Ridgewood referendum projects are well under budget.

The Ridgewood News has a story today about Ridgewood schools' construction projects running under budget so far. I'm pasting the full text of the story here because I think it's helpful to see the projects and their status listed:

Despite rough weather this winter, construction projects at Ridgewood schools are moving ahead more or less on schedule and far under budget.

"Bids for the remaining projects continue to come in favorably," reported Superintendent Daniel Fishbein at a Jan. 24 meeting of the Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE).

The BOE approved a purchase bid for window and door replacements at Benjamin Franklin Middle School (BF) at a cost of $528,800, far below the roughly $900,000 budgeted for the project in the original bond referendum.

The referendum, narrowly approved by voters in December 2009, will ultimately encompass $48 million worth of construction projects at district schools. The projected tax increase on the average village home is about $300 per year over the course of the next 25 years to pay off the $38 million bond referendum. The state is contributing another $9.8 million in grants.

Bids from contractors are now being sought for other school projects. Seventeen contractors recently attended a walk-through tour of Willard for its expansion project slated for next year, Fishbein said. More bid dates are coming up in February.

Substantial construction projects are currently under way at Ridge and Hawes elementary schools. At Ridge, construction of a new roof and a new wing has been slowed due to inclement weather, but the roof of Hawes' new wing was installed before the snow and ice storms, so construction has continued without a hitch.

Ridge is still scheduled to fully open for fall 2011, Fishbein said during a tour of the premises. Ridge is receiving five new classrooms; two small group instruction rooms; an art studio; occupational and physical therapy space; mechanical room; storage; and a computer lab.

Travell, Willard and Somerville elementary schools and BF all underwent roofing replacements or improvements. Still to come are full renovations at Willard, though substantial asbestos abatement in a basement crawl space was successfully completed this summer. Willard will also undergo an expansion to add seven classrooms; one small group instruction room; a media center/ library; computer lab; resource room; a nurse's office; and storage.

BF has also received upgrades to its electrical, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; repairs of concrete and masonry, stairs and sidewalks; and its athletics fields have undergone significant renovations, including the installation of a new track and field facility for the district.

Ridgewood High School has received site updates to its sidewalks, stairs, external doors and brick and mortar, as well as new lockers and extensive work on its two athletics fields, including the installation of artificial turf. Other renovations include drinking fountains, plumbing, windows and doors, and fire detection systems and alerts.

George Washington Middle School (GW) has completed a new driveway on Washington Street. Plans for GW include an improved electrical system and windows, and expansion that will construct and/or renovate six classrooms, five small group instruction rooms, a media center/library, computer lab and gymnasium, which will take over part of the footprint of the existing field.

Many schools are also receiving occupancy sensor and light controls.

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"The rat" will be visiting Ridge School.

According to a letter sent by Dr. Fishbein to Ridge School parents, a construction union has been issued a permit to display the union's inflatable rat on Monday in front of Ridge School.

The letter continues: "The construction union is demonstrating against our contractor and his subs because they do not employ union labor. This is not a district issue. It is the district's responsibility by law to accept a contractor's payroll report that certifies that union wages are being paid. The Ridgewood district does not issue any payments until that requirement is satisfied. To date, all contractors working in the Ridgewood Public Schools have met that requirement."

You may have seen the rat recently at Valley Hospital or the Ridgewood Country Club. I saw it...and at those locations it was accompanied by a coffin holding a small, baseball-cap-wearing mannequin. While it is the union's right to exercise their freedom of speech, I sincerely hope there is not a coffin outside Ridge School, to frighten children.

Any questions, please contact Dr. Fishbein's office at 201-670-2700 ext. 10530 or email dfishbein@ridgewood.k12.nj.us.

Teachers of the Year Honored at Ed Center.

Last night was the annual Teacher Recognition reception and ceremony at the Ed Center. I love that event because it's so positive and focused on just one pure thing: quality teaching.

I especially love how many teachers and administrators come out to support and celebrate their colleagues. There were even some parents and students there, to say thank you to their favorite teachers. Just a great, positive event all around.

The following teachers were honored last night as Teachers of the Year in Ridgewood for 2010:

Hawes -- Charles Nebbia
Orchard -- Michelle Jones
Ridge -- AnnMarie Pecorelli
Somerville -- Cassandra Fabish
Travell -- Megan Glinkin
Willard -- Stephanie Zaccaria
BF -- Karla Mixon
GW -- Ann Brown
RHS -- Patrick Bernardo
Special Programs -- Marian Sacharoff

Response to odd comment Monday night

Just wanted to clear up any confusion...an attendee at Monday night's community meeting questioned the need for additional classrooms at Ridge School because, as she said, "there's one empty classroom there already." Actually, no, there is not. There are no empty classrooms at Ridge. I feel pretty confident saying there are no empty classrooms anywhere in the District (but I guess I'd have to confirm that.) On the contrary, at Ridge, there is a classroom divided into four smaller "rooms" with temporary partitions (in addition to OT/PT in the hallway/vestibule).

But this does remind me that there is still some confusion regarding the proposed school expansions. Most of what we propose to add are small group instruction spaces. These are rooms where specialized services like OT/PT and other special ed services can be provided to small groups of 6-8 students. Other proposed space includes convertible "kindergarten-style" classrooms. (Kindergarten-style rooms are rooms that can be divided if necessary, and that have bathroom facilities.) These are the most flexible types of rooms we could add -- they can be used by regular classes, or by self-contained special ed classes, or they can be divided and used for smaller group classes -- and will be a smart investment to accommodate future enrollment trends.

By adding this space at Ridge, Hawes and Willard, we will be able to open-up space at these schools as well as Travell, Somerville and Orchard. And we'll be able to give our special ed students a continuum of service in a single location. Students will enter a school in kindergarten, and stay there until 5th grade, just like their friends. This will be better than moving them around every year...better than forcing children in one neighborhood to attend other schools because their home school is too full...and better than spending lots of money to send students to other districts for special ed services.

Our growing school district: 2009-10 enrollment

As Dr. Fishbein reported at last night's meeting, here's a snapshot of enrollment school by school in Ridgewood, as of 9/9/09 and compared to one year ago (9/15/08):

2009 # (2008 #) Change +/-

Glen 36 (28) +8

Hawes 408 (406) +2

Orchard 323 (329) -6

Ridge 478 (474) +4

Somerville 533 (507) +26 (wow!)

Travell 410 (416) -6

Willard 456 (466) -10

Total Elementary: 2,644 (2,626) +18

BFMS 687 (690) -3

GWMS 675 (666) +9

Total Middle School: 1,362 (1,356) +6

RHS 1,666 (1,664) +2

Referendum Comments, Questions & Answers

At the Board of Education meeting on 12/8, Business Administrator Angelo DeSimone presented a large spreadsheet listing all of the proposed projects to tentatively be included in a bond referendum later this year. You can download a PDF of the spreadsheet by clicking here. I'd like to comment a bit on the list.

First, a little background. This list was compiled by the Facilities Committee over several months. We met with principals and asked them what their buildings need. We reviewed the comprehensive facilities evaluation done at the high school in 2007. We walked properties with architects. What we came up with is not a "wish list" of everything we could possibly dream of. It is a very serious list of necessities. There is nothing purely cosmetic or aesthetic. For the buildings, we focused on 1) health and safety; 2) building envelope (protecting from water infiltration, etc.); 3) instructional space needs. Every school's list started out much larger, and we deleted many, many projects.

I encourage you to look at the spreadsheet. If you have questions, please ask. Here are some of the questions I would ask, if I were a taxpayer seeing this for the first time:

Why is the number so large?
With 11 buildings built between 1919 and 1965, our buildings are old. Old buildings require maintenance. As many of us with old houses know, you do vital repairs as they come up, but eventually you need a new roof. Or a lifetime of basement water requires repairs to the foundation. And when that happens, most of us can't finance it with our savings or our monthly cash flow. Instead, we take out home improvement loans to make repairs that will carry our homes through a few more generations.

Is the Board crazy to be asking to raise taxes when the economy is such a mess?
Arguably, we're not crazy. We don't know what's going to happen to the economy this year any more than the so-called experts. But we can't sit back and wait. If we want to go forward with a referendum in September or December, we have to submit our plans to the state by February 2. BUT -- and this is important -- submitting the plans now doesn't lock us in to anything. We can wait to formulate the final project list and ballot question later, when we do know what's happening economy-wise. We can even decide not to do it. (Theoretically, although the buildings need what they need.) But by submitting plans to the state now, we make ourselves eligible for the maximum possible grant funds and debt service from the state -- and we definitely want to get all the help we can.

Why do we need to add-on to any schools? Is our enrollment growing that much?
Right now, the plans include additions at four schools: GW, Ridge, Willard and Hawes. GW is extremely overcrowded. There are teachers who don't have classrooms, instead they wheel their materials on carts to any available space. The Principal, Dr. Kashmanian, gives up her office for teaching on parts of some days. The library and computer lab are tiny. And the gym is terribly small. In addition, there is no place where Dr. Kashmanian can gather the entire student body for an assembly. The renovation will address these issues. As for Ridge, Willard and Hawes, the additions are primarily for small group instruction, special ed, OT/PT, resource rooms, ESL, etc. All these schools currently have instruction taking place in hallways or in divided classrooms which would not meet state requirements if inspected. In addition, the additions will allow us to consolidate special ed classes in stable, long-term environments, rather than moving students from year to year in a disruptive process.

What about adding solar panels or other "green" projects?
We have studied green issues extensively. First, all construction will follow green practices as much as possible. As for solar panels or alternative energy creation, currently those projects have very long payback cycles, especially since the government incentives and grants have disappeared. As of now, solar panels would be a large expense that would not pay for itself for decades. However, we are looking at incorporating projects that will reduce our energy usage and get us the most "bang for our buck." Things like digital temperature controls and motion sensing light switches are relatively low cost and can dramatically reduce energy use. We are still working on this list, with the goal to balance cost with benefits. I expect more info to come on this topic.

That's all I have time for right now. Please post any additional questions here, or email me. Or come to the next public meeting on January 12.

Attn: Willard & Ridge Parents

Dr. Fishbein, Sheila Brogan and I will be at the Willard HSA meeting on Monday at 1:30, and the Ridge HSA meeting on Tuesday at 2:00 to discuss each school's expansion plans vis-a-vis the 2009 referendum. Please attend if you'd like to see the plans up close, ask questions, etc. (The plans will also be available in PDF form on the district website.)

Consolidation of Special Ed Classrooms

As a continuation of the discussion on expansion, it helps to understand where our self-contained special ed classrooms are currently located, and where they'd be located following the expansion in the proposed referendum:

Pre Construction:
Somerville -- PARCCA (K-2)
BF -- PARCCA (3-5)
Orchard -- LLD (K-2)
Somerville -- LLD (K-2)
Travell -- LLD (3-5)
Travell -- LLD (K-2)
Travell -- LLD (3-5)

Post Construction:
Willard -- PARCCA (K-2)
Willard -- PARCCA (3-5)
Willard -- LLD (K-2)
Hawes -- LLD (K-2)
Hawes -- LLD (3-5)
Ridge -- LLD (K-2)
Ridge -- LLD (3-5)
BF -- PARCCA (6-8)

In other words, under this plan, PARCCA K-5 would be together at Willard, and then move to BF for PARCCA 6-8. Our LLD (Language & Learning Disabled) classes for K-2 would be at Willard, Hawes and Ridge, consolidating to 3-5 at Hawes and Ridge. (Traditionally, the numbers of LLD students is reduced from K-2 to 3-5.

Why are Ridge, Hawes and Willard the schools chosen to be expanded? Why not Travell or Somerville or Orchard? This mainly has to do with property and the availability of space for expansion. Ridge and Hawes have the most room. And Willard, as the oldest elementary school, has some very small classrooms which can be easily adapted for LLD or PARCCA, with the addition of larger non-LLD classrooms.

BOE Meeting Notes 8/25

Want some of the highlights from last night's Board of Ed meeting?

At last night's meeting, we had a presentation on Board ethics and our self-evaluation from the NJ School Boards Association. Previously, each of us rated the Board and ourselves on our performance in several areas, such as: planning, policy, student achievement, finance, board operations, board performance, communications, etc. This self-evaluation is mandated by law, but it's also a very good idea even if it weren't required. It's definitely interesting to see how our perspectives differ. I'm sure this document will be useful when we have our Board Retreat 9/15 (see below).

Last night we approved a giant list of all textbooks to be used for the 2008-2009 school year. We will be posting it on the District website soon, in case you're interested.

We also approved a big list of field trips. In the past, the Board approved only overnight field trips, and not day trips. But one of the new state regulations is that we must approve every field trip, even the elementary kids walking downtown, and all those day trips must also be approved by the County Superintendent.

The Board accepted a donation of $80,900 from the Ridge HSA for the replacement of the Ridge playground equipment. Wow ! Great job, Ridge parents! Thank you!

Angelo DeSimone, Business Administrator, made a presentation on behalf of the Facilities Commmittee (of which I'm a member), showing where we're at so far in putting together a list of projects to be included in a bond referendum next year. The district has a lot of needs, and we are working hard to come up with the list. We're focusing on four areas (all of this is POTENTIAL, folks, still up for much discussion and study!):
1) Renovation & Repair of Buildings (every school needs something)
2) Expansion, adding classroom space at GW, Willard, Ridge and Hawes
3) Energy -- Improved Efficiency and/or Generation of Energy
4) Recreation & Field Facilities, both for the education/health of our students and as part of our commitment to work with the community to meet needs

The Facilities Committee will keep meeting to refine a list of projects. We will be discussing portions of the list at every upcoming Board meeting, then we'll be discussing it at HSA meetings and other venues for parent/public input. Please keep an eye out for announcements...check the RPS website...check this blog...keep informed!

So those are the highlights. Our next regular BOE meeting is 9/8, and then we'll be holding a Board "retreat" on 9/15, where we'll focus our discussion on how we operate as a Board, especially relevant in light of our new superintendent, Dr. Fishbein.

As always, please email me or post a message here if you have any questions or comments.