Before any of you buy into this Administration’s, Secretary Murphy’s and DOE’s false assertion that they are trying to improve the educational experience for the “high poverty”, “inner-city” schools by offering roughly $200,000 per year to six schools (not a penny of which will actually reach the children) ask yourselves and then ask this Administration why massive funding cuts that eliminated so many programs that were geared to allow for student achievements, improvements and survival were not restored.

It is the height of arrogance and hypocrisy to pretend to create a program helping students avoid the need for collegiate remedial courses when the money necessary to fund “Reading Resource Teachers” (Gov. Minner’s excellent initiative) and “Math Specialists” has been eliminated in public schools to the tune of $12.5 million.

To also promote advisory boards to examine needs of poverty ridden schools and inner-city schools while continuing to deliberately ignore the poverty epidemic in this State and refusing to acknowledge the legitimacy of smaller class sizes, (not bigger and more bloated & higher paid leadership) is unconscionable propaganda that is insensitive to the reality of the plight of the children.

If the DOE wishes to establish a priority, please join me to establish the funding for more class sizes and the funding for it, should be the “high” priority.

The MOU should go into a shredder to save the Department of Education staff further embarrassment.

(abridged version)