Jefferson Township Public Schools

Jefferson Township Public Schools
Address
28 Bowling Green Parkway Lake Hopatcong, NJ 07849 United States
Coordinates	40°57′43″N74°35′49″W / 40.961896°N 74.596896°W / 40.961896; -74.596896
District information
Grades	PreK-12
Superintendent	Jeanne Howe
Business administrator	Rita Oroho-Giacchi
Schools	6
Students and staff
Enrollment	2,672 (as of 2023–24) [1]
Faculty	246.7 FTEs [1]
Student–teacher ratio	10.8:1 [1]
Other information
District Factor Group	GH
Website	www.jefftwp.org
Ind. Per pupil District spending Rank (*) K-12 average  %± vs. average 1A Total Spending $18,371 39 $18,891 −2.8% 1 Budgetary Cost 14,224 43 14,783 −3.8% 2 Classroom Instruction 8,041 31 8,763 −8.2% 6 Support Services 2,478 55 2,392 3.6% 8 Administrative Cost 1,606 48 1,485 8.1% 10 Operations & Maintenance 1,726 43 1,783 −3.2% 13 Extracurricular Activities 274 8 268 2.2% 16 Median Teacher Salary 56,239 10 64,043 Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending. [2] *Of K-12 districts with 1,800-3,500 students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=68

The Jefferson Township Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district, serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Jefferson Township, in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ^[3]

As of the 2023–24 school year, the district, comprised of six schools, had an enrollment of 2,672 students and 246.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.8:1. ^[1]

History

District enrollment, which had peaked at 3,648 in the 2006–07 school year, had dropped to 3,406 by 2012–13 and had reached 2,529 in the 2022–23 school year. Enrollment at the high school reached its highest in 2007–08 with 1,125 students, declining to 1,034 in 2012–13 and 839 in 2023–24. ^[4]

In the face of declining enrollment and a state school-funding formula that favors districts with rising student populations, the district said that the changes to the calculation of aid numbers resulted in a loss $45 million in state funding from 2018 to 2024, leading to the closure in 2021 of Milton Elementary School and plans to close Cozy Lake Elementary School after the 2024–25 school year. ^[5]

The district had been classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "GH", the third-highest 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]

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2023–24 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ^[7] ) are: ^{[8] [9] [10]}

Elementary schools

• Ellen T. Briggs Elementary School ^[11] with 213 students in grades PreK–K
  • Randi De Brito, principal ^[12]
• Cozy Lake Elementary School ^[13] with 211 students in grades PreK–K
  • Timothy Plotts, principal ^[14]
• Arthur T. Stanlick Elementary School ^[15] with 396 students in grades 1–5
  • Danny Papa, principal ^[16]
• White Rock Elementary School ^[17] with 479 students in grades 1–5
  • Michael Valenti, principal ^[18]

Middle school

• Jefferson Township Middle School ^[19] with 563 students in grades 6–8
  • Margaret M. Widgren, principal ^[20]

High school

• Jefferson Township High School ^[21] with 791 students in grades 9–12
  • Kevin Lipton, principal ^[22]

Administration

Core members of the district's administration include: ^{[23] [24]}

• Jeanne Howe, superintendent of schools
• Rita Oroho-Giacchi, business administrator and board secretary ^[25]

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. ^{[26] [27] [28]}

References

1. District information for Jefferson Township Public School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
2. Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
3. Jefferson Township Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Jefferson Township Public Schools, adopted October 15, 2001. Accessed January 22, 2025. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades K through 12 in the Jefferson Township School District. Composition: The Jefferson Township School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Jefferson Township."
4. Budget Series: Enrollment Trends, Jefferson Township Public Schools, October 16, 2023. Accessed January 22, 2025.
5. Westhoven, William. "Morris County district will close school, sell offices after 'debilitating' state cuts", Daily Record . September 24, 2024. "Blaming years of 'debilitating' state funding cuts, Jefferson Township School District officials said they will close Cozy Lake Elementary School at the end of the academic year. District offices also will be sold to help make up for a cumulative $45 million in state aid that officials say has been lost since New Jersey recalibrated its school funding formula, known as S2, in 2018.... With numbers down over the longer term, the district was forced to shut Milton Elementary School in 2021. The property has since been leased to a school for student with disabilities."
6. District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 1, 2024.
7. School Data for the Jefferson Township Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024
8. Directions to Our Schools, Jefferson Township Public Schools. Accessed January 22, 2025.
9. School Performance Reports for the Jefferson Township Public Schools, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 3, 2024.
10. New Jersey School Directory for the Jefferson Township Public Schools, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
11. Ellen T. Briggs Elementary School, Jefferson Township Public Schools. Accessed January 22, 2025.
12. About Us, Ellen T. Briggs Elementary School. Accessed January 22, 2025.
13. Cozy Lake Elementary School, Jefferson Township Public Schools. Accessed January 22, 2025.
14. About Our School, Cozy Lake Elementary School. Accessed January 22, 2025.
15. Arthur T. Stanlick Elementary School, Jefferson Township Public Schools. Accessed January 22, 2025.
16. About Us, Arthur T. Stanlick Elementary School. Accessed January 22, 2025.
17. White Rock Elementary School, Jefferson Township Public Schools. Accessed January 22, 2025.
18. About Us, White Rock Elementary School. Accessed January 22, 2025.
19. Jefferson Township Middle School, Jefferson Township Public Schools. Accessed January 22, 2025.
20. About Us, Jefferson Township Middle School. Accessed January 22, 2025.
21. Jefferson Township High School, Jefferson Township Public Schools. Accessed January 22, 2025.
22. 2024–2025 Student Handbook, Jefferson Township High School. Accessed January 22, 2025.
23. District Directort, Jefferson Township Public Schools. Accessed January 22, 2025.
24. New Jersey School Directory for Morris County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
25. Business Office, Jefferson Township Public Schools. Accessed January 22, 2025.
26. 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.
27. Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the Jefferson Township School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2024. Accessed January 22, 2025. "The Board is an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, established to function as an educational institution. The Board consists of elected officials and is responsible for the fiscal control of the District. A superintendent is appointed by the Board and is responsible for the administrative control of the District." See "Roster of Officials" on page 12.
28. About the Board, Jefferson Township Public Schools. Accessed January 22, 2025.

External links

• Jefferson Township Public Schools
• School Performance Reports for the Jefferson Township Public Schools , New Jersey Department of Education
• School Data for the Jefferson Township Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics