This budget is out of control and the unions are to blame. Time for new teachers to be put into 401Ks – the pension system is broken beyond repair. Time to do away with tenure. Time for union employees to pay the same for insurance coverage as those of us that pay their salaries. The time for change is now as the status quo is not sustainable.
Why do they get platinum health insurance when most private sector plans are bronze level coverage? If you want it, pay much higher premiums. Why should Villagers be subsidizing better health care coverage for Village and BOE employees than our own family coverage? Makes no sense.
Reader says ,“We must attend the budget meetings at schools and speak up. Last night I watched budget meeting on TV and a gentleman protested that it was insanity to spend close to 800 thousand dollars alone on new windows for Ridgewood School Board of Ed . He said he and other residents were having a hard time making ends meet because of new tax laws on property taxes. Loncte and Fishbein were completely unsympathetic and rigid about spending all that money. Loncte said they had to spend that money in order to keep house sales high , because people chose Ridgewood for there good schools. Thanks to James we known that Ridgewood ranks less than other less expensive towns in Bergen County.”
The preliminary 2018-2019 Ridgewood School budget exceeds the 2% annual property tax increase cap for the first time since the current cap was enacted.
The draft budget was accepted by three of the five board members. Two abstentions were noted by members who believe more can be done to reduce the overall expenditures.
Options to ameliorate budgetary pressures have been discussed, however, input from residents is critical in determining if those options will be used. It is imperative that members of the community participate in the process, attend the budget presentations and voice their opinions.
Four years ago, a majority of the BOE voted to move the school elections to November. Associated with that change was the removal of a vote on the annual school budget, provided property tax increases remained within the 2% cap required by law. This does not mean that voters cannot have an impact on the annual budget.
For the next five weeks, the Board is discussing the budget in a series of public budget meetings, the first of which is on April 3 at 7:00 at George Washington MS and another on April 16 at 7:00 at Benjamin Franklin MS. The Board also has regularly scheduled meetings on April 2 and April 23 at 7:30 in the Ed Center. These meetings are an opportunity for everyone in the Village to voice their thoughts directly to the Board and Superintendent.
After these presentations conclude, the Board will have a formal budget hearing and vote on the final budget on May 7.
We urge all concerned citizens to attend and engage.
Christina Krauss, BOE Member Jim Morgan, BOE Vice President
“Emperor Superintendent Deems a Dog’s Tail a Leg”
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The following column appeared in The Ridgewood News on March 30, 2018.
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The other day a request came in to include information on the League of Women Voters’ upcoming Candidates Night in our district enews. Now, since the League is non-partisan, non-profit and local, the flyer easily passed our requirements for publishing. But the notice got me thinking in general about the important mandate that public school districts be strictly non-partisan while still encouraging our students’ intellectual curiosity and passions. It can be a delicate balance on occasion.
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A great example of successfully walking this line occurred at Ridgewood High School on March 14, when we permitted our students to organize a 17-minute walkout in conjunction with the national anti-gun violence event commemorating victims of the Parkland school shooting and raising awareness for violence-free schools. Simultaneous to this event another group of our students staged a sit-in in our Campus Center to highlight Second Amendment rights. [So is this how it goes? Two political wrongs make an apolitical right?]
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Intellectual and emotional passion energized a large body of our students that day. Of varying political views, those who either walked out or sat in paid respectful tribute to the Parkland shooting victims while raising their voices for change. RHS Principal Tom Gorman and staff helped guide our students’ planning to assure that in addition to a feel-good moment they would be enriched by a living civics lesson on the process of peaceable assembly and its value and power to effect non-violent change in a democratic society. At Ridgewood High School that day, our students lived out their textbook lessons on the meaning of freedom of speech. They also learned, as Dr. Gorman summarized aptly in a letter to the RHS community, that change is not a 17-minute event but takes a lifetime of work. In his words, Your strength and purpose happens in what you do in the 18th minute and beyond. I commend Tom’s letter to you, found in the Communications section of the RHS web pages at https://www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us.
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March 14 was a historic day for the Ridgewood Public Schools. We had never done anything like it in recent history, and while other districts chose to disallow their students’ request to participate in the national walkout, I am pleased and proud of our decision to endorse this event and also proud of and thankful for all who were involved on many levels to ensure its success as a meaningful day of memorial, awareness raising and civics in action, while remaining strictly non-partisan.
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In particular, I am proud of our students for their interest and passion to make a difference, and their desire to grapple intellectually and respectfully with contemporary societal issues. [What’s next, Dan? Dueling Pro-Life/Pro-Abortion protests? An excellent case can be made for a convenient “tie-in” that pro-life students are protesting the gravest kind of violence done to the youngest of children, whom had they not been killed, would have become their fellow RHS students. Or, are you, by this self-congratulatory letter, simply trying to head such an eventuality off at the pass? You are not the judge of your own case, Dan. Superintendent or not, if you, in fact, stepped in it by personally fomenting one or more political protests by students during the school day and on school property, no amount of after-the-fact whitewashing on your part will transform wrongdoing into inspired charity.]
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I am equally proud of, and thankful, too, for our very professional staff and for their expertise and attention, not just to the curricular matters but also for their personal commitment, and for their ability to focus on the common ground we all share on the importance of safe schools that are free of violence.
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I am further proud to be living and working in a community that supports [Not so fast, Dan!] the efforts of its public school administrators in navigating the sometimes tricky terrain [Much as all this tickles your fancy, Dan, you and your administrator friends are not paid to help students explore a career in Obama-inspired community organizing. Please get back to doing your real job.]. These past few weeks have seen a more than a flurry of snow and the tight grip of winter; there’ve been many spirited conversations and a number of district communications* about safety, security and students’ rights to assemble on school property without repercussions. [Without repercussions! Ah yes, there’s where you went wrong. The real world is not so forgiving, Dan. You’ve deprived your charges of the best lesson you might have taught them! No letter from a Birmingham jail is possible in the scenario you’ve created…] These are real issues, real concerns. [Ooh..that’s a pithy little gem. We can tell you’re just dying to get your first entry into Bartlett’s Quotations. Keep trying.]
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It’s a community’s desire to put politics aside on occasion and walk the line with us that makes a difference in achieving our mission of excellence in a safe, non-violent school setting. I am so very appreciative of that willingness to engage. [Quite a slippery slope you’ve erected here, Dan. Enthusiasm may be your strong suit. But foresight? Not so much.]
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As always, please feel free to get in touch with any questions or concerns. [Who are you kidding…]
Daniel Fishbein, Ed.D.
District Superintendent
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* Please see my March 1, 2018 letter on school safety, found on the Superintendent’s page of the district website at https://www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us.
Daniel Fishbein, Ed.D., is Superintendent of the Ridgewood Public Schools. Dr. Fishbein can be reached at 201-670-2700, ext. 10530, or via e-mail at [email protected]. For more information on the Ridgewood Public Schools visit the district website at https://www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us, the district Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RidgewoodPublicSchools, or follow us on Twitter @RwdPubSchools.
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting tonight, Monday, April 2, 2018. The Board meets at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3 at 7:30 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.
Ultimately Fishbein and Gorman are responsible. Their hefty salaries are funded by the taxpayers. If the rankings don’t improve in 2-3 years, then these two losers get FIRED. It’s that simple, folks.
What part of the budget (none?) is going towards improving the actual ACADEMIC QUALITY of Ridgewood schools?
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Are the feckless superintendent and RHS principal doing anything to improve these numbers?
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Ridgewood DID NOT make “The 50 highest scoring schools in NJ’s new school ranking system”
RHS is ranked 84 out of 386 in NJ High Schools (not even top 20%)
My God… we’re not even better than Bergenfield? Waldwick? etc…
Maybe we need a bigger budget. How about $125 million and a goal to break into the top 75…
Bergenfield, Dumont, Ramapo… Those towns must have massive budgets
The State of NJ ranks Ridgewood High School as 83 out of the 385 NJ high schools.
Apologies for being off by 1 in the original post (was counting the “header row” by mistake)
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Lets see how bad Ridgewood #83 ranking really is…
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Neighboring Glen Rock was ranked #13
(the top twelve are specialized “academies” and vocational schools which have academic standards for acceptance)
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Here’s some other (local) schools that are ranked higher than Ridgewood:
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#20 – Pascack Hills (Pascack Valley)
#25 – Northern Valley – Demarest
#28 – Tenafly
#29 – Mahwah
#45 – Northern Valley – Old Tappan
#46 – Pascack Valley
#48 – River Dell
#52 – Indian Hills
#55 – Emerson
#56 – Fair Lawn
#60 – Northern Highlands
#61 – Fort Lee
#72 – Waldwick
#73 – New Milford
#76 – Bergenfield
#82 – Ramapo
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Then Ridgewood at #83
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But at least we beat out Dumont (ranked #84)
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Embarassing.
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But let’s approve the $110 Million budget.
It’s money well spent.
We’ll keep deluding ourselves that we have great schools.
It’s all part of the “Tradition of Excellence”
What a dramatic decline. Fishbein and Gorman should take responsibility for this. Who holds their feet to the fire? In the meantime parents are oblivious as long as they feel good about “the new leaders (their kids)” being “vocal” about national issues
Let’s take a guess: the rankings are weighted in favor of radical progressive political priorities and how well the high school in question advances the same. If Ridgewood High School is slipping in the poll, that is because RHS is not revamping its culture and curriculum quickly enough to the liking of the radical progressives, and is therefore falling behind other schools. To be fair, the rankings may have been tabulated before the recent school walkout protest, during which Ridgewood High School’s Students Demand Action club and complicit Principal joined forces to maximize student body participation, achieving a number of 1000 students, as attested to by Principal Gorman personally to the assembled media, and arrived at by the use of sophisticated and proprietary Reform Math algorithms. So RHS’s student walkout performance this year is sure to boost its progressive poll ranking come next year.
Feigned outrage $110,000,000 budget to not place in the top 20% in the state , Ridgewood property values don’t come from rainbow flags and anti gun proclamations .
What a dramatic decline. Fishbein and Gorman should take responsibility for this. Who holds their feet to the fire? In the meantime parents are oblivious as long as they feel good about “the new leaders (their kids)” being “vocal” about national issues. On the path of self destruction.
Tradition of excellence was abandoned by Ridgewood’s school system years ago. Instead it’s all about the marvelous support staff that other schools are not “lucky?” enough to have. Compare the number of these currently compared to even 10 years ago.
Ugh. Sad day for Ridgewood but don’t tell anyone. We all have homes to sell and we want top dollar!! Brush it under the carpet like everything else
Ridgewood NJ, On Friday, March 23, 2018 NJSCA honored school counselors from the different counties within the State of New Jersey at the annual “Counselor of the County” Awards Program held at The College of New Jersey. School counselors are nominated by their colleagues and are selected by their own county’s School Counselor Associations for this award.
The award honors the professionals who devote their careers to serving as advocates – and often lifesavers – for the nation’s students. Laura Moore, a school counselor from Ridgewood High School who was selected as the 2017-2018 Counselor of the County for Bergen County.
Candidates are selected for the Counselor of the County Award at their county-level school counselor associations. They are selected because of their ability to deliver an effective school counseling program which focuses on academic development, career counseling, and personal/social support. They further distinguish themselves by proving to be leaders of systemic change, advocates for students, and collaborative professionals who seek the success of the “whole” student in school and in life. For more specific information on this association, visit: www.njsca.org.
The State of NJ ranks Ridgewood High School as 83 out of the 385 NJ high schools. Apologies for being off by 1 in the original post (was counting the “header row” by mistake)
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Lets see how bad Ridgewood #83 ranking really is…
. Neighboring Glen Rock was ranked #13
(the top twelve are specialized “academies” and vocational schools which have academic standards for acceptance)
. Here’s some other (local) schools that are ranked higher than Ridgewood:
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#20 – Pascack Hills (Pascack Valley)
#25 – Northern Valley – Demarest
#28 – Tenafly
#29 – Mahwah
#45 – Northern Valley – Old Tappan
#46 – Pascack Valley
#48 – River Dell
#52 – Indian Hills
#55 – Emerson
#56 – Fair Lawn
#60 – Northern Highlands
#61 – Fort Lee
#72 – Waldwick
#73 – New Milford
#76 – Bergenfield
#82 – Ramapo
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Then Ridgewood at #83
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But at least we beat out Dumont (ranked #84)
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Embarassing.
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But let’s approve the $110 Million budget.
It’s money well spent.
We’ll keep deluding ourselves that we have great schools.
It’s all part of the “Tradition of Excellence”
What part of the budget (none?) is going towards improving the actual ACADEMIC QUALITY of Ridgewood schools?
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Are the feckless superintendent and RHS principal doing anything to improve these numbers?
. Ridgewood DID NOT make “The 50 highest scoring schools in NJ’s new school ranking system” RHS is ranked 84 out of 386 in NJ High Schools (not even top 20%)
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Board of Education has approved the preliminary 2018-2019 school budget. Prior to the final Board vote on Monday, May 7, public presentations will be given at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 3 at George Washington Middle School Auditorium and on Monday, April 16 at Benjamin Franklin Middle School Auditorium.
If we want to have a debate about the 2nd amendment then fine, let’s have a debate about it for the next six months. But in the meantime, TODAY, let’s secure the schools. We know how. I would sleep better TONIGHT knowing that we have done all we could to protect our children TODAY. Why won’t the anti-gun left agree that it’s important to protect our children the best way we know how to TODAY?
“Why won’t the anti-gun left agree that it’s important to protect our children the best way we know how to TODAY?”
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Because as a goal, protecting the children pales in comparison to the nakedly political priorities: 1) Damaging the NRA, 2) Putting gun owners on their collective backs, and 3) Reversing or overturning the current Supreme Court jurisprudence that has it that the second amendment was instituted to protect the right of a citizen to keep and bear arms as an individual rather than as part of an organized group subject to at least some kind of government control (i.e., militia).
Ridgewood NJ, despite many assurances the decision more than a year ago to move Ridgewood Schools to an all-day kindergarten format may finally catch up with residents to the tune of a $500,000 tax increase this year.
During that time there was heavy debate as to the value of full day kindergarten ,which seemed to amount to no more than a convenience for parents personal schedules. Lately the schools have been under pressure due to a well publicized bullying incident , falling academic rankings and use of school time for administration sponsored protests .
This is looking like another poor decision by the Ridgewood BOE is going to cost Ridgewood ‘s over taxed residents .
