RIDGEFIELD PUBLIC SCHOOLS BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT

SEPTEMBER 2016

TakingOurRidgefieldPublicSchoolsfromGoodtoGreat!

SCHOOLS STRIVE TO…

§  Keepstudentsphysicallyandemo2onallysafe;§  Providestudentswithavarietyofengaginglearningopportuni2esinordertocon2nuetheworkthatparentsstartathome;and

§  Keepparentswellinformedaboutstudentacademic,social,andemo2onalprogress.

SCHOOLS NEED PARENTS TO…

§  Supportlearningathome;§  Getinvolvedwithschoolsupportorganiza2ons(e.g.,PTA,KPAC);

§  Communicateregularlywithteachers;and§  Supportschoolimprovementini2a2ves.

OUR PROGRESS MakingtheMostwithWhatWeHave

SAFETY AND SECURITY MEASURES

…thatensurethelatesttechnologiesandmosteffec2veprotocols(e.g.,systemicsecurityplans;increasedlawenforcementpartnering;facultyandstafftraining;andcamerasurveillance,singlepointofentry,lockdown,andno2fica2onsecuritysystems)

COMMUNICATION / PARENT ENGAGEMENT

…thathasraisedourreachfrom50to95percentcoverageandsignificantlyincreasedparentaLendance(e.g.,GenesisParentPortal,BlackboardConnecte-blastandreverse911,SmorenewsleLers,districtwebsite,parentworkshops,anddistrict-wideparent-teacherconferences)

TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION

…thathastakenustocompleteaccessforallteachingstaffanddrama2callyincreasedaccessforstudents(e.g.,Grades2-12studentaccounts,Grades5-12emailaccounts,newMacBookAircarts,newGoogleChromecarts,Office365,GoogleAppsforEduca2on,blendedlearningindividualizedstudentlearningapplica2ons,andaddi2onalSMARTboardsinclassrooms)

PROGRAM AND INSTRUCTION MEASURES

…thathaveintroducedearlyinterven2onguarantees,solidprogramadvancements,data-driveninstruc2on,andtheprofessionaldevelopmenttosupportthem(e.g.,Quarterlybenchmarkassessmentsinallgrades,ResponsetoInterven2oninGradesK-6,newreading,wri2ng,andmathprograms,PhysicsfirstinGrade9,comprehensiveprogramstudies)

FACILITIES UPGRADES

…thathavecreatedbrighter,morecomfortablelearningenvironmentsforstudents(e.g.,HVACupgradesinmostsharedspacesandclassrooms,newwindowsanddoors,addi2onalmodularclassrooms,refurbishedclassrooms)

STUDENT SUPPORT AND SERVICES

…thatbegintoprovidebeLercareforthosewhorequireawholehostofspecificneedsinbothgeneralandspecialeduca2on(e.g.,smallerclasssizesinK-2,moreflexibleschedulinginmiddleschool,afutureforwardmodelforSchoolCounseling,expandedLearningCenterprograms)

OUR CHALLENGES TheBudgetStoryofRidgefieldPublicSchools

OUR BUDGET STORY

HISTORYOFCHALLENGES(summary)

§  Stateaiddecreases§  Flawedhealthcarecontribu2onstrategy§  Twopercentcapontaxlevyrevenue§  Severalyearsduringthepasttwentywherebudgetsremained

flat(zeroincrease)

§  Changeinalloca2onofLearningCenterspending(nowallocatedbasedonregula2on)

§  Allleadingtoaconstantstateofeduca2onalspendinginadequacy(i.e.,lowerthanaverageperpupilspending)

OUR BUDGET STORY

AccordingtotheNewJerseyDepartmentofEducaIon,forthepastdecade,RidgefieldPublicSchoolshaveoperatedatanaveragestateofinadequacytotaling$1.2millionperyear.

Toomanyyearsofzerobudgetincreasesandfairlyrecent2percentcapsontaxlevyrevenueshavecrippledanderodedoursystem,shrinkingourhumancapacity.

EVERY BUDGET HAS A STORY

HISTORYOFCHALLENGES

§  In2010-2011,theStatetook$1,170,037ofourstateaidfromthetotalof2009-2010schoolyearaid(fundsonwhichwehadcountedbasedonthepreviousyear’snumbersiftheyremainedflat).

§  In2011-2012,theStateimposeda2%taxlevycap,leavingdistrictstoadjustservicesandresourcestostudentsintheformsofsalary,benefits,transporta2on,u2li2es,etc.

§  Evenwithaddi2onalstateaidin2011-12and2012-13aherbudgetswereset,thedividebetweenourneedsandstateprovisioncon2nuestoincrease.

OUR BUDGET STORY

10YEARHISTORYOFSTATEAID

-

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

3,500,000

EVERY BUDGET HAS A STORY

HISTORYOFCHALLENGES

§  PartoftheState’sstrategytorestorethelossoffunding,thusshrinkingthegap,involvedshihingthecontribu2onfromstateaidtoemployeebenefitscontribu2on.

§  TheflawinthatstrategyisthataheradistrictreachesTierIV,thegaponceagainwidens.

§  Duringtheimplementa2onofafour-2eredsystem,district’ssustainedanincreasingbenefitfromemployeecontribu2ons.

§  Now,aswearefrozenatTierIV,ashealthcarecostsincrease,andemployeecontribu2onsriseatasignificantlylowerratethandistrictcost,thegapwidens.

SIX YEAR HEALTH BENEFITS ANALYSIS 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 Budget

2016-17Projected2017-18

TotalHealthCost 5,041,163 5,360,991 5,708,268 6,497,029 6,915,200 7,627,400

EmployeeContribu2on 645,734 909,639 1,281,953 1,323,279 1,420,000 1,565,905

DistrictShare 4,395,429 4,451,352 4,426,315 5,173,750 5,495,200 6,061,495

-1,000,0002,000,0003,000,0004,000,0005,000,0006,000,0007,000,0008,000,0009,000,000

2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 Budget2016-17

Projected2017-18

DistrictShare EmployeeContrib

WHAT DO STUDENTS NEED?

K-12Takeaways

NEW REALITY

“Goodgradesandsuccessfulcollegeadmissionnolongerguaranteeasuccessfulcareer.ForthefirstImeinrecenthistory,thiscurrentgeneraIonofstudentsnolongerenjoystheguaranteeofabeWerlifethantheirparentshad.SecondorderprioriIessuchascontentmasteryandtesttakingarerequirementsthatdatebacktothedawnoftheindustrialera.”

-2015,WagnerandDintersmith,MostLikelytoSucceed

PRIORITIES: NEW SOFT SKILLS

1.  Learninghowtolearn;2.  Communica2ngeffec2vely;3.  Collabora2ngproduc2vely

andeffec2velywithothers;4.  Crea2veproblemsolving;5. Managingfailure;

6.  Effec2ngchangeinorganiza2onsandsociety;

7. Makingsounddecisions;8. Managingprojects;9.  Buildingperseveranceand

determina2on;and10. Leveragingpassionsand

talentstomaketheworldbeLer.

All ofthisrequiresprogressiveprogramsthatareappropriatelystaffed.

THE PLAN

§  ExpandandModernizeSciencePrograms

§  BuildandExpandCareerandTechnicalEduca2on

§  BuildaSolidWorldLanguageProgram

§  RegainOp2malEnglishLanguageLearning(ELL)Programming

§  BuildaStrongerandMoreRelevantMathProgram

§  BuildaMoreProgressiveSocialStudiesProgram

§  byaddingaScienceTeacher

§  byaddingaBusinessTeacher

§  byaddingaWorldLanguageTeacher

§  byreinstateanEnglishLanguageLearning(ELL)Teacher

§  byaddingaMathTeacher

§  byaddingaSocialStudiesTeacher

THE PLAN

§  ProvideaComprehensiveK-12SchoolCounselingProgram

§  ExpandLibraryMedia,Technology,andInforma2onLiteracy

§  SupportHighLevelProgramming

§  MaintainSafeandConduciveFacili2es

§  DevelopanEvergreenPlanforMaintenanceandFacili2esCare

§  byaddingtwoSchoolCounselors

§  byaddingtwoLibraryMediaSpecialists

§  throughRegularCurriculumResourceFunding

§  withAddi2onalFunds§  byaddingbackone

MaintenanceWorker

IN SUMMARY

§  TheBoroughofRidgefieldisaresiden2alcommunitythathasbeenwidelyrecognizedbyavarietyofsourcesasexcep2onallysafeandaffordableandasagenerallydesirableplacetolive.

§  It’sonlynaturalthatitsschoolsshouldnotonlyreflectbutalsodrivecommunityworthandsuccess.

§  Wehaveanopportunitytomakeaworldofdifference.

REALITY

Asecondques2ontoincreaseschoolspendingduringtheNovember2016elec2onwouldsetourschoolsontrack.Forroughly75centsadayperaveragehousehold,RidgefieldPublicSchoolscouldsoar.

MAKE THAT CHANGE

PleasesupportourpublicschoolsonTuesday,November8,2016andhelpustakethemfromgoodtogreat.

“…asapercentofeligiblevoters,turnoutwas:2000,54.2%;in200460.4%;200862.3%;and201257.5%.

ThesewerethesamefiguresasgivenbytheCenterfortheStudyoftheAmericanElectorate.”