The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
photo by Boyd Loving
Ridgewood NJ, prior to the Ridgewood Board of Education meeting on Monday Night protesters gathered outside the Ed center on Cottage place. The group of determined parents pushed for the return of in person classes for Ridgewood schools.
Continue reading Demonstration at Ridgewood Board of Education Meeting for all day In-Person school
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood schools superintendent is expected to resign today after a 12-year tenure, Dr. Daniel Fishbein notified staff of his departure on Friday and will serve until December 10th .
The Board of Education will vote on the resignation, described on an agenda as a “resignation for the purpose of retirement,” at Monday night’s meeting.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood Nj, The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold its next Regular Public Meeting on Monday, January 6, 2020. 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.
Click here to view the agenda in PDF format.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Following the nominations of Saurabh Dani, Muhammad Mahmoud and Mary Micale by various Board members, Muhammad Mahmoud was elected to fill the Board vacancy.
Here’s a cropped video of Mr. Mahmoud’s public candidate interview by BOE members. The interview took place at the BOE’s public meeting held on 09/09/2019.
Board of Education Meets
Monday, March 11, 2019
49 Cottage Place
7:30 p.m.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold its next Regular Public Meeting on Monday, March 11, 2019. 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 https://www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us.
Meeting webcasts are immediately available on the district website.
Monday, March 18 to GWMS or Tuesday, March 19 to BFMS, to learn about the proposed 2019-20 school budget. Presentations will be at 7 p.m. The public vote on the budget is Tuesday, April 16. Questions on the budget can be sent to budget20@ridgeood.k12.nj.us.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, despite previous allegations from a parent of a 9-year old who revealed that her son and one of his classmates were, and still are, able to surf porn and other “age inappropriate” videos using their school issued Chrome Books, via the school’s WiFi network, and during school hours.
Dr. Fishbein reported at last nights BOE meeting that there were no changes to the policy since last year. Following the opportunity for public comment, the Board approved the certification that the Ridgewood Public Schools, including media centers/libraries in the district, are in compliance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act and Neighborhood Protection Act and that the school district enforces the requirements of these Acts and the Policy.
A late speaker at the 2nd session of public comment at the recent Board of Ed spoke of some ‘adults” cyberbullying. If this is true, it would be hypocrisy at its worst and perhaps they should be held accountable if their clear intent was to defame, especially since the question of who actually bullied who leading up to this fight is still being determined by the authorities. High time for some ‘adults” to walk their talk and teach their kids how to respect due process.
BOE Meets on August 29 at 5 p.m.
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, August 29, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Board Room at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place. The public is invited to attend the meeting or view it live via the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us using the “Live BOE Meeting” tab on the district website, or on Fios tv channel 33 or Optimum 77.
Click here to view the agenda and addendum for the July 18, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.
Click here to view the minutes of the June 28, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.
Click here to view the 2016-2017 Budget presented at the May 2, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.
Click here to view the Full Day Kindergarten Recommendation presented to the Board at their March 7, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.
BOE invites all to review memorandum
To The Editor,
The Board of Education is committed to communicating accurate information related to contract negotiations with the Ridgewood Education Association (REA). Laura Grasso’s letter to the editor last Friday was significantly misleading. Here are the facts.
* The Board has modified its contract proposals several times in the last year and on Jan. 20 and again on Feb. 29 we offered higher salaries, withdrew proposals related to additional time, and modified our healthcare proposal.
* The REA’s latest proposal would reduce their healthcare contributions by over $2.1 million over a new 3-year contract. Accepting such a proposal would require the Board to make significant cuts in other areas of the budget.
* Teachers currently contribute 25.7 percent of the cost of their healthcare premiums and the district pays 74.3 percent. The Board has offered to adjust the individual percentage contribution rates as long as the net contributions continue to equal 25.7 percent of the healthcare premiums.
* In 2012 the Board reduced healthcare costs by changing to the state health insurance plans. The Board shared these savings with the REA by increasing their salary 2.75 percent each year for the last three years.
* The change in the health insurance plan recently proposed by the Board for the new contract compares favorably with plans offered in the private sector with copays of $15 for primary and specialist doctor visits.
* The REA contends that the Board has $3.5 million to fund the contract settlement. This is untrue. The $3.5 million is a number calculated by the REA and the NJEA for their fact-finding submission. We believe that it fails to account for both the revenue and the expense sides in specific budget areas.
* Our teachers are among the highest paid in Bergen County. The Board recognizes the importance of competitive salaries to attract and retain talented and highly qualified teachers.
* NJ law, Chapter 44, limits the Board to annual property tax increases of no more than 2 percent. While the law allows for limited waivers to provide small tax increases above 2 percent, the Board is reluctant to further burden Ridgewood taxpayers.
* The fact that four of the Board members do not have children in our schools does not lessen our commitment to our students and staff. Our children graduated from Ridgewood High School. We are acutely aware of the quality of our schools and grateful for the education they received.
To continue our “tradition of excellence” our district must be financially sound. We cannot commit to salaries and benefit costs that exceed what the district can afford. To clearly understand the Board’s position, the public is invited to review our fact-finding memorandum posted to the district’s website at ridgewood.k12.nj.us.
The Board will continue to conduct our negotiations with genuine respect for our staff. We want to settle the contract with the REA and move forward in a positive manner.
Sheila Brogan
Vince Loncto
Jim Morgan
Christina Krauss
Jennie Smith Wilson
Ridgewood Board of Education
BOE-REA Negotiations
Click here to read a Letter to the Editor of The Ridgewood News, which appeared in the paper on February 12, 2016.
Click here to read the Ridgewood Board of Education’s Fact-Finding Presentation with the The Ridgewood Education Association.
Click here to view the backup for the Ridgewood Board of Education’s Fact-Finding Presentation with The Ridgewood Education Association.
BOE Meets on March 7 at 7:30 p.m.
The Ridgewood Board of Education will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, March 7, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.
Click here to view the agenda for the March 7, 2016 Regular Public Meeting.
Ridgewood Schools News
RHS Learning Commons Ribbon Cutting is Tuesday, November 11
Chat with the Board and Superintendent: Coffee and Conversation on November 12
Residents are reminded of the invitation to stop by for coffee and casual conversation with Board of Education members and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Daniel Fishbein on Wednesday, November 12 from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place. All residents are invited to drop in to share their thoughts, questions, suggestions and concerns.
Ridgewood School Board Meets on November 17th
The next Regular Public Meeting of the Ridgewood Board of Education will be held on Monday, November 17, 2014 at 7:30 p.m.
The public is invited to attend the meeting at the Ed Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3. The meeting will be aired live on on FiOS channel 33 and Optimum channel 77. Or it may be viewed live via the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us using the “Link in Live” tab.
Click here to view the agenda and addendum for the October 20, 2014 Regular Public Meeting.
Click here to view the webcast of the October 20, 2014 Regular Public Meeting.
On Tuesday, November 18, former Drug Enforcement Agent Doug Collier will speak to district parents and guardians about the growing problem of prescription drug and heroin abuse by school-age children. This free program will be held in the Benjamin Franklin Middle School auditorium from 7-9 p.m. Click here for more information.
BOE MEETS MONDAY, JULY 21, 2014
The next Regular Public Meeting of the Ridgewood Board of Education will be held on Monday, July 21, 2014 at 5 p.m.
The public is invited to attend the meeting at the Ed Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3. The meeting will be aired live on FiOS channel 33 and Optimum channel 77. Or it may be viewed live via the district website atwww.ridgewood.k12.nj.us using the “Link in Live” tab.
Click here to view the agenda and addendum for the June 23, 2014 Regular Public Meeting.
Click here to view the webcast of the June 23, 2014 Regular Public Meeting..
BOE MEETS MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2014
The Board will hold a Regular Public Meeting on Monday, January 27, 2014 at 7:30 p.m.
The public is invited to attend the meeting at the Ed Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3. The meeting will be aired live on FiOS channel 33 and Optimum channel 77. Or it may be viewed live via the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us using the “Link in Live” tab.
click here to view the agenda for the January 27, 2014 Regular Public Meeting.