The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
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Ridgewood NJ, a recent Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) decision has sparked controversy among residents and board members. The BOE has agreed to allocate $80,000 from its budget for softball field lighting at Veteran’s Field, a facility owned by the Village of Ridgewood. This funding, in exchange for 20 years of access to the field, has drawn criticism due to concerns over transparency and unmet priorities within the school district.
Three Seats Open in November Elections for Ridgewood BOE, Three for Village Council
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Ridgewood NJ, Three seats are up this November at the BOE, and three seats are up at the Village Council. If you, as a resident, are concerned about growing taxes in the village of Ridgewood, you need to step up and run for either the village council or the board of education.
Continue reading Ridgewood Needs 6 Volunteers to Step Up for this November’s Elections
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Ridgewood NJ, this item is contained within the posted agenda for the Ridgewood Board of Education’s (BOE) Monday, 3/20 Public Meeting:
While I am not often moved to write when you make editorial comments, the recent article posted on the One Village One Vote referendum cried out for a response. Below are my thoughts that you may publish with the proviso that I am identified as the author.
Continue reading Former Ridgewood BOE Member Comments on One Village One Vote referendum
photo by Boyd Loving
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Ridgewood NJ, cost estimates to clean-up the flood damaged artificial turf at Maple Field (owned by the Village of Ridgewood) have not yet been submitted to the Village Council for review and approval. It is believed Village Council members will discuss this issue during their scheduled October 6 Public Work Session, and formally approve clean-up expenses at their scheduled October 13 Public Meeting.
Continue reading Ridgewood BOE Special Public Meeting on Friday August 28th at 3pm
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Ridgewood NJ, Steve Beatty Secretary-Treasurer of the NJEA said in a Facebook post ,”At our meeting with the acting commissioner of the Department of Education and his staff last week (and our on-going meetings), we engaged in a discussion, albeit mostly one-sided, on the issues and concerns surrounding the re-opening of schools in September.
Our clear message was that there is no way the state can push to re-open schools in a way that would account for the health, safety, and educational integrity of our schools and all that enter them.
We have been consistent in our guidance and growing insistence along with our education stakeholder partners and an ever growing chorus of our members.
Keep the pressure up. On the local level by joining and/or communicating with your re-opening committee. On the state level by calling and emailing your elected representatives and the governors office as well as the commissioner and state board. We know the power of sustained and organized collective action. Our voice is being heard and must be heeded! New Jersey Education Association New Jersey Department of Education Governor Phil Murphy”
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Ridgewood NJ, School districts across the country are beginning to release their school reopening plans. Many plan to remain online throughout the fall. As the next several weeks unfold, The Ridgewood School district and many of our neighboring districts will start to roll out their plans.
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Ridgewood NJ, Ms. Kwak shared that the BOE Budget Committee has had constructive, collaborative discussions with the Village Council on the defeated budget. They are thankful to Dr. Fishbein and Ms. Kelly for identifying opportunities that will allow us to continue to deliver programming and address the curricular needs of the students. She thanked everyone who has been involved in this process. Ms. Brogan noted that the Village Council will be discussing the budget at their meeting on Wednesday. Dr. Fishbein added that some of the areas identified for reductions included capital and maintenance. Since some of the maintenance budget would have been used for the additional expenses related to the reopening of schools, other areas of the budget will need to cover those costs.
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Ridgewood NJ, These are very preliminary election results. The County will be accepting ballots through May 14th, as long as they were postmarked by May 12th. Certified results will be sent by the County next week. The Ridgewood estimates as many as 500 additional ballots could have been mailed late yesterday or today .
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Ridgewood NJ, according to the Facebook page Unofficial: Ridgewood NJ Updates’s, ” Our board of education CLAIMS that they have not yet “finalized” the list of projects for referendum and that will be done in March 2020.
If the list is not finalized, then why are they spending THOUSANDS of dollars this month for presentations to parents in schools, and if LAN associate’s stated timeline of 10 months was true, then in payments to LAN associates for final sketches?
Continue reading Parent Referendum Presentations Go Forward but Ridgewood BOE Says, “it’s Not Finalized”
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Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Board of Education Public Meeting will be Monday night September 23, 2019 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place .
The deadline for returning applications to the Board Secretary’s Office, 49 Cottage Place, was Tuesday, September 3, 2019 at 4 p.m. Interviews took take place at the Regular Public Meeting on Monday, September 9, 2019 at 5 p.m.
Continue reading Ridgewood BOE to Decide on New Board Member Monday
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Ridgewood NJ, The home of Ms. Jeanne Thiesen is on the market in Ridgewood this morning, Open House today at 385 Colonial Road. Looks like her plan to rally the troops and squash the voices of anyone who objected to the BOE’s shenaningans has failed.
Registered Voters: 18,262
Turnout: 2,473
Turnout Percentage: 14%
Public Question
School Budget 2019-2020 General Funds of $96,014,943
YES: 1,342
NO: 1,131
Click Here for Vote by District