Newsletters and Information

OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP ACT: ACTION STEPS NEEDED

Legislation that would create a five-year pilot program to help students in failing New Jersey schools has now been referred to the Assembly’s Commerce and Economic Development Committee. The June 24 development is expected to improve prospects for the bill, the Opportunity Scholarship Act, which initially had been assigned to the Assembly’s Education Committee and which has met with intense opposition from entrenched special interest groups opposed to education reform and parental choice.

In the wake of this latest development, you are urged to take the following action steps:

1. Continue to Email, call, and visit the offices of the members of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee (see list below). Also please ask Senator Paul Sarlo, Chair of the Committee to schedule the bill for a hearing and a vote in his committee.

2. Call your Senator regarding the legislation and indicate your support for S-1872. Ask that your Senator speak with his or her colleagues on the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee indicating that this is an important bill for your Senator’s constituents.

3. Email, call, or visit the members of the Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee (see list below) to express your support for A-2810. Ask Assemblyman Albert Coutinho to schedule the bill for a hearing and vote.

4. Call the members of the New Jersey Assembly in your own district to ask for their support for A-2810. Ask them to speak with their colleagues on the Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee to express their support.

5. To electronically contact legislators, click here.

6. Please share this information with parishioners who can assist us in this effort.

Thank you for your continued support. FOR MORE INFORMATION, see www.WeCanDoBetter-nj.org. See also story in the Friday, July 2 Star Herald.

MEMBERS OF THE

SENATE BUDGET & APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

The Honorable Paul Sarlo Chair (D)

Senator, District 36 Bank of America Bldg., 2nd Floor

207 Hackensack St.

Wood-Ridge, NJ 07075 (201) 804-8118

FAX: (201) 804-8644

SenSarlo@njleg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Archdiocese of Newark, Diocese of Paterson

Bergen County: Carlstadt, East Rutherford, Garfield, Lyndhurst,

Moonachie, North Arlington, Rutherford, Wallington and Wood

Ridge. Essex County: Nutley.

Passaic County: Passaic City

The Honorable Brian P. Stack, Vice Chair (D)

Senator, District 33 3715 Palisade Ave., 3rd floor

Union City, NJ 07087

(201) 861-5091

FAX: (201) 330-0513

SenStack@njleg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Archdiocese of Newark

HUDSON COUNTY: Guttenberg, Hoboken, part of Jersey City,

Union City, Weehawken and West New York.

The Honorable James Beach (D)

Senator, District 6

1916 Route 70 East, Suite 3

Cherry Hill, NJ 08003

(856) 489-3442

FAX: (856) 489-4180

SenBeach@njleg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Diocese of Camden

CAMDEN COUNTY: Audubon Park, Berlin, Berlin Twp., Cherry

Hill, Chesilhurst, Collingswood, Gibbsboro, Haddon Twp.,

Haddonfield Borough, Oaklyn, Pine Hill, Pine Valley, Tavistock,

Voorhees, Waterford Twp., Winslow.

The Honorable Anthony R. Bucco (R)

Senator, District 25

75 Bloomfield Ave., Suite 302

Denville, NJ 07834

(973) 627-9700

FAX: (973) 627-0131

SenBucco@njleg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Diocese of Paterson

MORRIS COUNTY: Boonton, Boonton Twp., Denville, Dover,

Jefferson, Mendham Twp., Mine Hill, Morris Twp., Morristown, Mt.

Arlington, Mountain Lakes, Randolph, Rockaway, Rockaway Twp.,

Roxbury, Victory Gardens and Wharton.

The Honorable Barbara Buono (D)

Senator, District 18

Two Lincoln Highway, Ste 401

Edison, NJ 08820

(732) 205-1372

FAX: (732) 205-1375

SenBuono@njleg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Diocese of Metuchen

Middlesex County: East Brunswick, Edison, Helmetta, Metuchen,

and So. Plainfield, So. River and Spottswood.

The Honorable Sandra B. Cunningham (D)

Senator, District 31

1738 Kennedy Blvd.

Jersey City, NJ 07305

(201) 451-5100

FAX: (201) 451-0867

SenCunningham@njleg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Archdiocese of Newark

HUDSON COUNTY: Bayonne and part of Jersey City.

The Honorable Michael J. Doherty (R)

Senator, District 23 127 Belvidere Ave., 2nd Floor

Washington, NJ 07882

(908) 835-0552

FAX: (908) 835-8570

AsmDoherty@njleg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Diocese of Metuchen

All of Hunterdon County except Califon and Tewksbury. All of Warren County

The Honorable Kevin J. O’Toole (R)

Senator, District 40

Wayne Plaza II

155 Route 56 West, Suite 108

Wayne, NJ 07470

(973) 237-1362

FAX: (973) 237-1367

SenOtoole@njleg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Archdiocese of Newark, Diocese of Paterson

BERGEN COUNTY: Franklin Lakes, Mahwah, Midland Park,

Oakland, Ridgewood, and Wyckoff.

ESSEX COUNTY: Cedar Grove, Verona

PASSAIC COUNTY: Little Falls, Ringwood, Wanaque and Wayne.

The Honorable Steven V. Oroho (R)

Senator, District 24

115 Demarest Rd., Suite 2B

Sparta, NJ 07871

(973) 300-0200

FAX: (973) 300-1744

SenOroho@njleg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Dioceses of Metuchen & Paterson

Hunterdon County: Califon and Tewksbury.

Morris County: Chester Borough, Chester Twp., Mt. Olive, Netcong

and Washington.

All of Sussex County

The Honorable Joseph Pennacchio (R)

Senator, District 26

101 Gibraltar Dr., Suite 1-A

Morris Plains, NJ 07950

(973) 227-4012

FAX: (973) 227-4012

SenPennacchio@njleg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Diocese of Paterson

MORRIS COUNTY: Butler, Chatham, East Hanover, Florham Park,

Hanover, Kinnelon, Lincoln Park, Montville, Morris Plains, Parsippany-

Troy Hills, Pequannock and Riverdale.

PASSAIC COUNTY: Bloomingdale, Pompton Lakes and West

Milford.

The Honorable M. Teresa Ruiz (D)

Senator, District 29

166 Bloomfield Ave.

Newark, NJ 07104

(973) 484-1000

FAX (973) 484-1000

SenRuiz@njleg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Archdiocese of Newark

ESSEX COUNTY: Part of Newark.

UNION COUNTY: Hillside

The Honorable Shirley K. Turner (D)

Senator, District 15

1440 Pennington Rd.,

1st floor Ewing, NJ 08618

(609) 530-3277

FAX: (609) 530-3292

SenTurner@njleg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Diocese of Trenton

MERCER COUNTY: Ewing, Hopewell Borough, Hopewell Twp., Lawrence, Pennington, Princeton Borough, Princeton Twp. and Trenton.

The Honorable Jeff Van Drew (D)

Senator, District 1

21 N. Main St.

Cape May Court House, NJ 08210

(609) 465-0700

FAX: (609) 465-4578

SenVanDrew@njleg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Diocese of Camden

All of CAPE MAY COUNTY

CUMBERLAND COUNTY: Maurice River, Millville and Vineland.

ATLANTIC COUNTY: Buena and Buena Vista and Somers Point

MEMBERS OF THE

ASSEMBLY COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

The Honorable Albert Coutinho – Chair

Assemblyman, District 29

73-75 Ferry Street

Newark, NJ 07105

AsmCoutinho@njleg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Honorable Pamela Lampitt – Vice-Chair

Assemblywoman, District 6

1103 Laurel Oak Road, Suite 142

Voorhees, NJ 08043

AswLampitt@njleg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Honorable Anthony M. Bucco

Assemblyman, District 25

1040 Route 10 West, 1st Floor

Randolph, NJ 07869

AsmBucco@njleg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Honorable Domenick DiCicco, Jr.

Assemblyman, District 4

137 Egg Harbor Road, Unit B

Sewell, NJ 08080

AsmDiCicco@njleg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Honorable Angel Fuentes

Assemblyman, District 5

Route 130 & Browning Rd.

Brooklawn, NJ 08030

AsmFuentes@njleg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Honorable Joan M. Quigley

Assemblywoman, District 32

242 Tenth Street, Suite 101

Jersey City, NJ 07302

AswQuigley@njleg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Honorable Bonnie Watson Coleman

Assemblywoman, District 15

226 West State Street

Trenton, NJ 08608

AswWatsonColeman@njleg.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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Scholarship bill referred to Assembly Committee

The Assembly version of a bill that would create the opportunity for disadvantaged children in failing schools to attend a school of their parents’ choice has now been referred to the Education Committee of the New Jersey Assembly.

A-2810, The Opportunity Scholarship Act, was introduced in the Assembly by sponsor Angel Fuentes (D-5).

The Senate bill, S-1872, which is sponsored by Senator Raymond Lesniak (D-20), is now before the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. The Senate Economic Growth Committee on May 13, 2010 unanimously approved S-1872 in a 6-0 vote.

Parishioners and school families are urged to contact members Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and the Assembly Education Committee expressing support for S-1872/A-2810.

Two members of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee are from districts within the Diocese of Camden:

The Honorable Jeff Van Drew (D)

21 N. Main St.

Cape May Court House, NJ 08210

(609) 465-0700

FAX: (609) 465-4578

SenVanDrew@njleg.org

The Honorable James Beach (D)

1916 Route 70 East, Suite 3

Cherry Hill, NJ 08003

(856) 489-3442

FAX: (856) 489-4180

SenBeach@njleg.org

There are no South Jersey legislators serving on the Assembly’s Education Committee. However, parishioners and school families are urged to contact local assembly members to urge their fellow legislators on the Education Committee to move the legislation forward.

Legislators also may be contacted through the New Jersey Catholic Conference’s “Capwiz” system at www.capwiz.com/njcathconf/home/

For a full list of South Jersey legislators, and for more about the Opportunity Scholarship Act, see www.WeCanDoBetter-nj.org.

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Dear Parents and Guardians:

Our 2009 – 2010 school year has come to an end, and what a wonderful year it was. There were many exciting and rewarding activities. We are so proud of all of our students!

Summer math packets were sent home for grades 3-8 that review the concepts from the previous year. As a reminder, students only do the ODD numbered problems.

Students are to maintain reading logs and read books to earn points over the summer. The school will be open M-Th from 9 -1, at which time students may drop in to take the Accelerated Reader quizzes. These quizzes usually take about 5-7 minutes.

We will let you know when the recycled uniforms are available.

There will be a new cafeteria program next year. More information will be forth coming. Representatives will discuss the Nutriserve Program at new parent orientation and BSR’s open house in the fall.

Students in grades 5-8 will have an individual language choice for the upcoming school year. More information will be made available during the summer. Currently we are including: Spanish, Italian, German, Mandarin Chinese, French, and Latin.

We are posting a vacation blog, where students may write about their vacation adventures. Please encourage your child(ren) to participate.

You received the acceptable school shoes for next year. We provided the name and style. You can purchase the shoes wherever they are available–in stores or on-line.

Congratulations to our alumni: 3 of the 4 top scholarships to Sacred Heart High were won by our 8th grade students; and, the valedictorian and salutatorian at Sacred Heart and the valedictorian at OLMA were all graduates of Bishop Schad/Sacred Heart Grammar.

We, at BSR, would like to thank YOU, the parents, for your continued support and encouragement throughout the year. Together, we are making a difference in your children’s lives.

Have a wonderful summer and remember to keep God in your weekend plans.

Dr. DeMartino

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All students must bring their lunch to school on Tuesday, June 1. The cafeteria will be closed that day due to Sacred Heart High School’s baccalaureate and graduation ceremonies.

Thank you.

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Hello Everyone:

It is hard to believe that the school year is rapidly coming to an end. It has been an enjoyable and fruitful year.

This is the last week for the afterschool clubs program. There will be a homework program and afterschool program 6/1 – 6/11. There will be an afterschool program on 6/14 and 6/15. All students will be dismissed at noon on 6/16.

Our students’ talents were demonstrated in the school play and the school talent show. They all did a terrific job and wish to thank all of the teachers involved in both projects.

Our second grade students made their First Holy Communion, and on Wednesday, our eighth grade students will receive the sacrament of Confirmation.

The eighth grade dinner dance will be held this Saturday.

As a reminder, all tuitions and outstanding fees must be paid in full prior to graduation. Please contact the bookkeeper to make final payment arrangements.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

Dr. DeMartino

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Q & A on S-1872

1. Q. Is this a voucher bill?

A. The legislation involves corporate tax credits and not vouchers. With corporate tax credits, no payments are made from the government, at any level, either to nonpublic schools or directly to parents. Corporations decide how to use their tax liability and may choose to fund scholarships for students to attend either nonpublic or public schools.

Because businesses bear a huge burden of having to train unprepared workers who are the products of failed educational experiences, it is only logical that these businesses should have the opportunity to direct their tax liabilities to a source which they feel will improve the educational quality of graduating students (potential employees). If they are satisfied with the caliber of their employees, then they can continue to pay their tax liabilities without participating in this program. If, however, they feel the need to provide better educational opportunities for low-income children in the eligible districts, they can contribute to the appropriate scholarship organization. Note that the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey, the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, and other business groups have endorsed the bill.

2. Q. Isn’t the bill an attempt to destroy public education?

A. Nothing could be further from the truth. The difference in state aid to the district and the amount of the scholarship can be used for an Education Innovation Fund to spur reform in public education.

The State needs viable public and nonpublic schools because not every school is right for every child.

3. Q. Are such programs constitutional?

A. Opponents claim that if dollars for religiously affiliated schools are included in such scholarship programs, the program violates the First Amendment. Rather than a subsidy for religious schools as part of this program, the decision about the choice of school is placed in the hands of the parents. Among the educational options available are other public schools who are willing to take the amount of the scholarship as full payment for tuition.

The scholarships are available to a neutrally defined category of beneficiaries (economically disadvantaged families and those eligible to attend a school in a district with a chronically failing public school). This is hardly equivalent to a subsidy to a nonpublic school because no funds would be transmitted directly to a private religious or secular school (or another public school for that matter) except by the independent decision of parents.

With respect to the constitutionality of various school choice programs, any program which assists nonpublic school students has traditionally been required to meet the so-called three-part Lemon test (taken from the Lemon v Kurtzman Supreme Court decision of 1971). On June 29, 1983, the Supreme Court upheld the Minnesota State Education Tax Deduction in Mueller v Allen, ruling that the program did indeed meet the three-part constitutional test established by Lemon. In Zelman v Simmons-Harris (June 27, 2002), the Supreme Court concluded that the use of public money to underwrite tuition in private and religious schools does not violate the Establishment Clause of the US Constitution, as long as parents make the decision regarding where the scholarship is used. This decision occurred as a result of a challenge to the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program. The court concluded that the Cleveland program is neutral with regard to religion, even though the majority of program recipients chose religious schools.

On October 27, 2009, the Arizona Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge of the Arizona state law which permits businesses to reduce their tax liabilities by contributing money to organizations that distribute nonpublic school tuition payments on behalf of students. The US Supreme Court and the Arizona Supreme Court dismissed a previous challenge. Pennsylvania’s Corporate Tax Scholarship Program, upon which S-1872 is modeled, has never been challenged in the courts.

4. Q. But won’t this program simply help current nonpublic school students?

A. 75% of the money must be used for current public school students. 25% may be used for students currently in nonpublic schools. However, they must meet the same income guidelines as the public school students and live in a district with a chronically failing public school. It is important to note that, in most cases, the nonpublic schools parents are struggling to send their child to a nonpublic school. They are, in effect, one paycheck away from becoming public school families.

5. Q. Isn’t this simply a subsidy for private education?

A. As previously noted, there is no direct subsidy to a nonpublic school. However, in a variety of areas that impact its residents, the State of New Jersey has indeed supported private enterprises with public money. With respect to education, parents and students currently receive the opportunity to attend private preschools and private special education schools. Students are granted scholarship money through a variety of programs (using state and federal dollars) to attend private (sectarian and nonsectarian) colleges and universities. Private hospitals receive state subsidy. Additionally, the state sets no control over the use of welfare benefits paid to recipients. Therefore, it would be entirely possible for a welfare recipient to turn the check over to a religious entity (church, synagogue, etc.) without any state controls.

6. Q. Do nonpublic schools accept classified students?

A. The myth that opponents of this legislation would have the public believe is that nonpublic schools do not accept classified students. This is certainly not the case, and it is insulting to the parents whose children attend nonpublic schools.

Unfortunately, these nonpublic school students do not receive the same level of state and federal aid given to public school students. In last year’s budget, special education for public school students was funded at a level of over $700M in State aid. This is in addition to the millions of dollars in additional federal aid or local aid given to public school students.

On the other hand, nonpublic school students, when they are classified, receive an ISP (Individualized Service Plan) rather than an IEP (Individualized Education Plan). The IEP indicates all the needs that the public school student has and the services to be received using a combination of state, federal, and local dollars. The ISP is more restrictive in scope, indicating only services which will be provided to the nonpublic school student through the limited state and federal dollars, regardless of the child’s needs. In other words, the IEP reflects what special education services students need, while the ISP dictates to their parents what services they will receive.

Nonpublic school parents are willing to trade limited services for their classified children in return for the greater rewards of attending a nonpublic school of their choice. Nonpublic school administrators are more than willing to accept classified children; however, with those children should come the same state and federal dollars available to public schools, especially since it would still result in a lower overall cost to the taxpayers in total education dollars expended.

7. Q. Won’t this legislation help only the best students?

A. Students who are succeeding at the highest levels in their current schools are normally not applicants for school choice programs. Happy, high-achieving students will stay in their current schools. The students in the districts with chronically failing schools who are currently attempting to attend nonpublic schools are those who are not succeeding, and thus their parents are seeking an alternative education choice, for reasons such as academics and/or safety. The Choice and charter school movements have shown that it is the low-achieving students that access these programs. The failure of public schools to retain their own best students would indeed be a severe indictment of their ability to educate and attract students.

8. Q. Why should I be interested in S-1872, if my district has no chronically failing schools?

A. All citizens of New Jersey need to be interested in the quality of education offered in all districts in the State. Taxes paid to the State support districts whose tax base is not sufficient to cover their needs. A large portion of these State dollars go toward support of public education in the districts with chronically failing schools. All citizens need to be aware of the implications of paying for chronically failing schools whose students graduate (or who drop out), because their future success will cost taxpayers even more money for things like retraining or government assistance to those unable to obtain employment. Offering these students an option to go to a school where they can be more successful benefits all New Jersey’s citizens. Furthermore, none of the scholarship money goes to any of the districts which have chronically failing schools; rather it goes toward the education of the child in a more successful public or nonpublic school setting.

9. Q. Won’t schools run by extremists be founded as a result of such legislation?

A. Existing federal and state laws prohibit all institutions from discrimination and illegal activities. Existing nonpublic schools (over 90% nationally) are accredited or evaluated by agencies such as national, regional, or state private school organizations. For example, the Catholic schools in New Jersey receive accreditation through the Middle Atlantic States Accrediting Association.

10. Q. Aren’t nonpublic schools largely unregulated and, therefore, not accountable to the public?

A. The Opportunity Scholarship Act also requires testing of scholarship students. Nonpublic schools annually administer national tests aligned with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards. However, nonpublic schools are already accountable to the parents of the students they serve, and their graduation rates far exceed those of the public schools in the target districts. If nonpublic schools fail their students, parents will leave. Conversely, parents of children in public schools have no recourse for the lack of accountability of these schools under current federal and state standards. Their children must remain trapped in schools to which their children are assigned.

Under NJSA18A:6-4, nonpublic schools are required to register with the New Jersey Department of Education on an annual basis. Nonpublic schools are also subject to a variety of local, state, and federal health and safety regulations including those for fire safety, OSHA, immunizations, and pest management, just to name a few.

The argument is sometimes made that nonpublic schools do not have to fulfill the requirements listed in No Child Left Behind (NCLB) which the public schools must fulfill. However, only a certain percentage of nonpublic school students (those who qualify under both the low-income and low-performing requirements) are eligible for services under Title I. The federal government does not impose requirements on nonpublic schools for receiving aid under NCLB because, unlike the public schools, there is no massive influx of federal dollars spent to improve education in nonpublic schools. Aid is given to nonpublic students NOT nonpublic schools (an important distinction).

11. Q. What about the issue of certification and nonpublic school teachers?

A. Although over 95% of Catholic school teachers are certified, not all nonpublic school groups agree that certification alone makes a quality teacher. Because certification courses only deal with issues such as classroom management and educational psychology, the content area in which the teacher is employed is not included in course work. If current parents in nonpublic schools were to question the quality of teachers in those schools, they could “vote with their feet.” As an example, a recent Nonpublic School Teacher of the Year for New Jersey has a doctorate in molecular biology but would be deemed “unqualified” to teach in a public school because she is not certified.

12. Q. But won’t this bill only help a “lucky few?”

A. This bill is a pilot program. An increase in the number of students eligible under the current legislation could certainly be provided by the future amendments. But the argument upon which this objection is based (“If we can’t help all, we can’t help any”) would undermine any currently existing social program, educational or otherwise. For example, in attempts to provide low-income housing and other benefits to the poor in social programs, we do not criticize developers who can only provide 500 units of low-income housing when 2,000 are needed. Using the logic of opponents, we would not provide any of these low-income units unless all 2,000 were possible.

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SENATE ECONOMIC GROWTH COMMITTEE

The Honorable Raymond J. Lesniak
985 Stuyvesant Ave.
Union, NJ 07083
(908) 624-0880
FAX: (908) 624-0587
SenLesniak@njleg.org

The Honorable Sandra B. Cunningham
1738 Kennedy Blvd.
Jersey City, NJ 07305
(201) 451-5100
FAX: (201) 451-0867
SenCunningham@njleg.org

The Honorable Richard Codey
449 Mount Pleasant Avenue
West Orange, NJ 07052
(973) 731-6770
FAX: (973) 731-0647
SenCodey@njleg.org

The Honorable Joseph M. Kyrillos, Jr.
One Arin Park Bldg., Suite 303
1715 Rt. 35
Middletown, NJ 07748
(732) 671-3206
FAX: (732) 706-9140
SenKyrillos@njleg.org

The Honorable Steven V. Oroho
115 Demarest Rd., Suite 2B
Sparta, NJ 07871
(973) 300-0200
FAX: (973) 300-1744
SenOroho@njleg.org

The Honorable Robert W. Singer
2110 West County Line Road
Jackson, NJ 08527
(732) 901-0702
FAX: (732) 901-0587
SenSinger@njleg.org

The Honorable Joseph Vitale
569 Rahway Ave
Woodbridge, NJ 07095
(732) 855-7441
FAX: (732) 855-7558
SenVitale@njleg.org

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ISSUE: S-1872 (Lesniak, Kean, and Kyrillos), the Opportunities Scholarship Act, has been introduced into the New Jersey Senate and referred to the Senate Economic Growth Committee. The bill is a revised version of the Urban Enterprise Zone Jobs Scholarship Act from last session. The major revision is that there is a duel qualifying standard of 1) poverty and 2) residence in a district that has a chronically failing school for students to receive scholarships. Additionally, the bill has an Education Improvement Fund available as competitive grants to chronically failing schools to finance the adoption of innovative educational practices with the objective of improving student performance.

OUR
POSITION: The New Jersey Catholic Conference and the New Jersey Network of Catholic School Families support this legislation as an opportunity to provide students with meaningful school choice options.

ACTION: The following actions are directed to members of the New Jersey Senate and designed to enhance the passage of this legislation. Contact with the legislators should be made regularly and not just on a one time basis.

Please enact the following:

1. Call or email Senator Raymond Lesniak (908-624-0880, SenLesniak@njleg.org), Chair of the Senate of the Economic Growth Committee, and sponsor of the bill to thank him for introducing the legislation.

2. Call the offices or email the offices of Senators Thomas Kean (908-232-3673, SenTKean@njleg.org) and Joseph Kyrillos (732-671-3206, SenKyrillos@njleg.org) to thank them for serving as co-sponsors of the bill.

3. Contact the members of the Senate Economic Growth Committee and the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee expressing your support for S-1872. Use the accompanying description of the legislation and the Q&A in order to facilitate your response. You may also use the New Jersey Catholic Conference Capwiz system which may be accessed at:

http://www.capwiz.com/njcathconf/home/

The members of the Senate Economic Growth and Senate Budget and Appropriations Committees are attached to this Alert for your use.

Please maintain contact with these legislators as the bill begins to move through the New Jersey Legislature. The earliest that the bill could be heard at the Senate Economic Growth Committee will be in early May, when the Legislature reconvenes from its annual Budget break.

Thank you for your immediate response to this request.

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Dear Parents/Guardians:

The year continues to fly by quickly. Congratulations to all the participants this year’s Science Fair. The science experiments were phenomenal! Thank you, Mrs. Ruegger and Mr. St. Clair for pulling it all together.

Our sixth and seventh grade classes spent the day at Sacred Heart High School. They enjoyed the day.

Our Advanced Literature classes (grades 6-8) are moving through the classics. Our reading lounge creates an atmosphere conducive to reading and the enrichment activities created by the students are exceptional.

We continue to enroll students in grades K-8 for the 2010-2011 school. If you know anyone who may be interested in attending BSR next year, please have them contact the main office.

Report cards were released on 4/14. Please call Jane if you are experiencing any difficulty opening them.

Have a great weekend and remember to keep God in your weekend plans.

Dr. DeMartino

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Dear Parents and Guardians:

As we begin Holy Week, today, I have asked students to tell me (in their blog) how they show their love for Jesus. This is something that can also be discussed as a family. I would invite you to join the student blog and share ways that you and your family show their love for Jesus.

Due to the number of makeup days for inclement weather, we will be in school through Thursday this week. Please note that there will not be any after school or club programs on Thursday. All students will be dismissed at 2:10.

As a reminder, the third marking period ends on 3/31. Report cards will be available online on 4/14. Tuition must be up-to-date in order to open the report card. If you do not have access to a computer, please notify the teacher in advance for a hard copy.

On behalf of the faculty, staff, administration, and priests, I would like to wish you all a very joyous Easter. We look forward to seeing you back in school on Monday, April 12th.

As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and behold the face of God?
O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.
Then I will go to the altar of God to God my exceeding joy;
and I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.

Psalm 42:1-2, 43:3-4

Enjoy the break!
Dr. DeMartino

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