Boonton High School

Boonton High School
Address
306 Lathrop Avenue Boonton , Morris County , New Jersey 07005 United States
Coordinates	40°54′08″N74°24′19″W / 40.902137°N 74.405216°W / 40.902137; -74.405216
Information
Type	Public high school
Motto	A World Class Education for Tomorrow's Leaders
Established	1875 [1]
School district	Boonton Public Schools
NCES School ID	340195004154 [2]
Principal	Jason Klebez
Faculty	59.8 FTEs [2]
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	656 (as of 2023–24) [2]
Student to teacher ratio	11.0:1 [2]
Color(s)	Black   Red [3] [4]
Athletics conference	Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference (general) North Jersey Super Football Conference (football)
Team name	Bombers [3]
Accreditation	Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools [5]
Newspaper	Wampus [6]
Website	www.boontonschools.org/boontonhighschool

Boonton High School is a comprehensive four-year public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Boonton, in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Boonton Public Schools. The school is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools until July 2029 and has been accredited since 1928. ^[5]

As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 656 students and 59.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.0:1. There were 149 students (22.7% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 33 (5.0% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch. ^[2]

The high school serves students from Boonton and approximately 300 students from Lincoln Park, who attend as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Lincoln Park Public Schools. ^{[7] [8]} The two districts had sought to sever the more-than-50-year-old relationship, citing cost savings that could be achieved by both districts and complaints by Lincoln Park that it is granted only one seat on the Boonton Public Schools' Board of Education. In April 2006, the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education rejected the request. ^[9]

History

Students from Parsippany–Troy Hills had attended the high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Parsippany–Troy Hills School District until Parsippany High School opened for the 1956-57 school year, leaving students attending from Boonton Township, Lincoln Park and Montville Township. ^[10]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 212th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. ^[11] The school had been ranked 109th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 130th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. ^[12] The magazine ranked the school 112th in 2008 out of 316 schools. ^[13] The school was ranked 128th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state. ^[14]

Schooldigger.com ranked the school as 259th out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (a decrease of 15 positions from the 2009 rank) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the language arts literacy and mathematics components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA). ^[15]

Athletics

The Boonton High School Bombers ^[3] compete in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), which includes 39 public and private high schools in Morris and Sussex counties, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). ^{[16] [17]} Before the 2010 realignment, the school had competed in the Colonial Hills Conference, which includes public and private high schools in Essex, Morris and Somerset counties. ^[18] With 459 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group I for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 75 to 476 students in that grade range. ^[19] The football team competes in the National Blue division of the North Jersey Super Football Conference, which includes 112 schools competing in 20 divisions, making it the nation's biggest football-only high school sports league. ^{[20] [21]} The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 254 to 474 students. ^[22]

The school participates in a joint ice hockey team with Mountain Lakes High School as the host school / lead agency. The co-op program operates under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year. ^[23]

The boys' lacrosse team won the 1976 state title by defeating Montclair High School by a score of 8–5 in the championship game, after losing to Montclair in the state finals in both 1974 (by a score of 9–2) and 1975 (by 10–3). ^[24] The 1998 team won the state championship with an 8-5 win against Montclair High School in the championship game. ^[25]

The field hockey team won the North II Group II state sectional championships in 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1994, North II Group I in 1998, North I Group I in 2004. The team was the runner-up for the Group II state championship in 1991 and 1992, and for the Group I title in 1998. ^[26]

The football team won the NJSIAA North I Group I state sectional championship in 2003 and 2019. ^[27] The team finished with a season record of 11–1 in 2003 after winning the North I Group I state title with a 14–7 win against Butler High School in the championship game with 2,000 spectators at Henry P. Becton Regional High School. ^[28] The team won the North I Group I title in 2019 with a 34–21 win against Cedar Grove High School. ^[29]

The boys basketball team won NJSIAA sectional titles in 1995 (North II, Group II) ^[30] and 2005 (North I, Group I). ^[31] The 1995 team was the runner up in the Group II finals.

The boys track team won the spring / outdoor track state championship in Group I in 2017. ^[32]

The Mountain Lakes-Boonton co-op ice hockey team won the Haas Cup in 2020. ^[33]

The girls basketball team won the NJSIAA North I Group I sectional tournament in 2023, defeating Park Ridge High School by 42-28 in the tournament final, to win the program's first sectional title since 1990. ^[34]

Administration

The school's principal is Jason Klebez. His core administration team includes two vice principals and the athletic director. ^[35]

Notable alumni

See also: Category:Boonton High School alumni

Notable alumni of Boonton High School include: ^[36]

• Amanda Bennett (born 1952), Pulitzer Prize-winner, formerly of The Wall Street Journal , now with Bloomberg News ^[37]
• Anthony M. Bucco (born 1962), member of the New Jersey General Assembly who served together with his father, Anthony R. Bucco, in the New Jersey Legislature since taking office in 2010. ^[38]
• Hector A. Cafferata Jr. (1929–2016, class of 1949), United States Marine awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic service at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War. ^[39]
• Frederick Walker Castle (1908–1944), general officer in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, and a recipient of the Medal of Honor. ^[40]
• Alex DeCroce (1936–2012), politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly, where he represented the 26th Legislative District from 1989 until his death. ^[41]
• Mario DeMarco (1924–1956), former professional football player. ^[42]
• Dean Gallo (1935–1994, class of 1954), politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing New Jersey's 11th congressional district from 1985 until his death. ^[43]
• Andrew D. Hurwitz (born 1947), United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. ^[44]
• Ashish Jha (born 1970, class of 1988), general internist physician and academic serving as Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. ^[45]
• A. J. Khubani (born 1959), founder, president and CEO of Telebrands Corp. ^[46]
• Jim Kiick (1946–2020), former NFL halfback best known for playing with the Miami Dolphins. ^{[47] [48]}
• Jim Lewis (born 1955), writer for the Muppets, Disney, and Hollywood. ^[36]
• Joseph J. Maraziti (1912–1991), U.S. representative, member of the New Jersey General Assembly and member of the New Jersey Senate, lawyer and judge ^[49]
• Mike Michalowicz (born 1970), business author, Wall Street Journal columnist and television host. ^[50]
• Peter Onorati (born 1953), actor. ^[51]
• James N. Post III (class of 1978), former United States Air Force officer who served as Director of the United States Air Forces Central Command's Air and Space Operations Center ^[52]
• Jeffrey L. Seglin (born 1956), newspaper columnist and faculty member at John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. ^[36]
• Walter D. Van Riper (1895–1973, class of 1912), Attorney General of New Jersey from 1944 to 1948. ^[53]
• James P. Vreeland (1910-2001, class of 1927), politician who served four terms in the New Jersey Senate after a term in the New Jersey General Assembly. ^[54]

Notable faculty

• Charlie Weis (born 1956), University of Notre Dame football coach was an assistant football coach at Boonton High School in 1979. ^[55]

References

1. Hatala, Greg. "Glimpse of History: Well-dressed graduates in Boonton", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 22, 2015, updated March 29, 2019. Accessed February 16, 2022. "The Boonton Historical Society and Museum notes that the high school was founded in 1875, only eight years after Boonton was officially incorporated as a town."
2. School data for Boonton High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
3. Boonton High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
4. Boonton Football, MaxPreps. Accessed September 10, 2017.
5. Boonton High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed December 18, 2024.
6. About Us, Wampus Newspaper. Accessed February 16, 2022.
7. Boonton High 2016 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed November 26, 2017. "Boonton High School, located in Morris County, New Jersey serves approximately 600 students in grades 9-12 and is comprised oftwo municipalities; the towns of Boonton and Lincoln Park."
8. Lincoln Park School District 2016 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed November 26, 2017. "Lincoln Park participates in a sending-receiving relationship with Boonton High School, which offers a comprehensive educational program for children in grades 9 through 12. The Lincoln Park School District sends approximately 290 students to Boonton High School. Approximately 70 high school age students attend The Academies of Morris County. "
9. Commissioner of Education Decision, New Jersey Department of Education, April 25, 2006. Accessed March 21, 2011.
10. "HS for Boonton Students To Cost $620 Per Pupil", The News, December 11, 1956. Accessed May 30, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The lower enrollment Is caused by the withdrawal of Parsippany-Troy Hills Township pupils who will attend that municipality's new high school. The enrollment from the other three sending districts -- Lincoln Park. Montville Township and Boonton Township -- has Increased, thus making the net loss smaller than the enrollment at Parsippany High School would indicate."
11. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly , September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
12. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly , August 16, 2012. Accessed August 23, 2012.
13. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly , August 16, 2010. Accessed July 19, 2011.
14. "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly , September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
15. New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2009-2010 ^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}, Schooldigger.com. Accessed February 15, 2012.
16. Home Page, Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference. Accessed August 27, 2020. "The Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference prides itself on being one of New Jersey's premier high school conferences and is comprised of 39 high schools located in Northwest New Jersey."
17. League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
18. Home page, Colonial Hills Conference, backed up by the Internet Archive as of February 20, 2009. Accessed August 27, 2011.
19. NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
20. Cooper, Darren. "Here's what we know about the new Super Football Conference 2020 schedule", The Record , July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference (SFC) is a 112-team group, the largest high school football-only conference in America, and is comprised of teams from five different counties."
21. Cooper, Darren. "NJ football: Super Football Conference revised schedules for 2020 regular season", The Record , July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference has 112 teams that will play across 20 divisions."
22. NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
23. NJSIAA Winter Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
24. NJSIAA Boys Lacrosse Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
25. "Boonton Wins State Lacrosse Crown", Daily Record , June 3, 1976. Accessed January 2, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "'Yes, I would say that this is the happiest moment of my coaching career,' declared Boonton coach Dick Rizk after his team had won the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association state lacrosse championship by defeating Montclair, 8-5, at the Fairleigh Dickinson University field yesterday.... Yesterday's game was the title game of the third annual NJSIAA tourney. The results of the past two championship contests were: Montclair 9, Boonton 2 in 1974 and Montclair 10, Boonton 3, last year."
26. History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
27. NJSIAA Football History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 1, 2022.
28. Tober, Steve. "Victory; Boonton bests Butler for state title; Bombers capture first state crown in school history", Daily Record , December 11, 2003. Accessed March 4, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Boonton's previous best-ever football victory was strictly in the past tense. After all, there was still a mission to complete in this historic 2003 season for the Bombers, but first they had to rid themselves of the rust of a snow-induced, two-and-a-half week wait until Wednesday afternoon's rescheduled North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 state playoff championship game. Thanks to a couple of huge offensive plays and an opportunistic defense that took advantage of seven Butler turnovers, Boonton re-energized itself when it mattered most and rode a strong second half for a 14-7 victory. The monumental triumph sealed the school's first-ever state playoff title before a spirited crowd of 2,000 at Becton Regional's Field-Turf home surface in East Rutherford."
29. Koob, Andrew. "Football: Big plays, timely defense powers Boonton to first title since ’03", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 23, 2019. Accessed September 25, 2020. "That score, coupled with two big games from its usual speed backs and a timely defensive stand, was more than enough to lift fourth-seeded Boonton to a 34-21 win over second-seeded Cedar Grove in the NJSIAA/Rothman Orthopaedics North 1, Group 1 championship game to give Boonton its second ever sectional title and first since 2003."
30. "Daily Record 08 Mar 1995, page 19". Newspapers.com. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
31. "Daily Record 10 Mar 2005, page 17". Newspapers.com. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
32. NJSIAA Spring Track Summary of Group Titles Boys, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2021.
33. NJSIAA Ice Hockey State Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
34. Knego, Lauren. "Strong second half propels fifth-seeded Boonton to first sectional title since 1990", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, February 28, 2023. Accessed April 26, 2023. "The Boonton seniors had been building up to Tuesday night’s NJSIAA North 1, Group 1 final since they were freshmen.... Fifth-seeded Boonton exceeded its expectations as the Bombers won their first sectional title since 1990 with a 41-35 victory over third-seeded Park Ridge at Park Ridge High School."
35. Administration, Boonton High School. Accessed January 19, 2022.
36. Paik, Eugene "Boonton Museum Honors Accomplished Alumni", The Star-Ledger , June 19, 2009. Accessed August 27, 2011.
37. Evans, Thomas. "The Best And The Brightest From Boonton High: `Wall of Fame' hails achievements Twenty-two more to be inducted", The Star-Ledger , November 6, 1997. Accessed August 19, 2007. "Amanda Bennett, class of 1970, will enter the hall this year, based on her career as a journalist for the Wall Street Journal. Bennett, the Journal's Atlanta bureau chief, was one of a team of the paper's reporters who received a Pulitzer Prize last year for a series on the development and effectiveness of new AIDS treatments."
38. Ragonese, Lawrence. "A new Trenton team: The Buccos", The Star-Ledger , November 7, 2009. Accessed July 19, 2011. "Father and son. Senator and assemblyman-elect. Anthony Bucco and Anthony Bucco Jr. The Buccos will serve together in the Legislature after the younger Bucco takes the oath of office Jan. 12, the result of his win Tuesday in Morris County's 25th District. The Republican duo will join the small club of parent-child legislators who have served together in New Jersey.... Tony Sr., now 71, was first running for alderman in Boonton when his son was getting elected class president at Boonton High School."
39. Seman, Rob. "Ex-Morris vet's name to grace Florida school" Archived January 21, 2013, at archive.today , Daily Record , February 25, 2005. Accessed August 19, 2007. "Cafferata was born in New York City, but moved to Morris County with his family when he was 9 years old and lived in Lake Hiawatha and Montville. He graduated from Boonton High School in 1949, and was one of the first inductees to the school's Hall of Fame in 1996."
40. Brigadier General Frederick Walker Castle Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine , Mountain Lakes, New Jersey. Accessed August 19, 2007. "He entered the United States Military Academy, from which his father was a 1907 graduate, in July of 1926, after attending Boonton High School and Storm King (NY) Military Academy."
41. Assembly, No. 3789 - 215th Legislature, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed September 1, 2019. "Whereas, The Honorable Alex DeCroce, born June 10, 1936 in Morristown, New Jersey, was a life-long New Jersey resident who grew up in Morris County and attended Boonton High School and Seton Hall University"
42. Andrikanich, Ryan. "Honoring a legend" Archived November 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine , Daily Record , December 9, 2006. Accessed July 19, 2011. "On this day 50 years ago, one of the worst commercial aviation disasters in Canadian history took the life of a promising young American football player who began his career as an offensive lineman for Boonton High School.... Mario DeMarco was born and raised in Boonton and played football for four years as a starting offensive lineman."
43. Kuzma, David. "Inventory to the Dean A. Gallo Congressional Papers", Rutgers University. Accessed November 26, 2017. "1935: On November 23rd, Dean Anderson Gallo is born in Hackensack, New Jersey. (Subsequently grows up in Parsippany-Troy Hills Township, Morris County, New Jersey.); 1954: Graduates from Boonton High School, Boonton, New Jersey."
44. "Boonton Princetonian Aiding Mayor Rudden", Herald News , July 5, 1967. Accessed January 19, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Andrew Hurwitz, 19, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hurwitz of 218 Park Ave., is serving a special internship this summer with the State Department of Community Relations.... A 1964 graduate of Boonton High School, Hurwitz is seeking career with the Justice Department, after he completes law training."
45. "Boonton High School graduates 222 students", Daily Record , June 28, 1988. Accessed October 12, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Boonton High School's 111th graduating class was graduated in ceremonies at Wiggins Field.... Ashish Jha was the valedictorian and Cameron Dales was salutatorian.
46. Westhoven, William. "N.J. moves to cancel 'As Seen on TV'", Daily Record , August 13, 2014. Accessed July 25, 2022. "The company was founded by Chief Executive Officer AJ Khubani, a 1978 graduate of Boonton High School who was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2012."
47. Pope, Clementina. "Boonton Honors Kiick", Daily Record , November 7, 1999. Accessed August 27, 2011. "Yesterday, the 53-year-old former NFL great was honored at Boonton High School by family, friends, school officials and his former football coach, now board of education Vice President Joe Molitoris."
48. Jim Kiick Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine , database Football. Accessed August 19, 2007.
49. "Maraziti Out in Front in Assembly Race". Maraziti Out in Front in Assembly Race. April 17, 1958. p. 27. Retrieved February 1, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
50. O'Brien, Walter. "Boonton's Mike Michalowicz, Films Reality Show in Clinton, New Jersey", Courier News , May 26, 2009. Accessed July 19, 2011.
51. Robertson, Nan. "Heard but Unseen, Seven Actors Share 'Talk Radio' Roles", The New York Times , July 30, 1987. Accessed July 19, 2011. "'My coach at Boonton High School in New Jersey used to say of me, "One hundred seventy-two pounds of blue twisted steel, tempered to perfection",' Mr. Onorati recalled with a laugh..."
52. "Boonton Graduates Seniors", Daily Record , June 25, 1978. Accessed April 26, 2023, via Newspapers.com.
53. Pierson, David Lawrence. History of the Oranges to 1921: Reviewing the Rise, Development and Progress of an Influential Community, Volume 4, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1922. Accessed December 22, 2021. "Walter D. Van Riper was born in Montville, Morris county, New Jersey, May 18, 1895, and there completed grammar school courses of study with the class of 1908. He was a student at Boonton High School, 1908-12, and after graduation with the class of 1912 he entered New Jersey Law School whence he was graduated LL. B., class of 1915."
54. Staff. "James P. Vreeland Jr., 91, former state senator, devoted to community service and to farming", New Jersey Hills, July 11, 2001. Accessed January 21, 2018. "Senator Vreeland was born in the Towaco section of Montville and lived there all of his life. He was a 1927 graduate of Boonton High School and went on to attend both Rutgers University and Lehigh University."
55. Charlie Weis profile Archived December 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , CSTV. Accessed August 19, 2007. "The Trenton, N.J., native began his coaching career in 1979 at Boonton High School in New Jersey, then spent the next five seasons at Morristown (N.J.) High School as a football assistant."

External links

• Boonton High School
• Boonton Public Schools
• School Performance Report for Boonton High School , New Jersey Department of Education
• School Data for the Boonton Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics