Rutherford School District

Rutherford School District
Address
176 Park Avenue Rutherford , Bergen County , New Jersey , 07070 United States
Coordinates	40°49′32″N74°06′31″W / 40.825688°N 74.108637°W / 40.825688; -74.108637
District information
Grades	PreK-12
Superintendent	Jack Hurley
Business administrator	Joseph Kelly
Schools	5
Students and staff
Enrollment	2,652 (as of 2018–19) [1]
Faculty	208.7 FTEs [1]
Student–teacher ratio	12.7:1 [1]
Other information
District Factor Group	GH
Website	www.rutherfordschools.org
Ind. Per pupil District spending Rank (*) K-12 average  %± vs. average 1A Total Spending $17,477 25 $18,891 −7.5% 1 Budgetary Cost 13,152 21 14,783 −11.0% 2 Classroom Instruction 8,052 32 8,763 −8.1% 6 Support Services 1,708 10 2,392 −28.6% 8 Administrative Cost 1,522 34 1,485 2.5% 10 Operations & Maintenance 1,577 31 1,783 −11.6% 13 Extracurricular Activities 277 9 268 3.4% 16 Median Teacher Salary 67,214 49 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 Rutherford School District is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Rutherford, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ^[3]

As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprising five schools, had an enrollment of 2,652 students and 208.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.7:1. ^[1]

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. ^[4]

History

Public education began in Rutherford prior to 1900, but the oldest permanent school structure was the Park School, built in 1902. It is currently the home of the Rutherford borough hall, on Park Avenue.

Rutherford formerly had three "neighborhood" schools for grades K-5 (Washington, Lincoln, and Sylvan) which fed into two "magnet" schools for 6-8 (Union and Pierrepont). The magnet schools also served as elementary schools for their neighborhoods. Since the 2005–2006 school year, the Rutherford Schools have changed this format.

Sylvan School has since been closed by the Rutherford Board of Education; it houses YMCA Programs, the District Special Services Department, as well as a Handicapped Pre-School Program run by the South Bergen Jointure Commission.

Rutherford now has two elementary schools, Washington and Lincoln, for grades K-3. In grades 4-8 the students attend Union and Pierrepont Schools. For years before the realignment, the Rutherford School System underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation, which effected all of its buildings, with the most substantial amount of work taking place at Washington, Lincoln and Union Schools.

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ^[5] ) are: ^[6]

Elementary schools

• Kindergarten Center ^[7] (opened in 2014)
• Lincoln School ^[8] (490 students; in grades PreK-3)
  • Jeanna Velechko, principal
• Washington School ^[9] (326; 1-3)
  • William Mulcahy, principal
• Pierrepont School ^[10] (595; 4-6)
  • Joan Carrion, principal
• Union School ^[11] (424; 7-8)
  • Kurt Schweitzer, principal

High school

• Rutherford High School ^[12] (762; 9-12), built in 1922 and expanded in 1959 and 2005
  • Frank Morano, principal

Administration

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

• Jack Hurley, superintendent ^[14]
• Joseph Kelly, business administrator and board secretary ^[15]

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 2013) 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. District information for Rutherford 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. Rutherford Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Rutherford School District. Accessed May 4, 2020. "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 Rutherford School District. Composition: The Rutherford School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Rutherford."
4. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 18, 2015.
5. School Data for the Rutherford School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
6. New Jersey School Directory for Rutherford School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
7. Kindergarten Center, Rutherford Public Schools. Accessed May 4, 2020.
8. Lincoln School, Rutherford Public Schools. Accessed May 4, 2020.
9. Washington School, Rutherford Public Schools. Accessed May 4, 2020.
10. Pierrepont School, Rutherford Public Schools. Accessed May 4, 2020.
11. Union School, Rutherford Public Schools. Accessed May 4, 2020.
12. Rutherford High School, Rutherford Public Schools. Accessed May 4, 2020.
13. New Jersey School Directory for Bergen County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
14. Office of the Superintendent, Rutherford Public Schools. Accessed November 18, 2017.
15. Business Office, Rutherford Public Schools. Accessed November 18, 2017.
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. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the Rutherford Borough School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2018. Accessed May 4, 2020. "The School District is a Type II district located in the County of Bergen, State of New Jersey. As a Type II district, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education (the 'Board'). The Board is comprised of nine members elected to three-year terms. These terms are staggered so that three member's terms expire each year."
18. Board of Education, Rutherford School District. Accessed May 4, 2020.

External links

• Rutherford School District
• School Performance Reports for the Rutherford School District , New Jersey Department of Education
• School Data for the Rutherford School District, National Center for Education Statistics