As of the 2023–24 school year, the district, comprised of seven schools, had an enrollment of 3,389 students and 316.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.7:1.[1]
Roxbury High School was established in 1903, operating on the top floor of a two-story building that served all grades in the township.[6] When it was established, the high school served students from Chester Township, Hopatcong, Jefferson Township, Mount Arlington, Mount Olive and Randolph, who attended as part of sending/receiving relationships, with tuition paid by their local school districts. Capacity led the district to terminate all of the sending relationships by 1955, other than with Mount Arlington. After a referendum was passed by voters in 1959, construction of a standalone facility was completed in 1961, with the building dedicated on November 25, 1961, as the first to be named Roxbury High School. A new building was constructed next to the original high school and opened for the 1972–73 school year.[7]
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.[8]
Joseph Mondanaro, business administrator and board secretary[26]
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.[27][28] The Mount Arlington district appoints a tenth trustee to represent its interests on the Roxbury board.[29][30]
School policies
The Roxbury School District Board of Education requires that all students stand while the Pledge of Allegiance is being recited with their right hand over their heart.[31]
Controversies
Discipline of board member
In April 2011, an administrative law judge ruled that the Roxbury Board of Education acted outside of its authority when it censured Maureen Castriotta, a school board member. Castriotta had differed with other school board members about spending priorities and had protested against a student protest organized by Superintendent Michael Rossi and high school principal Jeffrey Swanson against funding cuts proposed by Governor Chris Christie. The ALJ vacated the censure, as the matter should have been decided by the School Ethics Commission, rather than by a school board that denied Castriotta's due process.[32] At a June 2010 town hall meeting, Christie supported Castriotta's right to "speak up," and he asked the audience if school administrators would have allowed a student rally that was against the New Jersey Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union.[33]
Employee theft
In April 2015, the lead mechanic for the Roxbury school district's transportation department was charged with stealing about 1,900 gallons of fuel from the district. The mechanic was ordered to pay back the school district the $8,000 value of the fuel and required to give up his right to public employment in the state.[34]
↑ Roxbury Township Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Roxbury School District, adopted October 14, 2013. Accessed November 4, 2025. "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 twelve in the Roxbury Township School District. Composition: The Roxbury Township School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Roxbury Township."
↑ Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Mount Arlington School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2024. Accessed November 4, 2025. "The District provides a full range of educational services appropriate to grade levels Pre-K through 8 (The approximately 160 Mount Arlington students in grades 9-12 are sent to the Roxbury Public School District and are properly included in their enrollment numbers. The Mount Arlington Public School District is responsible for paying tuition, transportation and special education costs for these students, and these costs are included in the District's financial statements)."
↑ Aun, Fred J. "Roxbury Historic Property Owners Praised for Preservation", TAPinto Roxbury, June 15, 2025. Accessed November 4, 2025. "Cushing mentioned that high school students coalescing on the second floor in 1903, marked the official establishment of Roxbury High School, while lower grades were taught on the first floor. With this, the iconic district schools of the 1800s became obsolete."
↑ District History, Roxbury Public Schools. Accessed March 26, 2024. "From its inception in 1903, Roxbury High School had accepted tuition students from Mt. Olive, Chester, Randolph, and Mt. Arlington. By 1955, the high school had become so overcrowded that the Board of Education decided to stop accepting students from all of the sending towns except for Mt. Arlington, which is an arrangement that still exists today.... However, in 1959 it was decided to hold a referendum on the construction of a new high school to be located on a plot of land bordering Eyland Avenue.... Construction was completed in 1961, with the building being dedicated on November 25th, 1961. The building was the first to be named Roxbury High School, with a bronze medallion affixed to its facade, commemorating the official establishment of a four-year high school program in 1903."
↑ Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Roxbury Township School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2024. Accessed November 4, 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."
↑ Board of Education Overview, Roxbury School District. Accessed November 4, 2025. "The Board of Education is made up of 10 members who are elected by citizens in non-partisan elections annually for a term of three years. The terms are staggered to ensure continuity of service."
↑ Roxbury Township Board of Education District Policy 0141.2 - Board Member and Term - Receiving District, Roxbury School District, revised September 16, 2024. Accessed November 4, 2025. "The Mount Arlington Board of Education shall designate their representative(s) to serve on the receiving district Board of Education on an annual basis upon notification from the County Superintendent of the appropriate representation on the receiving Board of Education."
↑ Roxbury Township Board of Education District Policy 8820 - Opening Exercises / Ceremonies, Roxbury School District, adopted October 5, 2015. Accessed November 4, 2025. "The Board of Education requires the students in each school in the school district to salute the United States flag and repeat the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 18A:36-3."
↑ Goldberg, Dan. "Judge rules against Roxbury school board in censuring member for criticizing principal, superintendent", The Star-Ledger, April 7, 2011. Accessed December 20, 2015. "An administrative law judge ruled that the Roxbury Board of Education acted outside its authority when it censured board member Maureen Castriotta last May for her criticisms of the high school principal and superintendent. Castriotta, who has often clashed with other board members over spending, had objected to the administration's decision to allow high school students to protest Gov. Chris Christie's cuts to education funding."
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