Click image below to see full Ridgewood Bond Referendum Funding Spreadsheet

If you are going to vote, and you know you should, make sure to take the time to see the presentation.

The presentation will…

• Make sure you are well informed in advance of the vote.
• Cover proposed projects for the entire district.
• Give attendees the opporunity to view the plans.
• Include a detailed Q & A session.

Click here to see addional information, documents and updates on all things related to the Ridgewood Bond Referendum and Vote.

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This report is furnished courtesy of Ridgewood Board of Education Member Sheila Brogan.

The Legislature

The Assembly passed legislation, A3002, which would require Ridgewood schools to have monthly security drills. The bill now goes to the Senate. If it becomes law the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness would be charged with developing curriculum for schools to use when conducting these security drills.

The Senate Education Committee released bill, S 1861 on 12-8-08. This bill if enacted would move the Ridgewood School Board elections to the November General Election. It would also eliminate the budget vote on school budgets at or below cap. Only second questions would need to have a vote. However, voting on second questions would be in November and out of the budget cycle. The new DOE regulations make it more difficult for districts to propose second questions. The Assembly approved a similar bill in May. It is uncertain as to whether the Senate President, Senator Codey, will post S 1861 for a vote. He has expressed reservations about the bill citing concerns about the partisan nature of the November elections and that School Board elections are non-partisan.

State Board of Education

In testimony before the State Board of Education some educators voiced concerns that the new high school redesign curriculum which includes a number of college prep courses and exit exams will cause an increase in the number of students who drop out of high school. The redesign plan requires students to pass tests in biology, chemistry, language arts, foreign language, and Algebra II in order to graduate. There are also questions from some districts as to how they will fund the lab science courses that might need to be added to meet the state requirements. The vocational schools testified before the State BOE with concerns that these new standards would leave little time for students to take vocational training courses.

NJ Depart of Education and New Regulations

The NJ Department of Education released 178 pages of regulations on November 18, 2008. Included in these regulations are the guidelines for Executive County Superintendents to establish committees and subcommittees to look at consolidating and regionalizing school districts. The regulations also devote over 25 pages to travel and sustenance guidelines for Board members and school district staff and page after page on budgets and the role of the Executive County Superintendent. The Executive County Superintendents are granted increased authority to oversee budgets and to make changes to budgets (reduce or change line items) that do not meet the efficiency standards listed in the new regulations. There will be no public hearings on these regulations since the legislature passed S1911 last June which allowed the Commissioner to promulgate regulations on an emergency basis without public hearings.

NJ Courts

The New Jersey Association of School Administrators (NJASA) will be heading to state court to sue the Department of Education for regulations that require contracts for currently employed superintendents, assistant superintendents, and business administrators to be reviewed by the Executive County Superintendent. The new regulations limit payouts made at retirement for unused vacation and sick days and eliminate some contract provisions such as life insurance policies payments and providing lump sums for travel reimbursement. NJASA argues that their contracts have been negotiated with their Boards of Education and to have the Executive County Superintendent change the contracts denies administrators their due process.

The NJ Supreme Court remanded the case against the new school funding formula, the School Funding Reform Act, to a lower court for further study and assessment. This suit was brought against the state by the Education Law Center representing the Abbott districts. ELC will argue that the adequacy budget as determined by the state for each district in NJ are below what is needed to provide a thorough and efficient education as require by the NJ constitution. Dollar$ and Sense submitted an amicus brief. Hearings on the case will begin December 15 and a report of the findings is scheduled to be issued to the Supreme Court by the end of March.

State Budget

Estimates on next year’s state budget indicate a $5 billion deficit.

Governor Corzine
Governor Corzine met with President-elect Obama last week and advocated for the Federal government to fully fund Special Education costs. In 1975 when Congress approved the Individual with Disability Education Act (IDEA) the intent was for the Federal government to pay 40% of special education costs annually. In the 33 years since passage of the bill the Federal government has not paid more than 18%. Governor Corzine asked that increases to IDEA funding be part of the second stimulus package. Funding special education costs at 40% would give needed relief to state and school district budgets.

School Construction

On December 9, nineteen NJ school districts will be presenting bond referendums to voters. These bond referendums amount to $235 million. Among these 19 districts are two districts in Bergen County. Northern Highlands Regional will ask voters for $1,397,080 to replace emergency generators and boilers at the high school. The state has approved $558,832 in debt service aid. Upper Saddle River is seeking $3,563,430 for roof repairs, installation of solar panels and renovations to all three of their schools. Upper Saddle River is eligible for $1,092,904 in debt service aid from the state and they will receive an $87,000 grant from the NJ Clean Energy Program.

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According to their website, The Ridgewood Public Schools has made a commitment to select an elementary mathematics textbook and/or program for use in all Ridgewood schools.  A professional development and implementation roll-out is planned for 2009-2010.

Ridgewood Math is more of a Hot Button Topic than the Upcoming Obama-McCain Debate.

Just mentioning the words TERC ,  Everyday Math or Connected Math will surely illicit a strong opinion – either pro or con.  There are not many Ridgewood Residents sitting on the fence when it comes to what has become known as the “Ridgewood Math Wars“.  This new announcement seems to address what I see as a major issue and that is that there are several different Math programs being taught here in Ridgewood.  Some elementary schools have a traditional program while others use different versions of Reform Math. See links above for info on various Reform Math Programs.  I am certainly no expert, but I do have some skin in this game, given that I have two children in Ridgewood Elementary Schools.  Obviously, consolidating programs is just a start, and there is no guarantee that the “right” program will be selected, but I feel like we are heading in the right direction.

Ridgewood Mathematics Planning Team Seeks Input from Ridgewood Residents

The team has scheduled a “Math Evening” for Monday, October 27 at 7:30pm. It will take place at the Ridgewood Board of Education at 49 Cottage Place.

Background – Excerpted from the Ridgewood Public Schools Outline of Activities Document – Click Here to View the Full Document

The Ridgewood Public Schools currently uses a variety of elementary mathematics textbooks and
materials. In 2007, some parents expressed concern about this, with a portion of our parents feeling that mathematics materials and instructional methods needed to reflect a more traditional approach. Later that year, focus groups were conducted for the purpose of soliciting a broad range of parents’ perspectives. There were six meetings, and those unable to attend were provided with email access to the facilitator. Subsequent to that, the Ridgewood Public Schools made a commitment to select an elementary mathematics textbook or program for use in all schools.
Related Links

Fierce Battle Raging in Ridgewood NJ Pitting Neighbor against Neighbor

“Mathematics Planning Team”.

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Click Here to Subscribe to The Ridgewood Front Porch

Courtesy of Sheila Brogan Ridgewood Board of Education Member

Last month the Assembly went back to work in Trenton and below are four bills Ridgewood Residents should be watching:

• A930/S655 directs the NJSIAA to establish interscholastic adapted athletic programs for students who are participating in adapted athletic programs developed by their school district. This bill was passed by the Assembly on a vote of 79 to 0. It has now been sent to the Senate Education Committee for consideration by the Senate.

• A1943 establishes a three year pilot program to provide instruction in personal finance to high school seniors. On September 22, 2008 this bill passed the Assembly by a vote of 77 to 2. It has now been referred to the Senate for consideration. The pilot program will be offered in six school districts; two in the northern NJ, two in central NJ, and two in southern NJ. The program will develop curriculum that will include instruction on budgeting, savings and investments, credit card debt, and personal financial responsibility.

• A2250 would eliminate the use of the Special Review Assessments (SRAs) as an alternative to the HSPA which students must pass to meet graduation requirements. This bill was discussed by the Assembly Education Committee with the Department of Education Commissioner, Lucille Davy. Davy did not support elimination of SRAs. No vote was taken on the bill.

• A3043 requires school districts to develop a Nepotism policy prohibiting the district to hire relatives of Board of Education members, the superintendent, the Business Administrator, the Personnel Director, and the Board Attorney. This bill was discussed in the Assembly Education Committee and no action was taken.

Pension and Benefit Reform

Governor Corzine signed the Public Employees Pension and Benefit Reform Act into law on September 29, 2008. The law raises the retirement age from 60 to 62 for teachers hired after the enactment date. It eliminates pensions for part-time workers earning less than $7,500 a year. Time worked in another state will no longer be counted towards the twenty-five year of employment needed to receive health benefits at retirement.

School Construction

On Tuesday, September 30, seven school districts asked voters for funding for school construction. Four out of the seven bond referendums were approved by voters for a total of $35.5 million. These school districts will receive debt service aid for eligible costs.

Economic Crisis

The crisis in the banking and mortgage industry will impact NJ’s budget. Governor Corzine, expecting that the first quarter revenues will be less than estimated, has talked of millions of dollars of mid-year budget cuts.

An amendment to the Economic Bailout Bill passed by Congress last week and signed into law on Friday by President Bush will require health insurance to cover mental and physical illnesses equally. This would eliminate higher co-pays for psychiatric services and assure parity in coverage between mental health and physical health services. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2010 and will increase premium costs for health insurance for employers employing more than fifty people.

Related Links

Ridgewood Schools Advocacy Report for December

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Ridgewood Schools Plan to Consolidate Math Programs – Is this a New Front in the Math Wars?

Ridgewood NJ School District Advocacy Advisory

Ridgewood High School’s Ranking Surges in NJ Monthly’s List of Top New Jersey High Schools

Click Here to Subscribe to The Ridgewood Front Porch

The death of the Ridgewood School System has been greatly exaggerated. Despite Math Wars and faculty changes, Ridgewood High School moved up 17 places on NJ Monthly’s 2008 list of top New Jersey High Schools.  Ridgewood residents are so focused, and rightfully so, on making sure our children receive the best education possible sometimes they (we) can only see the problems – and we may fail to see all the great things about the Ridgewood School System.  The latest report from New Jersey Monthly proves we are still doing very well, though there is always room for improvement.

For New Jersey’s Monthly’s complete list of Top NJ High Schools please click here.

Ridgewood NJ to Host Program on Cyberbullying – Speaker Asks Ridgewood Parents to Take the Megan Pledge

Ridgewood Schools Plan to Consolidate Math Programs – Is this a New Front in the Math Wars?

Ridgewood NJ School District Advocacy Advisory

Click Here to Subscribe to The Ridgewood Front Porch

The Somerville Elementary Back to School Picnic…

is scheduled for September 5th at 5:30pm.  This event is always a lot of fun. If you are new to the Ridgewood School System it is a great place to meet the other parents.  If you are a Somerville veteran, it’s a great time to catch up with old friends that you may not have seen over the summer. Be sure to bring a blanket, whatever food you would like to eat, a dessert to share and a change of clothes for your children because they may wind up in the Dunk Tank. The picnic usually features music, a dunk tank, a bounce house, some fun races and lots of other fun stuff.

Somerville will also be hosting a “Back to School Coffee”…

on September 3rd (1st Day of School) from 8:30am to 9:30am.   Stop by, grab a cup ‘o joe and have a chat with your Somerville friends.

For more info click here Somerville Elementary School.