Teague: Doomsday is near for Paterson public schools
By Corey Teague
Published: February 26, 2016
Unless there is a dramatic turnaround we could very well be witnessing the end of Paterson Public Schools. It is obvious that the deliberate and illegal underfunding of the school district by the state is part of a much larger plan to dismantle our public schools altogether.
Specifically, PPS faces a $45 million deficit this year which could easily balloon beyond $180 million by 2019. These figures are not the result of guesstimating. It is a fact that costs associated with operating the district will continue to rise. And with the consistent flat-funding, we can be certain that doomsday is near for PPS.
I’m no modern day Nostradamus but I can see our schools entering a very dim and difficult season, far beyond anything we could ever imagine unless the Paterson community begins to push back.
Corey L. Teague
Former school board member