Shaler Area School District's board of directors joined other school boards in the state by announcing their opposition to the state's proposal to require new graduation exams.

The board last week approved the resolution making their opposition to the test official and will vote on it at tonight's (Wednesday) board meeting.

In September, the State Board of Education recommended that students take a host of new standardized exams on top of the already state-mandated Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests. Shaler school Director Paul Surloff said the last thing school districts need is for "the guys in Harrisburg" to force them to spend millions on tests, especially when they already have the PSSA tests in place.

"Why in the world do we need another set of tests?" Surloff asked.

Surloff said the PSSA tests help identify children who need some kind of special attention as early as third grade.

He's also afraid that having graduation exams would force teachers to narrow their scope just to getting the students ready for the tests.

Surloff said he would rather see the Department of Education invest in things like special needs programs "rather than a test that won't tell us more than we already know."

"I think it's ludicrous," he said "We have a criteria. That should be our decision as a district."

Surloff thinks all the districts in the state should come together to oppose the proposal.

"I think we need to stand up and all the other districts across the state need to stand up," he said. "We don't need more mandates and more control over us."

The resolution the board agreed on is the same used by the Mars Area School District.