Laura’s Notes on the Berkeley Heights 05/20/2024 BOE Meeting Agenda
Superintendent Search, Social Media Policy, OPMA and Recognition The Board of Education’s special meeting is tonight with the public session expected to begin at 6:30 PM. Unlike other meetings, the Board will meet to discuss the one and only business item before adjourning into Executive session. The NJSBA Superintendent Search Discussion is the main attraction for this special meeting. This is the first meeting surrounding the process of hiring...
NJ Proficiency Reports – Berkeley Heights Public Schools Climate Indicators
Two climate indicators we decided to examine this year were HIB and Chronic Absenteeism compared to the other schools on the BHCW 7-District Dashboard. Chronic Absenteeism Berkeley Heights was in the higher middle in the percentage of students identified as chronically absent but experienced the second-highest jump from 2018 to 2019. HIB We demonstrated some improvement in connection to...
Resident Writes To Board On Traffic & Safety at Woodruff
-Cathy Marshott In the last BOE meeting much focus came from the feedback of about 10 parents in connection to courtesy busing and high school students. What many parents don’t realize is that there is a severe need for enhanced bussing in our middle, elementary and K-2 schools. The decision to lower subscription busing costs for families will help everyone....
Laura’s Notes on the 05/07/2024 BOE Meeting Part 2: Budget, Staff and Contracts
What should have been a focused Budget adoption meeting of the Board of Education turned into another marathon, with tensions boiling over. We have published content on the transportation and bussing issue ad nauseam, so this meeting recap will not address any of those concerns or discussions. The budget was passed with all members voting in support of the 2024-25 proposal. Dipti Khanna,...
Laura’s Notes on the 05/07/2024 BOE Meeting Part 1: Transportation & Bussing
Ms. Bradford introduced a motion to reverse the decision from the last meeting in which the Board approved only Mandated and Subscription bussing. Ms. Akiri called her out as she had not provided 48-hour notice of this motion before the meeting, per Board policy. The Board attorney allowed the vote to happen. The motion failed with a 4-2 vote. (Mr....
The New BOE Majority is Turning Things Around, and the Party Machines Are Getting Nervous
I am writing a lot this week but have more to say than usual. If all you’ve been paying attention to is the noise on the forums and theatre in Council meetings, you would have missed a few significant developments. With a new majority in place within the BOE, some significant changes that will benefit families have arisen: (1) Budget : For...
BHPSNJ 2024-2025 Tentative Budget
As a result of an OPRA request, BHCW received the complete 2024-2025 tentative budget. The fact that we got it prior to the meeting is an improvement from last year. The tentative budget represents an overall increase of ~$900,000 from the prior year which would represent a 2% tax increase. It appears that textbooks are getting a 25k boost this...
Laura’s Notes on the 05/07/2024 Berkeley Heights BOE Agenda
2024 Budget, Busing, Administrative Positions on the Agenda for Tuesday SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT The resignation of Angela Penna from the Board of Education BUDGET The final presentation and adoption of the BHPS budget will occur. The total 2024-25 budget is $61,658,566. Following the presentation, a public hearing on budget items only will occur. ADMINISTRATION* F. Approve Appointment of Interim Superintendent of...
How Did Berkeley Heights Schools Compare on Student Growth for Math and ELA?
Student Growth is defined in the NJ Performance Report as: …..a measure of how much students are learning each year. New Jersey’s ESSA state plan outlines that academic progress will be measured with school’s median student growth percentile (mSGP) on statewide ELA and mathematics assessments. Each individual student receives a Student Growth Percentile (SGP) for English Language Arts (ELA) in...
NJ Proficiency Reports – How Did Each Berkeley Heights School Do on Math, Science and ELA?
Earlier this year we published preliminary results on each school, based on NJ DOE data with a caution that folks should wait on the NJ Performance Reports to come out before arriving at any conclusions. The final result lined up pretty closely with our original analysis. Here is the updated data. Math CMS is the only school at/above where it...
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