Where's K-12 education headed in NJ?: New school chief answers

Asbury Park Press

Show Caption Hide Caption WATCH: Asbury Park superintendent speaks after being named education chief Asbury Park Superintendent Dr. Lamont Repollet speaks after Governor-elect Phil Murphy names him as NJ Commissioner of Education.

How will Lamont Repollet, New Jersey's newly sworn commissioner of education, seek to change the state's educational landscape? To get a better read on his goals, we emailed him a series of questions on issues he will be asked to address in his new role. Repollet previously served as superintendent of the Asbury Park School District from 2014 to 2018. Prior to that he was principal of Carteret High School for nine years.

Here are Repollet's responses:

What are your top two or three priorities as commissioner?

My vision for the Department of Education is to make the department a world-class, forward-looking organization that excels in customer service to the schools and school districts. To advance that vision, we’re reviewing and revising graduation requirements and state assessments; supporting districts with a coherent system for satisfying standards; creating aligned assessments and building data literacy; revising the Charter School laws and regulations; and adding field staff to work directly with the districts to support their work to achieve academic excellence.

Gov. Phil Murphy campaigned on a promise to eliminate the PARCC tests. What are the two or three most important changes you and the governor want to make to the tests, and what is your timetable for doing so?

After a thorough and thoughtful public outreach campaign, meeting with students, parents, educators and community members, the Department of Education has proposed to reduce the number of high school assessments as well as reducing the amount of time allocated for tests at all levels. In September, we will launch a second phase of outreach, to continue to gather insights and suggestions and to establish working groups to dig into specific aspects of testing, including but not limited to student subgroups, data reporting and test construct.

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New Jersey’s public schools are among the most segregated in the nation. Do you think that is unhealthy for New Jersey’s schoolchildren academically and/or socially? If so, how do you plan to go about changing that?

This issue is currently being litigated. There is potential that as the commissioner of education, I will be asked to decide the case. Therefore, I am unable to comment.

The Lakewood school district has a perpetual funding crisis due in large part to a school funding formula that fails to take into account the district’s need to fund busing and special education costs for its burgeoning private school population. Would you like to see a change to that formula to take Lakewood’s unique circumstances into account? If not, what can be done to address Lakewood’s financial troubles?

This matter is in litigation and it would not be appropriate for me to discuss.

The recent changes to the state’s school funding formula have created winners and losers for New Jersey’s school districts. Many of the losers were in Ocean County, where per-pupil costs tend to be relatively low. How do you explain that, and what changes, if any, would you like to see to the formula?

The governor and legislative leadership modernized the school funding formula after years of neglect by removing the growth cap and redistributing aid from overfunded districts to underfunded districts. The school funding formula (or School Funding Reform Act) is a multifaceted rubric that weighs school enrollment, local funding, geography, special education and other factors that are unique to each district.

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Each factor can adjust/shift funding by district. Up until the new budget, districts were receiving aid based on old data for each of these factors. The FY ’19 budget reconciled the state aid to the data and the formula. Ocean County schools experienced enrollment decreases, which affected their funding. As just one example, in Brick enrollment is down about 1,000 students, or 10 percent of the student body, since 2012. With enrollment as a significant factor in the amount of state aid a district receives, the revisions to the formula in the appropriations act adjust for current enrollment and therefore resulted in a smaller state aid allocation.

What impact, positive or negative, do you think legalization of marijuana would have on New Jersey’s schoolchildren?

All the proposals for adult-use marijuana contemplate a minimum age of 21 for those seeking to obtain the product. Our education system will ensure that students are informed about the risks of marijuana consumption, just as they are with other legal products such as alcohol and tobacco.

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What are your views on school choice? Would you like to see choice programs expanded? If so, specifically how? The Interdistrict School Choice program was established to increase options and flexibility for parents and students to select a school that best meets their respective needs. To be sure the program is serving the needs of families in New Jersey, I hope to begin a process of evaluating and assessing the program, including seeking the input of stakeholders.

Would you support consolidation of smaller K-6 school districts into larger K-12 districts, or any other types of consolidation? Do you think consolidation can provide cost savings and/or improve the quality of education?

New Jersey’s schools are operated on a local level and controlled by local governments. The commissioner of education cannot make those decisions on behalf of school districts. If districts determine it is in their best interest to merge or consolidate, the Department of Education has staff that can assist the process as it has done for the districts that combined to create South Hunterdon and Hunterdon.

Do you think New Jersey’s public schools are providing enough curricular alternatives for students who choose not to attend college? If not, how would you propose expanding options for those students?

New Jersey’s Vocational-Technical Schools have a vital role to play in providing career pathways for more than 30,000 students interested in apprenticeship programs and certifications. We also recently launched the New Jersey Apprenticeship Network to support residents’ entry into high-skill careers by accessing paid apprenticeships that include college credits. Additional statewide priorities include implementing a state-of-the-art STEM curriculum, and increasing access to Career Technical Education opportunities. Much of the work of the Department of Education's Office of Career Readiness is aligned with two primary themes in New Jersey’s Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act State Plan: building career pathways with a focus on industry-valued credentials and expanding high-quality employer driven partnerships, which are integral to supporting college and career readiness.

Do you think teacher pay should be tied to performance? Is the current evaluation process in place for teachers fair?

The department has been reviewing the current teacher evaluation guidelines and how we support school leaders. I will make an announcement later this month regarding teacher performance evaluations.

In light of the fatal Paramus school bus accident in May and other incidents involving public school transportation, are there improvements at the state level that can be undertaken to attempt to keep such accidents from happening again?

Student safety is a priority for the department, including while students ride the bus to school. The Legislature has introduced a number of new bills regarding school bus safety, such as requiring school buses to be manufactured with shoulder harnesses in addition to the existing requirement for lap seat belts. The department is ready to partner with the Motor Vehicle Commission on the implementation of any of these bills should they become law. Internally, we are looking at how we can work in tandem with the MVC to support school districts and ensure that school transportation is safe.

How much of a problem, if at all, are very early start times for high school students?

Last year a report was issued by the Study Group on Later School Start Times. The study concluded, among other things, that inadequate sleep is prevalent among high schoolers. It also stressed that school districts should regulate school start times, based on their specific community needs and that many middle and high schools already implement later start times in response to student and parent feedback.

Do you think Lakewood’s Orthodox Jewish private schools are providing enough secular education to satisfy New Jersey’s thorough and efficient mandate?

The department is committed to ensuring, with the assistance of local school districts, that nonpublic school students receive the funding and services entitled to them under state and federal programs such as those for special needs, Title I, security and other programs. New Jersey does not regulate the curriculum at nonpublic schools, including private Jewish schools in Lakewood. Many nonpublic schools in New Jersey are accredited by private organizations, and parents looking to place their students at one of these schools should review the accrediting organization to ensure their child will receive a comprehensive education. And, at any time, these nonpublic school students continue to be eligible to attend public school in their local school district.