After 23 years as part of the school’s program for community education, Super Saturday may be a thing of the past, said Michael Germann, director of the Secaucus Community Education program since 1998.
Super Saturday, designed for kids in the fifth to eighth grades, offers a variety of courses on Saturdays during the school year including subjects like karate, ceramics, gymnastics, arts and crafts, and cooking. Germann told the Board of Education in a presentation on Nov. 16 that some of the programs have not attracted enough kids to cover costs.
Germann said discussions with the Secaucus Community Education Advisory Council, which helps shape future programs, have indicated that it might have to close the program down or curtail the offerings in order to attract more kids, or reduce costs so as to keep the program from continuing to lose money.
The council includes residents, Board of Education members, and alumni who meet periodically throughout the year to discuss the adult school and its programs. The spring semester is usually during shaped during the fall with final decisions made by the end of November. Registration is set for early January.
Germann made changes to Super Saturday in the past to make it more attractive and useful, such an incorporating the local drum and bugle corps for color guard, drum and brass instruction.
To help kids meet the more advanced requirements of the state’s core curriculum standards for foreign languages, Super Saturday also provides instruction in Spanish and Italian. But some of those programs are not well-attended, and all are in jeopardy.
Germann said he had cautioned the board last June about declining attendance and loss of revenue.
One problem is the conflict in schedules between Super Saturday and programs run by the town’s Recreation Department. "There are 400 kids in recreation programs," he said. Many of these kids attend recreation programs that take place at the same time as Super Saturday programs.
"I’m not sure it is worth maintaining the program for only 70 students," Germann said. "When we started Super Saturday 23 years ago, many of the recreation programs that kids attend today didn’t exist. Girls’ sports didn’t exist. We may be dealing with a dinosaur. I’m not sure we have a need for Super Saturday any more."
To determine what kind of interest there is in town, Germann surveyed parents.
"We sent out 1,400 surveys and received about 140 back," Germann said. "Of these, 113 thought it was a good idea to continue the program."
From these results, Germann said he believed he could attract as many as 90 kids to sign up for the programs.
"My staff believed I was being optimistic and suggested we get between 65 to 70," he said.
In the fall semester, the program attracted about 100 kids.
"We need 108 to break even," he said. "We lose thousands of dollars."
Germann said he has talked to various Parent-Teacher Associations as well as his own advisory council, and concluded that it might be a good idea to discontinue the program or pick another day of the week to run some of the offerings.
Ideas floated by the advisory council – which includes Board of Education member Elanore Reinl – even suggested the school offer one-night seminars or special events to build up interest in the program again.
Trimming and shifting may save some classes
Yet even scheduling classes after school on a weeknight can be a problem, since many kids attend various other programs such as the school’s PASS program – a program that tutors students in danger of failing a subject – as well as marching band and related sports activities.
Kids, Germann pointed out, may turn out for the more popular classes after school if conflicts could be resolved, but were unlikely to attend classes on reading and writing.
And space is tight in the schools, he said, even with the expansion of Huber Street. Clarendon School is undergoing expansion constriction.
Reinl said it might be time to step back and let the program rest for a while.
"We can always bring it back later," she said.
School Board President Paul Amico said, however, he was concerned about the loss of classes that might provide assistance in subject areas at school.
But Germann said the language and mathematics classes are the ones with the poorest attendance. Math classes on Saturday have only three students, while several non-academics related classes are actually making money.
The most popular classes are gymnastics, karate, and cheerleading, following by cooking and arts and crafts. These classes, for the most part, make money.
Board member Ed Rittberg said he did not want to dissolve the viable classes, and suggested evening classes – noting that the schools are generally unused by other programs on Friday nights.
"If we can find a time with the least conflicts we might be able to maintain some of the programs," he said.
Rittberg recommended streamlining the program to keep the courses that do draw kids, and to find out which are more important to the kids and run those.
"If we get 20 kids in each of those classes, we can still make money on them," he said.
Germann agreed with this in theory, but said the cost of running these classes depended upon the cost of teachers and supplies. He said gymnastics, karate and cheerleading required little in supplies, while cooking and arts and crafts the most. He said the cost of hiring certified teachers also impacted the courses.
Board member Bill Millevoi said the school district might offer three classes now, and later, as interest increases, offer more.
Germann said it is possible to hold some classes in Clarendon School and some in Huber Street School in order to make good use of available space.
The board made no decision, but will re-examine the situation after Germann brings back the suggestions to his advisory committee, where a new proposal could take shape over the next month.
Secaucus gets college?
Germann also told the board that he has been talking to Hudson County Community College about possibly setting up a satellite campus at Secaucus High School. This would be an off-campus site to help attract students from Bergen County and other areas, who might not want to travel to Jersey City. If approved by the board, classes could start at early as January and include English, speech and mathematics.
Germann, however, said he sought to have the college hold space for Secaucus residents as a compensation for use of the high school.
"They would abide by our school schedule," Germann said, "And they would be out of the school by 9:45 p.m."
HCCC personnel would handle all registration and other related chores, and Secaucus would bear only the cost of cleaning the classrooms when the college is done for the evening.
The move, if approved, could provide residents with an opportunity to attend college at a rate much reduced from other county colleges. The cost per credit is about $95.
Rittberg said he would be interested in having the college provide English as a Second Language classes for adults. The board will consider the measure and likely vote on it later this year.
School accountant replacement declines job
An applicant whom the Board of Education wanted to hire as the new staff accountant declined to take the job, forcing the school district to seek a new replacement.
John Csatlos was slated to leave his position as accountant on Nov. 21. The school board voted on his replacement at its Nov. 15 meeting, but received a letter from the intended replacement declining the appointment, leaving the board with several options, but also a possible critical vacancy.
"Screening candidates for this job was done through the finance committee," said Board of Education member Ed Rittberg. "They might have to go back and review other applicants to see if they want to offer to job to one of them."
Csatlos, who is leaving to take a job at a business administrator in another school district, had offered to stay on until Secaucus found a replacement. But since the letter declining the job came four days after the board voted to approve his replacement, he may no longer be available to provide services to Secaucus.
Rittberg said it is possible that the board will vote on another choice at its regular Nov. 29 meeting, unless the hiring is deemed critical. Then the board might hold a special emergency meeting.
A spokesperson for the superintendent’s office said the board will have to re-advertise for position, but did not know if there would be a special meeting or that the position would be filled at the next meeting on Nov. 29.
This is one of five jobs being offered by the district, Rittberg said. The board is also seeking to increase its custodial staff in order to accommodate the increase of school space thanks to the expansion of the two elementary schools. These are part-time positions.
The board is also seeking to give additional duties to one of the head custodians, and bestow upon this person the title of chief custodian. Rittberg said the district needs someone to oversee custodial operations in all of the district’s buildings and to keep track of personnel that might be used in various buildings at various times. Head custodians, who are responsible for duties in one school, are generally familiar only with those staff members that work that school. Rittberg said the district needs someone that can oversee duties in all schools.
"So if someone calls in sick in one school, we might be able to bring someone from another school," he said.
The chief custodian will be likely selected from one of the current head custodians.