ASBURY PARK PRESS

APP.COM $1.50

Rising Hawks
get their
vengeance

TUESDAY 02.16.16

The Monmouth mens basketball

team, enjoying a record season,
notches a long-sought win over
Manhattan. SPORTS, 1C

ALL STATES TO AUDIT BAD-TEACHER DATA PAGE 1B

PARTNERSHIP FOR ASSESSMENT OF READINESS FOR COLLEGE AND CAREERS

JASON TOWLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

New data released by the state

Microbeads are visible in an exfoliating scrub. These kinds of

microbeads, which fish and other marine life can mistake for
food, were found in New York-New Jersey waterways.

Education Department show about

15% of New Jersey students didnt

Waterways in
N.Y., N.J. full
of plastic bits,
activists say

take the PARCC test last spring

Scientists believe particles could

carry toxins back up the food chain

UNTESTED

STUDENTS

RUSS ZIMMER @RUSSZIMMER

The New York-New Jersey harbor estuary is swimming in toxin-soaked plastic pollutants, according to a
new study by NY/NJ Baykeeper.
The first-of-its-kind study in the waters around
New York City and the Raritan Bayshore found that at
least 165 million plastic particles are floating on or
near the surface.
These mostly-minuscule plastic fragments absorb
the toxins, such as pesticides or industrial waste, that
are already present in the water. Fish or other marine
life sometimes mistake them for food and ingest these
plastic pieces, which allows the toxins to leach into
their flesh.
Scientists fear although there is little data that
these dangerous chemicals could be transferred up
the food chain to humans.
We are beginning to see evidence of just how prevalent plastic pollution is in our waters, said Dave Conover, executive director of Hudson River Sloop
Clearwater, in a statement. Plastic trash and debris,
along with microplastics, are contaminating fish,
birds, mammals, even plankton.
Baykeeper trawled 18 different locations and
found that if you divided up the harbor into blocks the
size of football fields, you would scoop up an average
of 1,500 floating pieces of plastic in each.
The numbers were about twice as high in New York
See PLASTIC, Page 7A

KAREN YI @KAREN_YI
AND AMANDA OGLESBY @OGLESBYAPP

oughly one out of every seven students in New Jersey did not take the
controversial new standardized exam known as PARCC last spring
and locally, the number was much higher, with nearly one in four not
taking the test, newly released test data show. Now whether these
students and their parents chose to opt out of the exam, as part of the

growing movement against high-stakes student testing, or whether they skipped the
test for unrelated reasons, is unknown. But the numbers may give the first glimpse

NUMBER 40
SINCE 1879

See INZELBUCH, Page 9A

eligible to take the language arts PARCC exam were marked not tested. Thats about
15 percent of the 904,500 students who were registered for it, results show. In math,
See UNTESTED, Page 6A

Our greatest concern is for the students who could have benefited from this
assessment, but were swept up in misinformation campaigns. Ultimately,
most parents recognized the value of the data that the assessments provide
to them about their childrens progress, as well as to the teachers and the
school administrators that will use this information improve schools.
STATE EDUCATION COMMISSIONER DAVID HESPE
ROBERT COHN/ASBURY PARK DESIGN STUDIO ILLUSTRATION

Like us on Facebook:
facebook.com/asburyparkpress

ADVICE
CLASSIFIED
COMICS
HEALTHY LIVING
LOCAL

7D
8D
6D
1D
3A

OBITUARIES
OPINION
SPORTS
TECH TUESDAY
WEATHER

8A
11A
1C
4A
8C

SHANNON MULLEN @MULLENAPP

LAKEWOOD - As a student at Lakewood High

School in the early 1980s, Michael I. Inzelbuch acted in
plays and sang in a talent show.
Last week, he returned to the schools auditorium
for what may be his most memorable performance to
date.
In front of at least 2,000 people, and others watching a live-streaming broadcast online, the former
longtime school board attorney plunged headlong into
the controversy over the pending cancellation of courtesy busing for some 10,000 schoolchildren at the end
of the month in the theatrical style hes known for.
Striding to the microphone, the colorful 50-year-old
announced his intent to file suit to halt the cuts on behalf of at least 20 student clients and four affected bus
companies.
You will be sued personally, and you will be sued
professionally, Inzelbuch told school district officials and members of the Board of Education seated
above him on the stage he once commanded.
And as Miss Winters knows and Miss Tobia
knows, he added, referring to Schools Superintendent Laura A. Winters and the districts recently fired
special-education supervisor, Helen Tobia, who had
lost her job in a legal tangle with Inzelbuch just days
before, you dont win.

into how widespread opposition to PARCC really is. Statewide, about 134,700 students

about 123,000 students, or 14 percent, did not take

Ex-school board
attorney back
in the spotlight

VOLUME 137