Robbinsville Public School District

Robbinsville Public School District
Address
155 Robbinsville-Edinburg Road Robbinsville Township , Mercer County , New Jersey , 08691
Coordinates	40°14′15″N74°36′55″W / 40.237371°N 74.615212°W / 40.237371; -74.615212
District information
Grades	K-12
Superintendent	Brian J. Betze
Business administrator	Nick Mackres
Schools	3
Students and staff
Enrollment	3,073 (as of 2022–23) [1]
Faculty	253.4 FTEs [1]
Student–teacher ratio	12.1:1 [1]
Other information
District Factor Group	I
Website	www.robbinsville.k12.nj.us
Ind. Per pupil District spending Rank (*) K-12 average  %± vs. average 1A Total Spending $14,969 4 $18,891 −20.8% 1 Budgetary Cost 11,104 3 14,783 −24.9% 2 Classroom Instruction 6,514 3 8,763 −25.7% 6 Support Services 1,566 6 2,392 −34.5% 8 Administrative Cost 1,133 2 1,485 −23.7% 10 Operations & Maintenance 1,379 15 1,783 −22.7% 13 Extracurricular Activities 475 53 268 77.2% 16 Median Teacher Salary 57,942 13 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 Robbinsville Public School District is a comprehensive community public school district serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in Robbinsville Township (known as Washington Township until 2007), in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ^[3]

A new high school was established in the district, which started admitting its first students in 2004–05 as part of ending a sending/receiving relationship with the Lawrence Township Public Schools under which students had attended Lawrence High School.

As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of three schools, had an enrollment of 3,073 students and 253.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.1:1. ^[1]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "I", the second-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. ^[4]

History

In 1981, the-then Washington Township district filed a petition with the New Jersey State Board of Education seeking to terminate their sending/receiving relationship with the Upper Freehold Regional School District, noting that the departure of students from Washington Township would not adversely impact the racial balance at Allentown High School. ^[5] After receiving approval, starting in the 1990–91 school year, students from Washington Township, began attending Lawrence High School, under which all of the township's students would leave Allentown High School by the end of the 1993–94 school year. ^[6]

There was a great struggle in the community to get the high school approved, with a referendum passing in 2001 by a 51–49% margin to approve the construction of a $50 million high school building, while a separate ballot for a pool price at $4.4 million was rejected. ^[7] The school was first opened in 2004 as a wing in the middle school housing ninth graders. The plan was to start with only freshmen and each year fill in an additional grade. In 2005, the new high school building opened.

The sending relationship with the Lawrence Township Public Schools ended with the final group of seniors who graduated in the 2006–07 school year. As of the 2007–08 school year, all four high school grades were housed on campus and the school graduated its first class of approximately 150 students. ^[8]

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2022–23 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ^[9] ) are: ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Elementary school

• Sharon Elementary School ^[13] with 1,005 students in grades PreK-4
  • Nicole Bootier, principal ^[14]

Middle school

• Pond Road Middle School ^[15] with 992 students in grades 5–8
  • Paul Gizzo, principal ^[16]

High school

• Robbinsville High School ^[17] with 1,057 students in grades 9–12
  • Molly C. Avery, principal ^[18]

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are: ^[19]

• Brian J. Betze, superintendent ^[20]
• Nick Mackres, business administrator and board secretary ^[21]

Board of education

The district's board of education, comprised of nine elected 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. ^{[22] [23] [24]}

References

1. District information for Robbinsville Public 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. Robbinsville Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Robbinsville Public School District. Accessed February 15, 2024. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Kindergarten through twelve in the Robbinsville School District. Composition: The Robbinsville School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Robbinsville Township."
4. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed January 5, 2015.
5. Washington Township Board of Education, Mercer County vs. Upper Freehold Regional Board of Education, in New Jersey School Law Decisions January 1, 1982, to December 31, 1982, Volume 2 New Jersey State Library. Accessed May 8, 2023.
6. Moslowski, Lee Anne. "Washington students adjusting easily to Lawrence school", Messenger-Press, February 7, 1991. Accessed May 8, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "The first year in the transfer of Washington Township students from Allentown High School to Lawrence High School is going smoothly, according to school officials in both districts. In September, Washington's ninth-graders began attending Lawrence as part of a phased withdrawal from Allentown that will be complete in 1993-94. Washington students attending Allentown before the current school year will remain there until they graduate.... Enrollment figures from December show 32 Washington freshmen attending Lawrence, with 48 sophomore, junior, and senior students still at Allentown. There are also a few students in grades 10, 11, and 12 who were sent to Lawrence this year for various reasons. Projections for next year indicate there will be 29 students at Allentown and 72 at Lawrence."
7. Moffa, Mark. "High school passes by 65 votes", The Messenger-Press, December 13, 2001. Accessed May 8, 2023, via Newspapers.com. Washington - The township will have its own high school in 2005. Voters Tuesday narrowly approved a ballot question that will give the school board permission to build a $50 million high school. A question on a $9.8 million addition to Pond Road Middle School passed more easily, and a question that would have added a $4.4 million pool to the high school was resoundingly defeated."
8. Kahn, Lea. "Lawrence: School district earns $1 million from solar panels", The Lawrence Ledger, March 30, 2011. Accessed April 18, 2011. "School district officials began exploring the possibility of installing solar panels on each of the seven school buildings in 2004, Mr. Meara said. The goal was to address the loss of revenue as a result of Robbinsville Township's decision to build its own high school, ending the sending-receiving relationship between the Lawrence and Robbinsville school districts."
9. School Data for the Washington Township Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
10. 2021-2022 Mercer County Charter and Public Schools Directory, Mercer County, New Jersey. Accessed February 1, 2024.
11. School Performance Reports for the Robbinsville Public School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 3, 2024.
12. New Jersey School Directory for the Robbinsville Public School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
13. Sharon Elementary School, Robbinsville Public School District. Accessed February 15, 2024.
14. Administration, Sharon Elementary School. Accessed February 15, 2024.
15. Pond Road Middle School, Robbinsville Public School District. Accessed February 15, 2024.
16. Administration, Pond Road Elementary School. Accessed February 15, 2024.
17. Robbinsville High School, Robbinsville Public School District. Accessed February 15, 2024.
18. Administration, Robbinsville High School. Accessed February 15, 2024.
19. New Jersey School Directory for Mercer County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
20. Office of the Superintendent, Robbinsville Public School District. Accessed February 15, 2024.
21. Business Office, Robbinsville Public School District. Accessed February 15, 2024.
22. 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.
23. Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Robbinsville School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2023. Accessed February 15, 2024. "The School District is a Type II district located in the County of Mercer, 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 appointed to three-year terms. These terms are staggered so that three members' terms expire each year. The District provides a full range of educational services appropriate to grades levels kindergarten through twelfth at its three schools."
24. Board Members, Robbinsville Public School District. Accessed February 15, 2024.

External links

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