Great piece by Carl Golden on the Christie Administration’s takeover of Camden City Public Schools. Golden acknowledges the grim environment for students and teachers – a homicide every five and ½ days, 43% of residents below the poverty level, unemployment rate of 10% -- while supporting the State’s last-resort action:
[T]he district’s four-year graduation rate is 49 percent, 37 percent below the state average, and 90 percent of its schools are in the bottom five percent in standardized test scores. Of its 13,700 students, 84 percent qualify for the free or reduced-price lunch program. Per-pupil spending is $23,700, compared to the state average of $18,000…
The governor certainly understands the herculean task he has committed his and successive administrations to, but his willingness to act decisively is commendable.
The nearly 14,000 school-age youngsters and those who will follow need to be rescued from the depths of a system that has cheated them of their right to an education. They will suffer the consequences as they grow to adulthood.