Ventnor City School District

Last updated

Ventnor City School District
Address
400 North Lafayette Avenue
Ventnor City
, Atlantic County , New Jersey , 08406
United States
Coordinates 39°20′31″N74°28′55″W / 39.341884°N 74.481932°W / 39.341884; -74.481932
District information
Grades PreK-8
SuperintendentCarmela Somershoe
Business administratorBeth Steinen
Schools2
Students and staff
Enrollment495 (as of 2023–24) [1]
Faculty71.0 FTEs [1]
Student–teacher ratio7.0:1 [1]
Other information
District Factor Group B
Website www.veccnj.org
Ind.Per pupilDistrict
spending		Rank
(*)		K-8
average		 %± vs.
average
1ATotal Spending$20,05876$18,8916.2%
1Budgetary Cost14,1824214,1590.2%
2Classroom Instruction9,227648,6596.6%
6Support Services1,919312,167−11.4%
8Administrative Cost1,530381,547−1.1%
10Operations & Maintenance1,422311,612−11.8%
13Extracurricular Activities8436104−19.2%
16Median Teacher Salary79,1658261,136
Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending. [2]
*Of K-8 districts with more than 750 students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=84

Ventnor City School District is a community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from Ventnor City, in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

Contents

As of the 2023–24 school year, the district, comprised of two schools, had an enrollment of 495 students and 71.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 7.0:1. [1]

Public school students in ninth through twelfth grades, along with those from Brigantine and Margate City, attend Atlantic City High School in neighboring Atlantic City, as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Atlantic City School District that has existed since 1920. [3] [4] As of the 2023–24 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,699 students and 144.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.7:1. [5]

History

Until the 1970s, the district operated three school facilities, with a total enrollment in excess of a thousand students. In the face of declining enrollment, those three schools were demolished or repurposed. Lafayette School was constructed in 1970 and an adjoining middle school was constructed in 1983 on a single 10-acre (4.0 ha) plot of publicly owned property. For the 1995–96 school year, the two facilities — the PreK–4 Lafayette School and Ventnor Middle School for grades 5–8 — were consolidated to become the Ventnor Educational Community Complex. [6] The district had a total of 905 students in 2013, which had dropped to just over 500 by 2022, while the number of students sent to Atlantic City High School over that same period had dropped from 286 to 128. [7]

The Ventnor district has considered options for an alternative high school sending relationship other than Atlantic City High School. [8]

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. [9]

Schools

The Ventnor City School District operates two schools for PreK-8 within the Ventnor Educational Community Complex. Schools in the district (with 2023–24 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics [10] ) are: [11] [12] [13]

The original school was built in 1970, with renovations in 1974, 1997 and 2001.

Administration

Core members of the district's administration include: [15] [17]

Board of education

The district's board of education is comprised of seven members who set policy and oversee the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type I school district, the board's trustees are appointed by the mayor to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either two or three members up for reappointment each year. Of the more than 680 school districts statewide, Ventnor City is one of approximately a dozen districts with appointed school districts. 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. [19] [20] [21] [22] [23]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 District information for Ventnor City 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. ↑ Atlantic City Public School District 2016 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed November 26, 2017. "The Atlantic City Public School District is a Pre-K to 12 school district operating Eleven (11) schools. Our Pre-K through 8th grade schools serve Atlantic City, while our high school serves the students of Atlantic City, Ventnor, Brigantine, Margate and Longport. "
  4. ↑ Rotondo, Christie. "Shore towns may pay less as Atlantic City schools slash budgets", The Press of Atlantic City , June 14, 2015. Accessed February 24, 2025. "Over the years, Brigantine, Ventnor, Margate and Longport have criticized the high cost of tuition to send their students to Atlantic City High School."
  5. ↑ School data for Atlantic City High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
  6. ↑ Carney, Lee. "In Ventnor, two schools become one; The Lafayette School and the Ventnor Middle School have consolidated to become one: The Ventnor Educational Community Complex.", The Press of Atlantic City , September 14, 1995. Accessed February 24, 2025, via Newspapers.com. "The school year is under way for 881 students from kindergarten to 8th grade, and so is the consolidation of the city's two public schools into the Ventnor Educational Community Complex.... Lafayette includes pre-kindergarten to fourth grade while the middle school is fifth to eighth.... Until the 1970s, the city had just over 1,000 students in grades K through eight in three schools. They were on Oxford, Ventnor and Troy Avenues, but have since been torn down or remodeled for other uses. Lafayette School was built in 1970 on the west side of the city, at the corner of Lafayette and Balfour Avenues. In 1983, Ventnor Middle School became an addition to Lafayette; the school property and contiguous city land total about 10 acres."
  7. ↑ "Ventnor School Enrollment Plummets, Cost Per Pupil Up.", Downbeach Buzz, December 16, 2022. Accessed February 24, 2025. "Ventnor school enrollment in 2013 was 905. As of Fall 2022, Ventnor enrollment declined to 508.... Ventnor sent 286 students to ACHS in 2013. In 2021, that number was 161. Today, Ventnor sends 128 students to ACHS."
  8. ↑ Lemongello, Steven. "Ventnor school district waiting, watching as Brigantine attempts to pull students from Atlantic City High School", The Press of Atlantic City , March 14, 2011. Accessed February 24, 2025. "The Brigantine School District has already sought to sever its relationship with Atlantic City High School, and now Ventnor is weighing its options. The Ventnor School District is in a 'wait-and-see pattern' when it comes to Brigantine's bid to send its students to Cedar Creek High School in Egg Harbor City, Ventnor Superintendent Carmine Bonanni said. A successful effort by Brigantine could lead the way for Ventnor, one of three other Atlantic City High School sending districts, to make a change."
  9. ↑ District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 1, 2024.
  10. ↑ School Data for the Ventnor City School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
  11. ↑ Public School Directory 2024–2025, Atlantic County, New Jersey. Accessed February 1, 2025.
  12. ↑ School Performance Reports for the Ventnor City School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 3, 2024.
  13. ↑ New Jersey School Directory for the Ventnor City School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  14. ↑ Ventnor Elementary School, Ventnor City School District. Accessed February 24, 2025.
  15. 1 2 3 Administration, Ventnor City School District. Accessed February 24, 2025.
  16. ↑ Ventnor Middle School, Ventnor City School District. Accessed February 24, 2025.
  17. ↑ New Jersey School Directory for Atlantic County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  18. ↑ Business Office, Ventnor City School District. Accessed February 24, 2025.
  19. ↑ 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.
  20. ↑ Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the City of Ventnor School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2024. Accessed February 24, 2025. "The City of Ventnor School District is a Type I district located in the County of Atlantic, State of New Jersey. As a Type I district, the Board of Education members are appointed by the Mayor. The Board is comprised of seven members appointed to three-year terms. The purpose of the district is to educate students in grades K-8." See "Roster of Officials" on page 15.
  21. ↑ Board of Education, Ventnor City School District. Accessed February 24, 2025. "The Board of Education consists of seven volunteer members. Two to three Board Members are appointed by the Mayor each May for three year terms. The President and Vice-President are elected by the Board from among its members for a one-year term. "
  22. ↑ Roll, Erin. "Montclair Parents Debate Appointed Vs. Elected School Board", Montclair Local, April 4, 2019. Accessed December 2, 2024. "Montclair is one of 11 school districts in New Jersey in which the board of education is appointed by the mayor, rather than elected.... As of 2018, Montclair was one of only 11 Type I school districts in New Jersey. The other 10 are Ventnor, Port Republic, Rockleigh, Pine Valley, East Orange, East Newark, Union City, Harrison, Trenton and Summit."
  23. ↑ "NJ municipalities whose mayors choose the school board", NJ Spotlight News, March 9, 2022. Accessed February 24, 2025. "Until a citizen-led petition was successful in November 2021, Montclair was one of the few municipalities in the state where the mayor gets to decide who sits on the school board. Of New Jersey’s 686 districts only 13 still retain that power for the mayor. They are Brigantine, Corbin City, Margate, Port Republic, Ventnor City, Rockleigh, Pine Valley, East Orange, East Newark, Harrison, Union City, Trenton and Summit."
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