In the Ridgewood News today ther is a story about a large turnout at the BOE meeting, complaining about class size.
In the same meeting someone complained that we do not have full day kindergarten. ( They somehow ignore the fact that the district will need more space and have to hire more teachers. One complains about the needs of working parents. I do not want to permanently share in the child care expenses of working parents. They work so they should pay for kindergarten enrichment classes if they think that their children need this to get into college)
We pay very high taxes, mostly for the schools. People keep moving to Ridgewood for the schools. There is a disincentive for people without children in the schools to stay in town – and the cycle of postgraduation home selling continues. This issue has been discussed on this blog but I think that it deserves as much attention as the high density housing and parking.
The council and BOE should get together and do some master planning for the schools. We can’t keep up with the wants and needs of the parents, the town does not exist to please the parents of school children. Something has to give!
The council should consider a tax incentive for residents who have lived in Ridgewood X number of years and no longer have dependents in the schools. The spiral of selling homes after graduation needs to end. I will probably sell my 5 bedroom home in the next few years. A family with 4 children would love to have this house and pay my taxes for the schools. At a cost of $17,000 per student the town will start losing money immediately. I will not stay and spend my savings to help prop up this system.
Where is the Master Plan for Ridgewood Public Schools?
Great straight forward thinking 75 percent taxes to ridgewood schools enough pensions to be on the hook for . This Spend and Tax has got to stop. 2 to. 3 percent a yr in 10 yrs is at least 20 percent plus inflation. No talk of cutting waste or consolidation of intra town safety and muni services. Called mismanagement for decades
The BOE can’t just react to the demands of parents for smaller classes and full day kindergarten. The high density housing will bring students to the schools, denying this is foolish.
The village and schools are tied together and itis time that they planned together.
That makes way too much sense. Now why would they ever do something like plan this together ?
Full day kindergarten will be mandated by the state in a few years and we’re one of the very few remaining NJ districts that doesn’t offer it so the BOE should have a plan. The VC doesn’t, and frankly shouldn’t, have anything to do with the schools since they have no authority. The BOE should have a 5 year strategic plan in place if it doesn’t already and enrollment projections are a part of it. The harsh reality in NJ is that until the school funding formula is changed, the school portion of our tax bill will always be the largest chunk.
Everything that the council is doing affects our schools
Schools are the largest part of our tax bill – that is a fact. That does not mean that the schools are not accountable.
It will be a gross overreach for the state to mandate full day kindergarten. I am starting to agree with Rick Perry that we need to abolish the Department of Education. Government is best which governs least.
Many parents actually enjoy spending the AM/PM with their children. We had activites and time with friends when the kids were in kindergarten. My kids did very well in elementary school, high school and college. Your kids will not go to Harvard because they had full day kindergarten.
NYC has preschool and middle school after care programs. The need for these programs in a city is not the same as for programs in Ridgewood. In the city the schools are the place where many students receive two meals a day and get health screening. Working parents do not have the time for homework and reading to the kids. Children need the time in school as a social safety net.
I paused my career to be home with my kids and never regretted it. If working parents need babysitting then they should hire someone. My taxes should not go to support someone’s child care needs. Maybe dad/mom can work from home or with flex time. You will never look back and say that you wished that you spent more time at work.
The NJEA is all for full day kindergarten.
From the Daily Record, March 2014
“The reality of the situation is that the debate is not whether parents should have access to full-day kindergarten for their children; they already do. Private community child care providers, religious schools and charter schools have been in existence for decades, and many currently offer full-day kindergarten.
The reality is that this debate centers about what is the fairest method for delivery of this program. Do we burden the entire tax base with increased taxes forever, in order to relieve some families of a temporary cost?”
The BOE and council should plan together. I never said that one should control the other.
The failed Valley expansion and high density housing are two examples (Sidewalks on Clinton) of village planning that would have a big impact on the schools. Our BOE is silent. Their silence will cost us big time.
High rptaxes drive people without children in the schools out of Ridgewood, always replaced by families and young couples expecting to use the schools. Why does everyone pretend that the council and BOE do not have a lot in common? Maybe planning would save money or create something better than we have when they work in isolation.
This is one town.
#5YrOldLivesMatter
The school cannot plan year to year independent of the council. The make_believe must stop.