Saurabh Dani in the Facebook Group Ridgewood Moms and Dads with Free Speech
“The board of education was scheduled to vote on the 95M referendum question in Feb/March. They were working towards this goal for last couple of years while denying it as”rumors”.
Last night the board decided to push this vote by a few weeks, without providing exact timeline, probably pushing it out beyond the April 21 election date.
Continue reading The Continuing Saga of the Ridgewood Schools $95 Million Referendum
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Antoinette Kelly presented the 2020-2021 Preliminary Assumption Budget to give an overview of the first draft of the budget. Governor Phil Murphy will deliver his Budget Address on February 25; then, we will have 48 hours to get our State Aid numbers. The final preliminary budget needs to be accepted and approved by the Board by March 2 and submitted to the County Superintendent by March 4.
Continue reading Ridgewood Schools Rolls Out the 2020-2021 Preliminary $115 Million School Budget
the staff of the Ridgewood bog
Ridgewood NJ, Dr. Fishbein provided an update on the soil remediation project. A letter was sent on February 7, 2020 to update the community on steps that have been taken since the last communication. Dr. Fishbein shared that NJDEP signage has been installed in three locations on the Orchard property. As a precautionary measure and to alleviate some concerns, additional mulch was installed on the playground.
Historic soil testing reports and other documentation was added to the dedicated page on the website. Dr. Fishbein has requested an earlier meeting date from the New Jersey Department of Health; however, at this time, he doesn’t have confirmation of the exact date and time of that public meeting. The district has consulted with an LSRP from LAN Associates, as well as a third recommended LSRP. The NJDEP deadline for completion of the remediation project is February 2021; however, the work must be done during the summer months. Click here to view the presentation.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Dr. Fishbein presented a Facility Improvement Recommendation Proposal, which outlined the facility needs assessments conducted over the past several years. He provided a breakdown of high priority projects by school, as well as information about other identified facility needs, including the replacement of ceiling tiles and built-in cabinetry. The final items discussed were renovations and additions to the performing and practical arts instructional spaces at the high school and the addition of an auditorium.
While Dr. Fishbein wants to recommend moving forward with all of the projects mentioned, he is not ready to do so until all questions and concerns of the Ridgewood Board of Education have been addressed. He summarized the outstanding issues and asked Board members if they had additional questions. Click here to view the presentation
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Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold its next Regular Public Meeting on Monday, February 10, 2020. The Board meets at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3 at 7:00 p.m.
The public is welcome to attend the meeting or to watch from home on Fios channel 33 or Optimum channel 77. Meetings are also streamed via the “BOE Webcast” tab on the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us.
Meeting webcasts are immediately available on the district website.
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Ridgewood NJ, Benjamin Franklin Middle School (BFMS) students have been busy helping their community! The BFMS annual SOUPer Bowl resulted in a collection of 1,674 cans of soup to be donated. The Student Council also worked with the Social Service Club to collect donations for Tackle Kids Cancer, which supports pediatric cancer research. The students raised $950, and all donations are matched by Eli Manning. Well done!
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Ridgewood NJ, Congratulations to the seven RHS Applied Engineering invent teams whose projects made it to the New Jersey STEAM Tank regional competition to be held on March 14th at Liberty Science Center. All of the projects were inspired by the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams program, which is being piloted with the club this year. The goal is for students to design innovative, technological solutions to real-world problems.
“An independent investigation should be conducted to determine if criminal charges should be filed in connection with this matter. I’m beginning to wonder if Frances Edwards’ illness and subsequent death was due to the Board of Education’s failure to address soil contamination issues at the Orchard Elementary School. Ms. Edwards and her family lived directly across from the school for several years, and lived there at the time of her untimely death. Frances and her husband Joseph Alvaro had many disputes with the Ridgewood Public School System. Could they have been targeted? That is, did someone know toxic runoff from chemicals at Orchard were flowing into the Alvaro’s residential property and would eventually result in illness and/or death?”
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Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Board of Education sent out and email addressing the latest updates concerning the status of Orchard School fields soil contamination .
Continue reading Orchard Elementary School Soil Remediation Plan Update
Show dates are this week!! Thursday and Friday February 6th & 7th at 7:30pm. Saturday February 8th at 7:00pm
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Ridgewood NJ, It’s RHS Jamboree time! Show dates are this week!! Thursday and Friday February 6th & 7th at 7:30pm. Saturday February 8th at 7:00pm. “It’s About Time” takes you on a journey through time as the sudden disappearance of the Producers sets our intrepid cast on an exciting adventure! And we couldn’t be more thrilled to have Ridgewood’s own Mark McVey, his lovely wife Christie Tarr McVey along with Sally Ann Tumas Skoric, and Eugene Thomas performing with over 180 cast members for this year’s production. Jamboree has raised over $1.5 million for need-based college scholarships for Ridgewood High School graduating Senior students for the past 74 years. Don’t miss this year’s production! Three Nights Only! Benjamin Franklin Middle School, Ridgewood, NJ. Tickets can be purchased online at www.brownpapertickets.com/even… Or go to www.rhsjamboree.org for more information!
Steven Kim posted on Facebook
Ridgewood NJ, This study was approved as consent agenda in Feb 2012 and was finished by April 2014.
Continue reading “Dont Eat Dirt” : BOE appears to have Swept Toxin Report Under the Rug
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Princeton NJ, Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean released the following statement on New Jersey’s Top Ten ranking in Wallethub’s 2020’s Most and Least Educated States in America:
“While New Jersey is currently one of the ‘Most Educated States’ in the nation, our outmigration problem many put this notable statistic at risk in the future. Many high school graduates choose to attend college outside of New Jersey. Once these students leave, many never return to New Jersey to help build our workforce, support their families, or contribute to our communities. This is because our state is simply too expensive.
“This ‘brain drain’ really hurts our state, and it’s something we must understand better if we are to counter it successfully. My bipartisan legislation to study this outmigration pattern passed the New Jersey Senate last year.
“After investing so much to educate our next generation in grade and high school, it would be a real boost to have more of our talented high school graduates plant roots at home in the Garden State.
“A culture that encourages innovation and entrepreneurship attracts businesses and creates jobs. Raising taxes will not create that culture. Lowering costs across the board – for students, for families, for businesses, and for retirees – will make New Jersey more competitive. Healthy competition spurs the best innovation, leading to economic growth and job creation for generations to come.”
“Someone should look way far in to this.
It’s been contaminated since the school was built.
Don’t tell me there hasn’t been an impact on the people who say in that building four hours a day from kindergarten to 5th grade.
All you have to do is look. The stuff in that soul causes let’s omg delays and other health concerns.
Look back. Look way back at the now adults who attended that school.”
Continue reading Reader says,”It’s been contaminated since the school was built”
“not surprising that the BOE swept this issue (Orchard Field) under the carpet in 2007. It’s sad that instead of making sure today that every school and school property are safe, they would rather spend the money on an auditorium, parking garage and many other capital projects. Seems like their priorities are not in the best interest of our children…”
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, at Monday nights BOE meeting Dr. Fishbein provided an update on the Orchard Elementary School Soil Remediation Plan, as a follow-up to the public meeting held on Wednesday, January 22, 2020. He began by giving an overview of the historical background of the site and then explained the work that will be taking place at Orchard this summer. Dr. Fishbein summarized the actions that have been taken since last Wednesday’s meeting, and he provided answers to questions that were posed at that meeting. Click here to view a PDF of the presentation. You may also view the presentation here on the webcast.
The update was the first major update on Orchard’s Ash remediation since the ,”don’t eat the dirt” exclamation in September 2007.
