right to vote on this?

I think there are two separate issues being argued here. The first is should a charter school exist at all, and the second is should a town have to approve a charter school through a ballot question.

At to whether they should exist at all, in my opinion that is a resounding yes. I went to college with colleagues who went to charter schools in different states. Their education and preparation for Engineering was proof enough a well-run charter school can educate. I don't buy the whole "unaccountable" argument. Parents can vote with their feet or report a bad teacher to the charter's Principal. If anything, charters are *more* accountable.

On the forcing a charter school on a town, I would like to have a vote of the people. Just my personal opinion. When I first heard we were getting one I thought "cool". But when I heard at a PTA meeting the $1.2 million was being diverted from the Gloucester Township budget I thought "booooogus" in my best Bill and Ted voice. I can see how the charter will lower enrollment in GT thus lowering cost but that $1.2M should have been taken out only AFTER enrollment went down.

But I agree that having a charter does offer a parent a choice if they do not like their local school even if I don't like how it got here. I personally am very happy with the school my sons go to. But I live in another elementary school footprint and I hear the complaints from my neighbors about the local school. People should have a choice.

In the End results will speak as to whether Charter Schools are a success or not. We already know what Gloucester Township Schools currently capable of, as I said results speak for themselves 5 schools tagged as "In Need Of Improvement' in results released in November 2010, regarding NJASK test results and 4 schools tagged as "Early Warning" and we can't forget State Investigation regarding improper help with the State test. As I said results speak for themselves and we didn't even touch on the District's ineffective leadership and the Board's pompus attitude towards the public. I really feel a Charter School would be hard pressed to match Gloucester Township's Public School results in the classroom and at the Administrative level.

My husband and I have lived in GT for 28 years...raised our kids here and they went through the public school system. Now we have a grandchild going through GT public schools. I could scream. You have a (tenured) teacher who doesn't follow curriculum, principal excuses the teacher, children not receiving a "thorough and efficient" education, poor NJ ask scores in Reading (the subject this seasoned teacher totally lacked in providing thorough instruction in) resources in the form of reading coaches available at the school, and now the new charter school opening. I'm sure the elementary schools will get worse without stronger teachers/administrators. And unlike the Commissioner of Education stated in an interview earlier this week, charter schools are not available to everyone. They have enrollment limitations and lotteries. And why would you want to enroll your child in a school with no track record?? No one connected with the school has a background in early education as far as I know. What if your child doesn't want to bounce a basketball to learn multiplication? The whole situation is ludicrous. GT schools don't need more money, they have plenty. They need strong administrators who will ensure curriculum is being followed and readily available resources are utilized.

Why do they really want charter schools? How long before they're all run by "for profit" companies?
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20110610/NEWS01/106100341/Christie-s-plan-would-allow-profit-companies-run-5-failing-N-J-public-schools

how long before all the charter schools are run by "for profit" companies? http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20110610/NEWS01/106100341/Christie-s-plan-would-allow-profit-companies-run-5-failing-N-J-public-schools