the ridge bridge - Ridge PTO

Board of Education Highlights
October 25 Meeting
Kathleen Kirk gave the Ridge student
government report. The Student Council
is working with the Wellness Community
in Bedminster on a Teddy bear service
project. Kathleen also noted that Ridge
alumni as well as current students will be
included in the 50th anniversary Ridge
Yearbook for 2011.
Dr. Goger presented the Annual Report
on Violence and Vandalism for 2009-10.
Substance abuse continues to be a problem
at Ridge, with an increased number of
incidents in 2009-10 compared with the
previous year. Theft is also a concern at
Ridge. Violence and Vandalism Awareness
Week was the third week in October;
activities included assemblies, morning
messages, and classroom lessons.
Joint Meeting of Board of
Education and Township
Committee, October 26
The Board of Education and the Township
Committee agreed to form a joint
committee to lobby legislators in Trenton
about “toolkit” provisions that are needed
to manage town and school budgets under
the new 2% cap on property tax increases.
Without the toolkit, municipal governments
have no flexibility to deal with union
contracts. The school district also seeks
reductions in unfunded mandates in three
areas: course requirements, transportation
requirements, and the reports to the state.
November 8 Meeting
The main agenda item was a Program
Review regarding the 2011-12 school
budget. Over the summer, district administrators
visited several high-performing
New Jersey school districts to research
how instruction is delivered. The presentation
included the results of their research
and recommendations for program changes
for the 2011-12 school year.
The Bernards Township school district
has an estimated budget shortfall of $1.4
million for the 2011-12 school year, due
to a combination of sharply reduced state
aid, a new 2% spending cap, and last year’s
budget defeat. To reduce the budget, the
administration proposed changes in
several areas:
1. Change the current 9-period day
at Ridge, which provides 8 instructional
periods, to a revised schedule that provides
7 instructional periods. Expand the use of
“Option II,” which provides an alternative
path to high school graduation, so that
students can earn high school graduation
credits outside of Ridge. For example,
students could take online courses to meet
their Practical Arts requirement and satisfy
PE requirements through participation on
school sports teams. (Parents would pay
for the online courses.) Students could
also take college courses and participate
in internships and receive credit toward
graduation requirements.
2. Reduce staff at Ridge during a
period of enrollment growth by increasing
class sizes in science, language arts and
Class of 2013 Canned Food Drive
The Class of 2013 is holding a food drive
to help the Morristown Community Food
Bank. The drive began on November 15
and continues through December. Students
are challenged to bring in as many items
as possible to their first period class. Food
donation tallies will be calculated, and
at the end of the month-long contest, the
class with the highest number of donations
will be rewarded with a bagel party.
The food bank accepts any non-perishable
items but is in particular need of rice,
coffee, cereal, and sugar. Thank you for
all your help – by donating, you truly
make a difference in the lives of others
during this holiday season.
math. Phase out Japanese and possibly
French, depending on enrollments.
3. Reduce full-day kindergarten to a
part-time program. For the remainder of
the school day, an enrichment program
run by the YMCA would be offered at
each elementary school. Parents would
pay for the enrichment program.
4. Keep the team model at William
Annin, but eliminate extra sections and
9 off-team teachers to save money. This
will result in increased class sizes.
5. Reduce the number of special
education teachers in grades 3 – 8.
Eliminate in-class support for science and
social studies in grades 3 – 5. Discontinue
resource room instruction for science and
social studies at William Annin.
6. Reduce the number of curriculum
supervisors by combining positions. For
2011-12, the Social Studies and World
Language positions would be combined.
7. Reduce the number of elementary
school assistant principals from four to
two. The remaining assistant principals
would share time between two schools.
8. Move one guidance counselor from
Ridge to William Annin.
The estimated savings from these program
changes is $868,560, so additional
cuts will be required before the 2011-12
budget can be finalized. The administration
has posted “Frequently Asked Questions”
regarding the above items on the website.
Later in the meeting, Susan Carlsson
reported that a second mediation session
with the Bernards Township Education
Association took place on November 2, but
no agreement was reached. The next step
in the process is Fact Finding. The Board
of Education is waiting for their attorney to
advise them on the required procedures.
November 22 Meeting
The Board voted to implement the
8-period (7 instructional period) day at
Ridge High School and reduce kindergarten
to a part-time program, starting in the
2011-12 school year. These two program
changes will reduce the 2011-12 budget
by $338,560; over $1 million in additional
cuts are still required.
Submitted by Linda Wooldridge
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