The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
TO THE EDITOR,
As we move closer to full-day kindergarten, we need to look at developmentally appropriate practices. Young children thrive in an environment that fosters their way of learning. That means that they need to handle objects; feel textures; talk with one another while they explore an idea; count objects that they hold; play with one another; and express themselves through art, music, and P.E.
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
RIDGEWOOD – While Ridgewood teachers continued their quest for a new contract at Monday’s Board of Education (BOE) meeting, Superintendent Daniel Fishbein switched gears to kindergarten, recommending a full-day program starting in 2017.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/superintendent-recommends-full-day-kindergarten-1.1526375
Ridgewood NJ , Dr Fishbein made his recommendation to the Ridgewood Board of Education to go to a 2nd question on the November ballot to fund Traditional Full Day kindergarten for 2017. The Board unanimously agreed. The process will now begin to get ready for that vote.
Full day kindergarten will most likely require more classrooms. Meaning the Ridgewood School District will we be bonding more school construction for all 6 elementary schools in a couple of years. The usual move will be that the BOE will suggest more classrooms to accommodate full day kindergarten after the full day kindergarten is agreed to . Unless parents will be satisfied having kindergarten held in trailers in the parking lots of the schools.
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.
BY STEVE JANOSKI
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — The school district’s superintendent will recommend next month whether the Board of Education should look to implement a full-day kindergarten program this fall or wait until 2017-18.
The recommendation, by Daniel Fishbein, will come on the heels of a report given Monday night by a special committee of parents, administrators and other professionals tasked with looking into the program’s feasibility in Ridgewood.
Cheryl Best, assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and assessment and the special committee’s head, presented two options: a tax-supported full-day program or an optional tuition-only afternoon service that would complement the district’s existing morning program.
Both would serve to extend the day for Ridgewood’s youngest students, the committee found, and allow more time for studying math, reading and science, as well as a snack/recess break.
But although the district could start a tuition-based program on its own, a tax-supported full-day program would require voter approval because the necessary money is not available in next year’s budget, school board President Sheila Brogan said.
In that case, the board would put a second question on the November ballot asking voters to increase the budget to fund it, she said.
Because the next school year will be well under way by the November election, Best said that any full-day program implemented in the school year starting in the year must be tuition-based. But if the board elected to wait for the 2017-18 school year, she said, it would have the option of posing the second question to the public this fall, and using the tuition-based proposal as a backup plan if it was rejected.
Fishbein said he will make his recommendation at the board’s March 7 meeting. Brogan said she was unsure if the board would make its final decision afterward — any request by trustees for further information could push the vote to March 21.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/village-weighs-starting-full-day-kindergarten-1.1519352
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
RIDGEWOOD – An exploratory committee gave a presentation examining the feasibility of full-day kindergarten at the Feb. 22 Board of Education (BOE) meeting.
While a previous report by demographer Ross Haber indicated that the district offering full-day kindergarten was feasible, BOE trustees have said in the past that the district simply does not have the funds to make this option available.
As a result, the committee looked into other options for implementing the change, like offering tuition-based kindergarten or raising taxes to generate funding.
According to Cheryl Best, assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and assessment, a number of residents filled out a survey asking their preferences regarding full-day kindergarten.
As shown in the presentation, an overwhelming majority (73 percent) were in favor of implementing full-day kindergarten. Additionally, 71.3 percent of those surveyed said that they used a supplemental enrichment program to complement their children’s current half-day kindergarten. Furthermore, 57 percent would support a tax increase.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/committee-explores-full-day-kindergarten-1.1518470
Ridgewood Public Schools will drive emptynesters out of the village. The cycle is moving faster. Soon the town will be unable to afford all the kids in the district with special needs and the red-shirted “gifted”. Our reputation for quality schools is not based on out full/half day K program.
Full day K will definitely raise my taxes, it will not increase the quality of a Ridgewood Education.
I am saying this as someone who moved to the town before I had children . I paid taxes before, during and after I had children in the district. No one moves to Ridgewood for full day K. There are many great enrichment programs, some with transportation for working parents. Be grateful for what you have.
This survey is more likely to be filled out by people with preschool children. How are they reaching residents of all ages? They made it easy to be filled out by one part of the population Click here to take the survey.
It is not hard to take this survey more than once. I hope that the board does not think that this is a representative sample of taxpayers
Survey to Gather Opinions on Full-Day K
Ridgewood NJ , The Full-day Kindergarten Exploratory Committee will seek residents’ input via an online community survey, opening January 4. All residents are invited and encouraged to participate. Click here for more information and to view the postcard that will be mailed to all residents.
The Full-day Kindergarten Exploratory Committee now has a folder on the Curriculum web page. Click here to go directly to the folder, which contains reports done by demographer Ross Haber.
The teachers union (NEA) recognizes that full-day kindergarten programs close achievement gaps between young children from minority and low-income families and their peers. By providing a solid foundation of learning to children from all backgrounds, full-day kindergarten programs ensure all students’ academic, social, and emotional success.( https://www.nea.org/home/11541.htm )
Be wary of mandating full-day kindergarten
A petition circulating throughout many school districts asks residents to support the extension of the kindergarten program from a half-day program to a full-day one. While no one disputes the advantages and positive impact of early childhood education, those supporting this endeavor are trying to pull the wool over the taxpayers’ eyes by minimizing the cost of their new program.
Efforts to make full-day kindergarten a state mandate by state law stalled because Gov. Christie understands that whatever the state mandates, the state must then pay for. Recently, he vetoed a bill that would create a task force to study issues related to the establishment of full-day kindergarten.
In his veto message, Gov. Christie stated, “Further, while the Department of Education is ready, willing, and able to assist districts in implementing a full-day program, the decision of whether to offer a full-day program should reside with local boards of education and their constituents.”
Since the decision on the extension of full-day kindergarten was not “solved” in one fell swoop, each district remains free to decide for itself what it would like to do. In this respect, a district-wide vote on a referendum of this nature represents the purest form of democracy.
https://www.dailyrecord.com/story/opinion/readers/2014/05/31/kindergarten-private/9779899/
NOVEMBER 27, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The conversations circulating around the ongoing teachers’ union contract negotiations and a potential switch to full-day kindergarten continued at last week’s Board of Education meeting.
While trustees did not take action on either subject, they will resume the discussions in future meetings.
Contract negotiations
The meeting once again featured commentary from the Ridgewood Education Association (REA), asking for a settlement of its contract with the Board of Education (BOE). This time, only REA President Michael Yannone spoke, referencing recent spending by the board and asking why there was money for this, but no money for better contracts.
“Last week, the board issued a press release, stating that while they respect the teaching staff and the work they do … they cannot address the concerns staff members have repeatedly stated at this microphone,” he said. “What I interpret the board as saying in that release is that in their budget of $101 million, they cannot find new money to settle this contract because there simply is no money.”
https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/union-questions-district-spending-1.1463570
SEPTEMBER 7, 2015, 12:30 PM LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015, 12:49 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — The Board of Education is once again exploring the pros and cons of offering a full-day kindergarten program in the district, but officials are concerned that coming up with the money to do so could be problematic.
Officials claim a full-day kindergarten program would require 10 additional teachers with an estimated cost of $1 million-plus.
Providing daylong kindergarten has been a longtime goal for Ridgewood’s educators, said Sheila Brogan, president of the village’s school board.
“We are one of the few districts that don’t have full-day kindergarten, and we realize it would be an enhancement,” Brogan said. “The question for us is: Is it feasible?”
The school board discussed the prospect of expanding its offerings during a meeting held late last month.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-again-exploring-full-day-kindergarten-1.1405082
SEPTEMBER 4, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The years-old question of full-day kindergarten for Ridgewood schools was once again raised at last week’s Board of Education meeting.
However, such a change isn’t likely to come to Ridgewood for a while, according to school district officials.
While some, like board trustee James Morgan, say they understand the value and importance of full-day kindergarten, they realize that it isn’t a feasible option at this point in time.
“Full-day kindergarten is one of the most effective methods for teaching young children,” Morgan said. “It’s a great idea, but the major question is how do we fund it?”
The issue lies in the board’s budget limitations, Morgan said.
Were full-day kindergarten to be instituted, about 10 new teachers would need to be hired, each making around $75,000 per year, according to Morgan. Once these amounts are factored in with the cost of resources, the price jumps to over $1 million per year, which is an amount that the board just doesn’t have at this point, officials said.
Morgan said there are major hurdles to surpass if full-day kindergarten were ever to be truly discussed.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/district-explores-move-to-full-day-kindergarten-1.1403625
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.