Roxbury School District

Roxbury School District
Address
42 N. Hillside Avenue Succasunna , Morris County , New Jersey , 07876 United States
Coordinates	40°53′18″N74°39′03″W / 40.888304°N 74.650869°W / 40.888304; -74.650869
District information
Grades	K-12
Superintendent	Frank Santora
Business administrator	Joseph Mondanaro
Schools	7
Students and staff
Enrollment	3,551 (as of 2018–19) [1]
Faculty	328.1 FTEs [1]
Student–teacher ratio	10.8:1 [1]
Other information
District Factor Group	GH
Website	www.roxbury.org
Ind. Per pupil District spending Rank (*) K-12 average  %± vs. average 1A Total Spending $18,983 61 $18,891 0.5% 1 Budgetary Cost 14,904 60 14,783 0.8% 2 Classroom Instruction 8,904 61 8,763 1.6% 6 Support Services 2,343 53 2,392 −2.0% 8 Administrative Cost 1,287 26 1,485 −13.3% 10 Operations & Maintenance 1,769 64 1,783 −0.8% 13 Extracurricular Activities 399 98 268 48.9% 16 Median Teacher Salary 62,692 38 64,043 Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending. [2] *Of K-12 districts with more than 3,500 students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=103

The Roxbury School District is a community public school district that serves students in kindergarten through twelfth grade in Roxbury Township, in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ^[3]

As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprising seven schools, had an enrollment of 3,551 students and 328.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.8:1. ^[1]

The district's high school also serves students from Mount Arlington, who attend as part of a sending/receiving relationship. ^[4]

The district is 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. ^[5]

Schools

Schools in the district consists of the following (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ^[6] ) are: ^{[7] [8] [9]}

Elementary schools

• Franklin Elementary School ^[10] with 332 students in grades K-4
  • Lisa Ferrare, principal
• Jefferson Elementary School ^[11] with 369 students in grades K-4
  • Melissa Cosgrove, principal
• Kennedy Elementary School ^[12] with 254 students in grades K-4
  • Nicole Acevedo, principal
• Nixon Elementary School ^[13] with 258 students in grades K-4
  • Danielle Lynch, principal

Middle schools

• Lincoln / Roosevelt School ^[14] with 480 students in grades 5-6
  • Christopher Argenziano, principal
• Eisenhower Middle School ^[15] with 534 students in grades 7-8
  • Paul Gallagher, principal

High school

• Roxbury High School ^[16] with 1,297 students in grades 9-12
  • Dominick Miller, principal

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are: ^{[17] [18]}

• Frank Santora, superintendent ^[19]
• Joseph Mondanaro, business administrator and board secretary ^[20]

Board of education

The district's board of education, composed 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. ^{[21] [22]} The Mount Arlington district appoints a tenth trustee to represent its interests on the Roxbury board. ^{[23] [24]}

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. ^[25]

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. ^[26] 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. ^[27]

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. ^[28]

References

1. District information for Roxbury Township School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
2. Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
3. Roxbury Township Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Roxbury School District. Accessed June 13, 2020. "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."
4. O'Dea, Colleen. "State orders impact study of school regionalization", Daily Record , November 23, 2008. Accessed January 30, 2011. "Mount Arlington, K-8, sends its high school students to Roxbury, K-12."
5. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 7, 2015.
6. School Data for Roxbury School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
7. School Directory, Roxbury School District. Accessed June 13, 2020.
8. School Performance Reports for the Roxbury School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 3, 2024.
9. New Jersey School Directory for the Roxbury School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
10. Franklin Elementary School, Roxbury School District. Accessed June 13, 2020.
11. Jefferson Elementary School, Roxbury School District. Accessed June 13, 2020.
12. Kennedy Elementary School, Roxbury School District. Accessed June 13, 2020.
13. Nixon Elementary School, Roxbury School District. Accessed June 13, 2020.
14. Lincoln / Roosevelt School, Roxbury School District. Accessed June 13, 2020.
15. Eisenhower Middle School, Roxbury School District. Accessed June 13, 2020.
16. Roxbury High School, Roxbury School District. Accessed June 13, 2020.
17. District Contacts, Roxbury School District. Accessed March 28, 2024.
18. New Jersey School Directory for Morris County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
19. Superintendent, Roxbury School District. Accessed March 28, 2024.
20. Business Office, Roxbury School District. Accessed March 28, 2024.
21. 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.
22. Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Roxbury Township School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2019. Accessed June 13, 2020. "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."
23. Board of Education Overview, Roxbury School District. Accessed June 13, 2020. "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."
24. Roxbury Township Board of Education District Policy 0141.2 - Board Member and Term - Receiving District, Roxbury School District. Accessed June 13, 2020. "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."
25. Roxbury Township Board of Education District Policy 8820 - Opening Exercises / Ceremonies, Roxbury School District. Accessed June 13, 2020. "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."
26. 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."
27. Staff. "Christie criticizes Roxbury school district for censuring board member", The Star-Ledger , June 11, 2010. Accessed December 20, 2015.
28. Aun, Fred J. "Roxbury School Mechanic Stole, and Sold, Fuel From District", TAP Into Roxbury, April 1, 2015. Accessed August 3, 2017.

External links

• Roxbury School District
• School Performance Reports for the Roxbury School District , New Jersey Department of Education
• Roxbury School District, National Center for Education Statistics
• Bullying in Roxbury School District
• Roxbury Taxpayers Education Association Members