Commercial Township School District

Commercial Township School District
Address
1308 North Avenue Port Norris , Cumberland County , New Jersey , 08349 United States
Coordinates	39°16′56″N75°01′27″W / 39.282118°N 75.024196°W / 39.282118; -75.024196
District information
Grades	K-8
Superintendent	Jean Smith
Business administrator	Darren Harris
Schools	1
Students and staff
Enrollment	481 (as of 2022–23) [1]
Faculty	39.0 FTEs [1]
Student–teacher ratio	12.3:1 [1]
Other information
District Factor Group	A
Website	commercialschools.org
Ind. Per pupil District spending Rank (*) K-8 average  %± vs. average 1A Total Spending $18,559 34 $18,891 −1.8% 1 Budgetary Cost 11,805 8 14,159 −16.6% 2 Classroom Instruction 7,660 10 8,659 −11.5% 6 Support Services 1,396 5 2,167 −35.6% 8 Administrative Cost 1,612 27 1,547 4.2% 10 Operations & Maintenance 1,076 7 1,612 −33.3% 13 Extracurricular Activities 40 8 104 −61.5% 16 Median Teacher Salary 59,530 32 61,136 Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending. [2] *Of K-8 districts with 401-750 students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=64

The Commercial Township School District is a community public school district that serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade from Commercial Township, in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 481 students and 39.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.3:1. ^[1]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "A", the lowest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J. ^[6]

Students in ninth through twelfth grades for public school attend Millville High School in Millville, together with students from Lawrence Township and Maurice River Township, as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Millville Public Schools. ^{[7] [8]} As of the 2022–23 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,640 students and 70.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 23.4:1. ^[9]

History

In the era of de jure educational segregation in the United States the district maintained separate schools on the basis of race. In 1948 this persisted; the Journal of Negro Education that year wrote that the elementary school for black students "is in very bad condition", citing water and snow coming in from a roof in poor condition. ^[10]

With student enrollment falling, the district closed Port Norris Middle School during the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, a facility which had been open since 1916. All district students were consolidated into Commercial Township School, which had previously been known as Haleyville-Mauricetown Elementary School. ^[11]

Schools

Commercial Township School serves students in grades K-8 and had an enrollment of 470 students in the 2022–23 school year. ^[12]

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are: ^{[13] [14]}

• Jean Smith, superintendent and principal ^[15]
• Darren Harris, business administrator and board secretary ^[16]

Board of education

The district's board of education, comprised of nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election. 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. ^{[17] [18] [19]}

References

1. District information for Commercial Township School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
2. Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
3. Commercial Township Board of Education District Bylaws 0110 - Identification, Commercial Township School District. Accessed September 19, 2024. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Pre-Kindergarten through eight in the Commercial Township School District. Composition: The Commercial Township School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Commercial Township."
4. School Performance Reports for the Commercial Township Public School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 3, 2024.
5. New Jersey School Directory for the Commercial Township School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
6. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 8, 2014.
7. Sending District Students Archived 2014-12-08 at the Wayback Machine , Millville Public Schools. Accessed December 8, 2014. "9TH – 12th grade students who attend Memorial and MSHS from Woodbine, Commercial Township, Lawrence Township, and Maurice River Township will need to establish their proof of residency with their district."
8. Jones, Jean. "Maurice River enlists state help in fighting Millville HS tuition increase", South Jersey Times , January 16, 2008. Accessed December 8, 2014. "He said Millville is unwilling to pass on its need for more funding to its own taxpayers so it is passing the increase on to the sending districts -- Commercial, Maurice River and Lawrence townships and Woodbine."
9. School data for Millville Senior High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
10. Jensen, Noma (Winter 1948). "A Survey of Segregation Practices in the New Jersey School System". The Journal of Negro Education . 17 (1). Journal of Negro Education: 84–88. JSTOR   2966093. - CITED: p. 86.
11. Smith, Joseph P. "What's the bid? Port Norris school looks for buyer", Courier Post , July 3, 2024. Accessed September 19, 2024. "COVID-19 closed it temporarily, consolidation of grades into a newer school made the shutdown permanent, and now an auction company is trying to find a new owner. “It” is the former Port Norris Middle School. Starting in 1916, generations of Commercial Township children were educated there. But the middle school closed in March 2020, at the start of the pandemic. That July, the Board of Education made it permanent after looking at declining enrollment. Middle school grades were rolled into what now is known as Commercial Township School."
12. School Data for the Commercial Township School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
13. Administration, Commercial Township School District. Accessed September 19, 2024.
14. New Jersey School Directory for Cumberland County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
15. Superintendent, Commercial Township School District. Accessed September 19, 2024.
16. Business Office, Commercial Township School District. Accessed September 19, 2024.
17. New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election, New Jersey Department of Education, updated February 16, 2018. Accessed January 26, 2020.
18. Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Commercial Township School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2023. Accessed April 9, 2024. "The Commercial Township School District is a Type II district as provided by statute of the State of New Jersey. As a Type II District, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education. The board is comprised of nine members elected to three-year terms. The purpose of the District is to educate students in grades K-8."
19. Board of Education, Commercial Township School District. Accessed September 19, 2024.

External links

• Commercial Township School District
• School Performance Reports for the Commercial Township School District , New Jersey Department of Education
• School Data for the Commercial Township School District, National Center for Education Statistics