Burlington County Special Services School District

Burlington County Special Services District
Address
20 Pioneer Boulevard Westampton , Burlington County , New Jersey , 08060 United States
Coordinates	40°00′53″N74°49′08″W / 40.0146°N 74.8190°W / 40.0146; -74.8190
District information
Grades	Special svc.
Superintendent	Christopher J. Nagy
Business administrator	Andrew C. Willmott
Schools	3
Students and staff
Enrollment	498 (as of 2022–23) [1]
Faculty	109.0 FTEs [1]
Student–teacher ratio	4.6:1 [1]
Other information
Website	www.bcsssd.k12.nj.us
Ind. Per pupil District spending Rank (*) Special svc. average  %± vs. average 1A Total Spending $58,603 5 $18,891 210.2% 1 Budgetary Cost 60,381 6 57,252 5.5% 2 Classroom Instruction 36,289 7 32,861 10.4% 6 Support Services 10,702 5 11,945 −10.4% 8 Administrative Cost 5,888 6 5,725 2.8% 10 Operations & Maintenance 6,536 6 6,215 5.2% 13 Extracurricular Activities 311 3 195 59.5% 16 Median Teacher Salary 75,810 4 77,183 Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending. [2] *Of Special svc. districts with any number of students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=8

The Burlington County Special Services School District is a special education public school district headquartered in Westampton, in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, whose schools offer educational and therapeutic services for students of elementary and high school age from across the county who have emotional of physical disabilities that cannot be addressed by their sending districts.

The Burlington County Special Services School District was established in 1972 by the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders. At first the district served 30 disabled students, but grew within five years to accommodate 500 students from 40 sending school districts in the county. A newly constructed campus for the school was built in Westampton, starting use in January 1983. In 1990, the district opened a high school for at-risk students in Lumberton Township and a K-8 campus was opened the following year in Willingboro Township to help teach students how to overcome their disabilities. ^[3]

As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of three schools, had an enrollment of 498 students and 109.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 4.6:1. ^[1]

History

A group of emotionally and physically disabled students from the school district's marching band participated in the inaugural parade for President Bill Clinton. ^[4] The band also marched in the parade in Atlantic City, New Jersey for the 1993 Miss America pageant. ^[5]

Saying that he "didn't even know it was a paying job" when he was elected to the Assembly in 1995, Superintendent Carmine DeSopo announced in 1996 that he would donate his entire $35,000 annual salary from the Assembly to the school district's marching band and to a camp the district operated for adult graduates. ^[6] Having been responsible for the creation of the district, DeSopo announced in March 2001 that he was retiring at the end of the school year from his position as superintendent after 38 years in the field of education. ^{[7] [8]}

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2019–20 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ^[9] ) are: ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Comprehensive program

• Main Campus at Westampton ^[13] with 396 students in grades PreK-12
  • Dennis Leigh, principal
• Transitions at BCSSSD ^[14]
  • Mary Jean Kneringer, principal
• Burlington County Alternative School at Mount Laurel ^[15] with 61 students in grades 6-12
  • Joan Barbagiovanni, principal
• Lumberton Campus ^[16] with 41 students in grades 6-12
  • Ashanti Holley, interim principal

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are: ^{[17] [18]}

• Christopher J. Nagy, superintendent
• Andrew C. Willmott, business administrator and board secretary

Board of education

The district's board of education sets policy and oversee the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. The board is comprised of seven members, the county superintendent of schools, who serves on an ex officio basis, and six members who are appointed by the Burlington County Board of County Commissioners to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with two member terms up for reappointment and expiring each year. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district. ^{[19] [20]}

References

1. District information for Burlington County Special Services School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024. Note that enrollment was calculated as the sum of the enrollment at each of the three schools and ratio was calculated as total enrollment divided by classroom teacher FTEs.
2. Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
3. History, Burlington County Special Services School District. Accessed February 3, 2022.
4. Staff. "Pageant Decision Is Disappointing, But Burlco Band Plays On The Special Services School's Pioneers Were To Have Marched In A.C., But A Late Application Canceled Their Appearance.", The Philadelphia Inquirer , September 15, 1993. Accessed June 22, 2010.
5. Cannon, Kathleen. "Pageant Relents, Will Let Disabled Band March In Parade", The Press of Atlantic City , September 17, 1993. Accessed June 22, 2010.
6. Johnston, Robert C. and Walsh, Mark. "State Journal: Surprise gift; No charge", Education Week , April 3, 1996. Accessed June 23, 2010.
7. Staff. "Pioneering Burlco Superintendent Announces His Retirement", The Philadelphia Inquirer , March 15, 2001. Accessed June 22, 2010.
8. Staff. "A new year brings changes in staff, Carmine DeSopo is retiring. Lenape gets ready for a new school. Others come and go.", The Philadelphia Inquirer , August 26, 2001. Accessed June 22, 2010.
9. School Data for the Burlington County Special Services School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2021.
10. Public Schools Directory 2023–2024, Burlington County, New Jersey. Accessed March 1, 2024.
11. School Performance Reports for the Burlington County Special Services School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 3, 2024.
12. New Jersey School Directory for the Burlington County Special Services School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
13. Main Campus at Westampton, Burlington County Special Services School District. Accessed March 8, 2024.
14. Transitions at BCSSSD, Burlington County Special Services School District. Accessed March 8, 2024.
15. Burlington County Alternative School at Mount Laurel, Burlington County Special Services School District. Accessed March 8, 2024.
16. Lumberton Campus, Burlington County Special Services School District. Accessed June 4, 2023.
17. District Administration, Burlington County Special Services School. Accessed March 8, 2024.
18. New Jersey School Directory for Burlington County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
19. Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the Burlington County Special Services School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2023. Accessed March 8, 2024. "The Burlington County Special Services School District is a Special Services School District located in the County of Burlington, State of New Jersey. As a Special Services School District, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education. The Board is comprised of six members appointed to three-year terms by the County Commissioners. These terms are staggered so that two members’ terms expire each year."
20. Board of Education, Burlington County Special Services School District. Accessed March 8, 2024.

External links

• Official website