Critical of election coverage

To the Editor: I do not understand what went on with your coverage (or lack thereof) of the board of education election. The Independent ran several name-calling letters, but not one article on the candidates, their backgrounds and/or a little blurb on where they stand on any issue. There was nothing on the candidates’ stances, no past voting history on the incumbents, nothing on why we would vote to keep them or elect them to the board. Where was the board of education election debate? The Independent dedicated a two- by three-inch square on page three listing the candidates names. This is utterly ridiculous. I waited each week for one informative article. Nothing. I went to the April 10 board meeting hoping to learn something. Any time the meeting got a little heated between Dr. Morton and the public, Morton demanded that David Slavin hit the gavel and end the discussion. He did not want any board matter or voter issue discussed during the meeting. When can we discuss board of education matters? There was no scheduled debate. Why couldn’t the public come to the board meeting and ask the incumbents questions on the issues? Where and when else can we do it? This has been frustrating. Three years on the board is a long time. In the past three years little has been accomplished by the current members. How dare the Sparta board of education write, “Due in part to these changes, students’ scores on standardized assessments tests are on the rise.” Anyone can go to the N.J. Dept. of Education Web site and see the test scores. From third to fourth grade, our partial proficient scores increased, our proficient decreased, and the advanced stayed the same. Our advanced proficient percentage scores are in the single digits. This is unacceptable. “Assessments tests are on the rise.” What a joke. Throwing money at education does not solve every problem. Plenty of districts spend less yet do better, while others spend a lot more and do a lot worse. There is no correlation between dollars spent and high test scores. Looking at the scores of any Abbott or parochial school will prove that. I do not see any plans in place to tackle these low test scores. Our children are not learning. We need to get back to the basics. They cannot answer basic level mathematical and language arts assessments, yet we have time to send them to the grocery store during school to do what most families do anyway on a weekly basis: grocery shop. Amy Nittolo Sparta