N.J. third graders make dog park idea a reality

When a class of Glassboro third graders decided to pitch the idea of a dog park to their Borough Council, they weren't playing around.

At a council meeting in March, a little over a dozen students came with a statement signed by all their classmates. Each took a turn reading from it. They even had funding ideas. Then, for nearly three months, they heard nothing.

"I thought they had forgotten," Sierra Highley, 9, said.

But they hadn't. More than halfway into a year of municipal cuts and budget-pinching, the students at Dorothy L. Bullock School learned that the little guy - even really little guys - can make an impact.

Just before school ended, Glassboro Council President Tony Fiola and Councilman Ed Malandro swung by the children's classroom to deliver happy news: The dog park was a go.

That means Sunny, class member Michael DiTullio's black Labrador retriever, eventually will have more room to romp, and Marc Jurek will have fewer occasions to chase after Roxy, the family cockapoo, when the pooch makes a break from the yard.

But the students' triumph has significance beyond an uptick in the quality of life for borough canines and their owners.

Their experience has been a lesson in how government operates and what can be achieved when citizens work together.

"We all said to them, 'Boys and girls, look at what you did. You're only 8 and 9 years old,' " said their teacher, Shelly Petrozza. "I think they realized you do have power no matter how little you are."

It started with some lessons in basic civics.

The students were reading about government in literacy class, so Petrozza asked members of Borough Council to speak. Malandro and Fiola took her up on the invitation, then invited the students to the next council session and challenged them to think about what would make their community a better place.

In the classroom, Petrozza said she had students nominate things they thought would improve Glassboro.

A new pizzeria? A bookstore? Considered and dismissed.

In the end, it was a tie: a dog park, suggested by Marc Jurek, perhaps inspired by all those Roxy chases, and a skate park. The latter was the brainchild of Sierra Highley, who wanted to expand her skating horizons beyond the front of her house.

The children presented council with a case for each proposal, complete with chart and petition. If a project needed financial support, they suggested modest user fees.

"I really thought they were going to just come and ask us some questions," Malandro said. "They came in with a couple of really good ideas on how to make Glassboro a better community."

But the council had to deliberate. "It wasn't a slam-dunk," said Malandro, who, for the record, is not a dog owner.

Like most New Jersey municipalities, Glassboro's state aid was cut this year. To help close a budget shortfall without raising taxes, the borough obtained concessions from all nonunion employees and the police, fire, and clerical unions. Positions were eliminated, and a police desk receptionist was laid off.

Top officials have frozen their wages, and department heads and others are taking furlough days. So money definitely was an object.

After research, the skate park was ruled out because of cost - at least $75,000, Malandro said. Though council did not come up with a figure for the dog park, Malandro said it appeared to be doable. It will likely be in East New Street Park, adjacent to the Bullock school.

"We said, 'This is something we can afford to do,' " Malandro said. "It lets us do something for the kids, and it lets them see government does work in the right ways."

Even at their tender age, some children were skeptical that either of their proposals would see the light of day.

"I thought, 'I'm not so sure about this,' " said Steven Reed, owner of "like, a billion skateboards" and a golden retriever called Noodle. ("I didn't name it," he said.)

But then council came through. "I learned to trust them," Steven said.

Lots of the students said the experience had made them more likely to vote when they're old enough.

Class member Jacob Smith learned another valuable lesson.

"You can speak out for yourself, express your own ideas, and just be yourself," he said.

Details must be worked out before the park can open - within nine months, Malandro hopes.

But one thing is definite, the councilman said: There will be a plaque at the park to commemorate the third graders' pivotal role.

"What we hope is one of these kids will grow up to be mayor of Glassboro or even mayor of someplace bigger," Malandro said. "They saw when you get involved, you can effect change, and that's what they did. They effected change."