Dear Editor: In 1997, the New Jersey Coalition Against Aircraft Noise (NJCAAN), the Alliance of Municipalities Concerning Air Traffic (AMCAT), and the League for the Hard of Hearing initiated public discussion on airport noise as it affects children’s health and learning. As a consequence, the Port Authority agreed this month to soundproof one local school. It all began when NJCAAN uncovered a Port Authority dirty secret: the agency had never applied for Federal PART 150 funds. This program provides money to soundproof and air condition schools affected by aircraft noise. As of December 1999, the Federal Aviation Administration’s PART 150 program distributed $2.6 billion noise abatement dollars. The PA has rejected participation in this highly regarded program for 21 years. Shockingly, members of Congress representing airport districts have made no effort to address this oversight. Activists concluded that local elected official involvement was required. AMCAT invited Arline Bronzaft, Ph.D. of the League of the Hard of Hearing to speak on noise. Subsequently, the Rutherford Board of Education passed a resolution calling upon the PA and FAA to reduce aircraft noise. Continued pressure from a united community has produced progress. Sadly, this overdue gesture of humanity from the PA sacrificed two generations of Teterboro children to an educational setting marred by unremitting aircraft noise. The question is how much longer will it take the PA to agree to soundproof all the schools that remain in the vice of Teterboro’s noise? Pamela Barsam-Brown, Executive Director NJ Coalition Against Aircraft Noise