District: Reach Out and Talk to Us

The district said at the onset of the school year that one of its main goals in 2010-2011 was to improve on its comunication with residents. To that end, the district is reminding villagers that there are several ways to keep abreast of curriculum, closings, budget information and more.

District Public Information Officer Debra Anderson, in a release, noted the variety of ways the district maintains and disseminates information–from the website, to the newsletter, to webcasts of board meetings.

"The Ridgewood Public Schools website is one of several useful tools for keeping all residents abreast of Board business," Anderson said. "Citizens wishing to familiarize themselves with the issues before the Board and understand the breadth of the programs at our schools are encouraged to visit www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us, where they will find a wealth of information, from budget updates to archived Board meeting webcasts, minutes and agendas, and links to pertinent public documents.”

Additionally, the newsletter rps.eNews is e-mailed on Tuesday for all subscribers, which highlights actions taken by the board the previous night, staff and curriculum changes as well as accolades students and teachers receive. Breaking news is mailed, as are school closings; residents can send an e-mail to listserve@ridgewood.k12.nj.us and write "subscribe rps.eNews" if they wish to subscribe.

Ridgewood residents can also attend Board of Education meetings at 7:30 p.m. on select Mondays (the next being Feb. 28), where district Assistant Superintendent of Business Angelo DeSimone and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Daniel Fishbein will be providing and other district news.

Speakers generally get "three bites at the apple" (three minutes to speak) and the board is not obligated to respond to statements issued by the speakers.

The proposed 2011-2012 school budget will be presented to the village council on March 28. Meetings are televised on Channel 77 (for Cablevision subscribers only–the village council and schools have had discussions on adding FiOS) and those unable to physically attend can see a real-time webcast by clicking on the "Live BOE Meeting" at the district's web page.

and longtime school board member Sheila Brogan has declared that she'll again be running for a three-year term. Laurie Goodman has not publicly declared whether she will run for re-election. Candidates will be announced after the March 6 deadline.

Elections will be held Wednesday, April 27 and all registered voters can cast a ballot on the proposed school budget. The deadline to register for voting in the school election is April 6. If the budget is not passed–as was the case in 2009-2010–the district must again visit the village council, which may force further cuts in the school district. The maximum local tax levy allowed in 2011-2012 is $81,323,178, about $1.6 million higher than 2009-2010.