More NJ districts are charging activity fees.

A recent survey by the New Jersey School Boards Association showed that approximately 40% of districts charge activity fees for students involved in extracurricular activities. Of those districts that charge activity fees, half charge a flat fee, and 34.6 percent charge a per-activity fee. (Ridgewood charges a flat fee for students in the middle schools and high school.)

Click here to see more detailed results on the survey.

A few selected comments from the survey results:

Our district has charged for activities for the past 10 years or so. We instituted them after several budget defeats and thought it would have a positive effect on parent/voter turnout … but so far, it hasn't seemed to work out. We have had surprisingly little reaction to the fees.

We discussed this for last year but decided that, although we could have used the money, we had to make sure that we had a policy in place and we were not going down the path of poor implementation like so many districts have.

I don't understand why everyone thinks when they get to high school, sports and other activities should be free. If they want the extras and the district does not have the money, they must be willing to pay. It's better than cutting the program!

I am not in favor of charging for activities/sports that are run through the schools. It is important that we encourage participation in activities/sports for many reasons. It's proven that kids who participate are better students.

It is an unfortunate necessity. Co-curriculars are a critical part of a student's education, but the state's failure to make good on its constitutional obligation to fund schools according to its own formula leads us down the slippery slope of having parents pay for "extras" that aren't really extra at all. Sad times for education in New Jersey

With 2 percent cap, activity fees may be the only way to protect extra curricular & co-curricular programs.

It is an unfortunate requirement in today's economic climate.

We have looked at this in the past, and will probably look at it in the future. At the moment we prefer not to impose this type of fee.

Extracurricular activities should be considered part of the essential educational experience and should be fully funded through the existing revenue streams.

We have raised the required number of participating students for clubs and activities, which has reduced the number of clubs and activities, and hence reduced some of our costs. Also, we have secured grants from the freeholder board to fund our after-school tutoring/homework club and our girls' and boys' running clubs.

We are introducing activity fees starting in the 2011-2012 school year. We felt it was time to take a small step into this area, especially when presenting a balanced budget is increasingly difficult.

On the BOE agenda for January 24.

Updated 1/24/11 @ 12:42 p.m.

The Ridgewood Board of Ed will meet tomorrow (Monday) night at 7:30 p.m. As always, the meeting is open to the public and we have plenty of seating available :) so come on down. You can also watch live on Cablevision Channel 77 or webcast at this link.

A few highlights from the agenda:

• Dr. Fishbein will give an update on referendum budgets and costs. Good news – we’re still under budget!

• We’ll get a presentation on middle school schedules and the 6th grade world languages program.

• Dr. Fishbein and Mr. DeSimone will present the first pass of the working budget for 2011-12. This is an in-process document, but it’s important to share with the community so you can see where things are as of right now.

• The Communications Committee (Sheila Brogan and myself are the BOE members) will discuss the document responding to neighbors’ concerns regarding RHS and Stevens Fields.

• Finance Committee (Michele Lenhard and Bob Hutton are BOE members) will report on the 2009-10 audit and the status of software corrections.

• I will give a brief update on the status of the revised Fields Use Policy, currently being worked on in the joint Fields Committee. (Please note: the revised Fields Use Policy itself will not be presented or reviewed tonight. There may be general discussion, but the committee is not presenting the revised policy tonight.) (Updated 1/24/11 @ 12:42 p.m.)

Any questions, let me know.

Middle School math scores are up.

Updated 1/24/10 @ 2:22 p.m.

At Monday night's Board of Education meeting, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment Regina Botsford and Grade 6-12 Math Supervisor Dan Ilaria gave a presentation of NJASK math scores in grades 6-8, showing improvement in scores since the current Connected Math curriculum (program) was introduced. The percentages of students scoring Advanced Proficient have increased the most. This has sometimes been a popular topic of discussion throughout our math journey here in Ridgewood, so it was good to see and share some data that supports what the district has been doing with middle school math.

Click here to see the full report, which is on the District website.

As always, standardized test scores are just one measure of student learning, but it is noteworthy to see these particular scores moving in the right direction. It's also worth remembering that a textbook or program (like Connected Math) is just one element of teaching -- many other factors influence student performance, most importantly the teachers themselves. Not every change (up or down) in student test scores can be attributed to textbooks alone. In other words, news like this is good, but it's a snapshot.

Ridgewood won't join the Race

Among other business at last night's Board of Education meeting, the BOE voted to NOT participate in the state of New Jersey's application for Federal Race to the Top education funds. Assistant Superintendent Regina Botsford explained how it is difficult to predict how much money could possibly come to Ridgewood, but that any grant amount would be based on the total number of districts participating and the total funds from Washington. Further, the grants would be tied to the amount of Title I funds the district most recently received (Ridgewood's Title I total was $160,000) and also the district's Title ARRA allocation (which for Ridgewood was ZERO). Thus, it appears that Ridgewood would receive very little funding under the Race to the Top -- but we would be expected to implement the state initiatives (many of which we are already addressing). We would incur additional costs -- and no big surprise that we're hesitant to take on more costs right now. We did discuss the district's obligation -- to both New Jersey education in general and our own students. Personally, I feel our first obligation is to our own students -- fiscally and educationally. For our students, participating in the Race to the Top would be fiscally irresponsible and educationally marginal.

Anyway, other news from last night's meeting:

Our bonding attorneys and financial advisors discussed options for issuing the referendum bonds. We'll finalize the bond issue at the February 22 meeting, and at that time we'll announce the exact date for the issue. You can let your broker know, in case you're interested in purchasing bonds. (Many community members have expressed interest.)

We approved the first work on referendum projects, authorizing M. Disko Associates to provide professional engineering services for the athletic field projects at Ridgewood High School, Stevens Field, and the all-weather track at Benjamin Franklin Middle School.

The DEP will be holding a hearing here in Ridgewood for public comment on the fields projects -- date to be determined, but it will be soon. (I'll announce the date/time here.)

The middle school principals gave a report on the new schedule implemented this year (overall it's great) and discussed some revisions for 10/11 (eliminating the A/B portion of the schedule).

After having met earlier in Executive Session to discuss the matter, the Board approved a resolution to suspend three RHS students until June 30, 2010, based on the superintendent's recomendation.

And...applications are currently available for the Board of Education election in April. Two seats will be open. Application petitions are due at the Ed Center by March 1. The election will be April 20. Come join us!

Tonight's BOE meeting agenda

First Board of Education meeting of 2010 tonight (same Bat time, 7:30 p.m., same Bat place, Ed Center 3rd floor). Some highlights from the agenda:

-- Update on the Referendum. By now you should have heard the good news that the state is NOT holding our grant money. We'll also hear from our bond attorneys and financial advisors re: our bond issue rating.

-- New middle school schedule and courses for 2010-2011

-- Discussion of Race to the Top, and whether the District should participate in the state's bid for Federal funds. (I've written about my misgivings in the past, click here to read.)

The usual financial approvals, personnel changes of assignment, resignations, additions, etc.

Click here to read the full agenda.

Raising Fees?

At the last Board of Ed meeting, we began discussing raising fees. The Finance Committee worked on and presented proposals to raise both Activity Fees and Facilities Use Fees. We only started discussing the ideas -- nothing is ready for a vote yet. But it could be soon.

Here's a little background: The Student Activity Fee at the middle schools is $65 and at the high school is $75. These fees have remained unchanged since they were instituted by the Board in 1995. Facilities Use fees are charged to outside groups who use school facilities, for example the BF auditorium is used to present recitals or programs by Irine Fokine ballet school. (This is just one example.) There is no rental charge for groups directly affiliated with the schools, nor non-profit organizations that serve youth, nor Village government and other recreation activities sponsored by the Village. The fees charged to outside groups are fairly low (in my opinion). For example, the BF auditorium currently costs $400 to rent for 4 hours, and would cost $500 under the new schedule. The GW auditorium rent would go from $200 to $300, and the elementary school auditoriums would go from $150 to $200. There's a complete schedule of fees for other types of facilities, including cafeterias, classrooms and gyms. (Click here for the proposed policy revision for facilities use and fees, as discussed by the Board on February 2.) The existing fees have been in place since at least 2002 and possibly earlier.

OK, after all that background, here's what I'm wondering. On the one hand, it makes sense to raise fees to increase our revenue in this tight budget year. Our activity fees are relatively low compared to other local districts. I think Glen Ridge charges $100 per student. Since our activity fee hasn't been changed in 14 years, it does not seem unreasonable. On the other hand, is it wise for us to increase fees right when district families are struggling with job loss and the unstable economy? Is the smart solution to raise the fees, being fiscally responsible for the District and getting a little more revenue (because every little bit counts)? Or is the smart thing to give parents & community members a break and wait. I honestly don't know what I think. We'll be discussing this again, probably at the February 23 Board meeting. I'd love to hear some opinions on this...

Blackboard

I hate to even reference the Ridgewood Blog, but one interesting topic was raised over there this week: it started, I think, with someone complaining about how not enough teachers, at the middle school and high school levels, use Blackboard. Are you familiar with Blackboard? It's a web-based service for students and teachers, primarily. The idea is that teachers can post assignments, links to research, interesting and/or helpful info, grades, study calendar, etc. Students access Blackboard and get assignments, turn-in homework, see grades, send messages to their teacher or post messages for online class discussions, etc. I think it has great potential. My daughter's college -- and many, many colleges -- use it for everything from classwork, extracurricular activities, tuition payment, grades, etc. I'd like to hear what you think about Blackboard...does your child use it? Do they/you have any problems accessing Blackboard from home? Let me know.