Prospect Park School District

Last updated

Prospect Park School District
Address
290 North 8th Street
Prospect Park
, Passaic County , New Jersey , 07508
United States
Coordinates 40°55′59″N74°10′21″W / 40.933179°N 74.172362°W / 40.933179; -74.172362
District information
Grades PreK-8
SuperintendentMichael Parent (acting)
Business administratorFahim Abedrabbo
Schools2
Students and staff
Enrollment834 (as of 2023–24) [1]
Faculty80.7 FTEs [1]
Student–teacher ratio10.3:1 [1]
Other information
District Factor Group B
Website www.prospectparknj.com
Ind.Per pupilDistrict
spending		Rank
(*)		K-8
average		 %± vs.
average
1ATotal Spending$15,23713$18,891−19.3%
1Budgetary Cost11,9041414,159−15.9%
2Classroom Instruction7,662188,659−11.5%
6Support Services1,545122,167−28.7%
8Administrative Cost1,511361,547−2.3%
10Operations & Maintenance1,12171,612−30.5%
13Extracurricular Activities41104−96.2%
16Median Teacher Salary61,8504861,136
Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending. [2]
*Of K-8 districts with more than 750 students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=84

The Prospect Park School District is a community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from Prospect Park, in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. [3]

Contents

As of the 2023–24 school year, the district, comprised of two schools, had an enrollment of 834 students and 80.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.3:1. [1]

For ninth through twelfth grades, public school students attend Manchester Regional High School, which also serves students from Haledon and North Haledon. [4] As of the 2023–24 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 819 students and 60.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.7:1. [5]

History

The district's original school, Prospect Park Elementary School, has expanded multiple times to accommodate its growing student body, including a $1.5 million preschool expansion completed in 2012. [6]

As of the 2014–15 school year, Prospect Park's share of funding for the Manchester had more than doubled in the previous decade, with property taxes for the regional district rising nearly $700 on the average home in the previous two years after a 2013 change by the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education to the district's funding formula that allocated costs with half based on enrollment and half based on valuation, a formula that benefited North Haledon. Haledon and Prospect Park had argued that property valuation should be the basis for assessing district taxes, while North Haledon, with the largest property valuation, had argued that funding should be based exclusively on enrollment. [7]

The district had been classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "B", the second 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. [8]

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2023–24 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics [9] ) are: [10] [11] [12]

Administration

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

Board of education

The district's board of education, comprised of seven 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 either two or 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. [16] [17] [18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 District information for Prospect Park 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. ↑ Prospect Park Board of Education Distritc Policy 0110 - Identification, Prospect Park School District, adopted January 4, 2022. Accessed February 10, 2025. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Kindergarten through eight in the Prospect Park School District. Composition: The Prospect Park School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Prospect Park."
  4. ↑ DeVencentis, Phil. "Taxes are flat under Manchester Regional budget, but one town still sees big increase", The Record , May 16, 2024. Accessed February 10, 2025. "The Manchester Regional school board has approved a $31.7 million budget for next year in which the overall tax burden shared by three constituent towns will remain flat. But the smallest of those communities — Prospect Park — is not deriving any benefit. In fact, residents there will be hit by a hefty tax hike while those in Haledon and in North Haledon are getting their bills lowered.... Those figures are calculated using a funding formula that was created by the state Department of Education in August 2013. In simple terms, half of the tax burden is based on enrollment, and the other half on ratables."
  5. ↑ School data for Passaic County-Manchester Regional High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
  6. ↑ Zaremba, Justin. "Wing to be dedicated to late Prospect Park Superintendent", The Gazette (Hawthorne edition), January 26, 2012. Accessed March 19, 2017. "The dedication of the new preschool expansion at Prospect Park School 1 was delayed last week due to concerns about weather conditions.... Magura, who was a member of the board that helmed the project, said most of the $1.5 million project was covered by state grants which provided funding for projects focused on improving facilities for children with special needs."
  7. ↑ Park, Minjae. "Prospect Park residents appeal to lawmakers for more school aid for Manchester Regional", The Record , March 18, 2015. Accessed March 22, 2015. "At the court's order, the state commissioner of education created a new funding formula based one-third on enrollment and two-thirds on property values. North Haledon appealed and an administrative law judge in 2011 ordered the commissioner to create a new formula, recommending it be based two-thirds on enrollment and one-third on property values. Instead, Cerf in 2003 divided the burden 50-50 between enrollment and tax base, satisfying none of the boroughs."
  8. ↑ District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 1, 2024.
  9. ↑ School Data for the Prospect Park School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
  10. ↑ 2024–25 Public School Directory, Passaic County, New Jersey. Accessed February 1, 2025.
  11. ↑ Prospect Park Public School District School Performance Reports, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 3, 2024.
  12. ↑ New Jersey School Directory for the Prospect Park School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  13. ↑ District Information, Prospect Park School District. Accessed February 10, 2025. "The Prospect Park School District is a community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from Prospect Park, in Passaic County. After completing grade 8, students attend Manchester Regional High School, which also serves students from Haledon and North Haledon."
  14. ↑ New Jersey School Directory for Passaic County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  15. ↑ Business Office, Prospect Park School District. Accessed February 10, 2025.
  16. ↑ 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.
  17. ↑ Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the Prospect Park School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2024. Accessed February 10, 2025. "The Board of Education ('Board') of the Borough of Prospect School District ('District') is an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, established to function as an educational institution. The Borough of Prospect Park School District is a Type II district located in the County of Passaic, State of New Jersey. As a Type II district, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education. The board is comprised of seven members elected to three-year terms. The purpose of the District is to educate students in grades K-8. A superintendent is appointed by the Board and is responsible for the administrative control of the District." See "Roster of Officials" on page 15.
  18. ↑ Board of Education, Prospect Park School District. Accessed February 10, 2025.
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