South Orange Maplewood Board of Education: Governance, Finances, and Controversies

The South Orange Maplewood School District (SOMSD) in New Jersey is overseen by a board of education responsible for setting policies and managing the district's fiscal and educational operations. This article delves into the structure, responsibilities, financial aspects, and recent controversies surrounding the South Orange Maplewood Board of Education.

Governance and Structure

The South Orange & Maplewood School District is guided by a dedicated Board of Education, made up of nine community members elected by voters in South Orange Village and Maplewood Township. The Board consists of nine citizens elected at large by the voters of South Orange and Maplewood. Board members serve three-year terms, with three members of the Board subject to election each year. As a Type II school district located in Essex County, New Jersey, the district functions independently through its Board of Education. These individuals bring their passion and perspective to three-year terms, with elections held each year to welcome new or returning members.

The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education to regular education students (3 to 20 years of age) in Pre-kindergarten through Grade 12, and to Special Services students (3 to 21 years of age) who are domiciled in the South Orange and Maplewood School District. In addition to setting district policy, the Board selects the Superintendent, approves staff appointments and transitions, and helps ensure our schools have the resources and programs needed for students to thrive.

The Board of Education also approves the district’s budget, while the tax levy is reviewed separately by the Board of School Estimate. Financial matters such as annual budgets and proposed debt authorizations are presented to a Board of School Estimate for review and approval.

Public Participation

The public is welcome to attend School Board meetings, workshops and public feedback sessions. The Board of Education meets on the third Monday of each month, except when precluded by a holiday. The Board, from time to time, will add additional meetings. The Board provides two periods during a regularly scheduled meeting at which members of the public may address the Board about an issue of concern, whether or not the item is on the agenda. The first period is at the beginning of a meeting. Individuals are asked to sign up to address the Board prior to the commencement of the meeting. Speakers are asked to identify themselves and their topic of interest before beginning their comments and may speak for a period of three minutes. The initial period of Hearings of Individuals and Delegations, by Board policy, extends for a maximum of 45 minutes. The second period for Hearings of Individuals and Delegations occurs at the end of the meeting, after New Business.

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For presentations, the request is to specify the topic of the presentation and the purpose for the request. After reviewing the request, the President of the Board will schedule a time for the presentation. A presentation of this type is limited to the maximum of 15 minutes.

Recent Initiatives

The South Orange & Maplewood School District is now accepting student registration and enrollment for the 2026-2027 school year. Families are encouraged to review eligibility requirements and complete the registration process during the enrollment window. The South Orange & Maplewood School District is now accepting entries for the 2026-2027 Preschool Program lottery. The preschool program provides a strong foundation for the youngest learners, and eligible families are encouraged to enter. SOMSD is launching a comprehensive Strategic Planning process to guide district priorities and long-term vision. This collaborative effort will bring together staff, students, families, community members, and district leadership to shape a plan that reflects shared values and aspirations. Each recap will provide a snapshot of decisions shaping schools, from student achievements to important policy updates.

SOMSD is participating in the state's new SAFE NJ Pilot Program - a statewide effort to make it easier for students, staff, and families to access mental health, safety, and community support whenever they need it. STOPit Solutions offers round-the-clock help, promotes wellness, and reinforces resources to keep every member of the school community safe and supported. Help is available for accessing the Parent Portal. Family engagement tools continue to evolve to keep the community informed and connected.

The South Orange and Maplewood Board of Education (SOMSD) held its annual Reorganization Meeting. As part of the Ritzer Field Project, drainage testing is being conducted.

Historical Context

The school district has operated as a unified organization for the area since 1867 and under the current name since 1894. In 1982, the District "paired" Marshall and Jefferson Elementary Schools to help achieve racial balance. K-2 students attended Marshall, and grades 3-5 attended Jefferson. In 1999, Seth Boyden Elementary was designated a Demonstration School with limited in-district zoning and a reliance on attracting students from other neighborhoods. In 2020, the district embarked on its "Intentional Integration Initiative", which buses students from all district neighborhoods, so that the socioeconomic demographics at each elementary school match the district as a whole.

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Financial Overview

Understanding the financial management of the South Orange Maplewood School District provides insight into its priorities and resource allocation. A review of budgetary costs, classroom instruction expenses, support services, administrative costs, and other expenditures offers a comprehensive view of the district's financial health.

Budget Allocation

Here's a glimpse into the district's spending:

Total Spending: $18,655
Budgetary Cost: $14,565
Classroom Instruction: $8,589
Support Services: $2,356
Administrative Cost: $1,513
Operations & Maintenance: $1,859
Extracurricular Activities: $200
Median Teacher Salary: $74,760

These figures, extracted from the NJDoE Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending, offer a snapshot of how resources are distributed within the district.

Trends in Spending

Analyzing the changes in spending patterns over time can reveal shifts in the district's priorities. For example, comparing current spending to previous years can highlight areas where investments have increased or decreased.

Total Spending: decreased by 1.2%
Budgetary Cost: decreased by 1.5%
Classroom Instruction: decreased by 2.0%
Support Services: decreased by 1.5%
Administrative Cost: increased by 1.9%
Operations & Maintenance: increased by 4.3%
Extracurricular Activities: decreased by 25.4%

Schools within the District

The South Orange-Maplewood School District operates 10 schools.

Clinton Elementary School
Columbia High School (CHS)
Delia Bolden Elementary School (formerly Jefferson Elementary School)
Maplewood Middle School
Marshall Elementary School
Montrose Early Childhood Center
Seth Boyden Elementary Demonstration School
South Mountain Elementary School
South Orange Middle School
Tuscan Elementary School

Controversies and Challenges

The South Orange & Maplewood community in New Jersey has been through some very tough times. Schools superintendent Jason Bing says at least five young people enrolled at the public Columbia High School (CHS) have attempted to die by suicide this year. In December, one CHS student died in an accident; another young person, enrolled at a private school but known to many CHS students, died by suicide the same month.

Book Restriction

The School District of South Orange & Maplewood's most immediate response to this mental health crisis: it removed Junot Díaz's novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao from a high-level English class at CHS, which serves the suburban towns of South Orange & Maplewood about 15 miles west of New York City. After pushback from parents and students, the district said that parents could sign a permission form to allow their children to study the novel in class - a scenario which PEN America, the group dedicated to free expression, still classifies as a "book ban." The district also said it plans to implement an opt-in mental health screening for all CHS students, as well as shore up its current mental health offerings.

In an interview this week, Bing said administrators - not parents - requested the removal of Díaz's novel from an Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition class taught by longtime CHS teacher Lori Martling. He declined to say who instigated the removal but defended it as part of a broader response to a five-alarm fire of mental health issues among students.

The South Orange & Maplewood district rejected claims from students and families that Oscar Wao has been banned just because it was removed from the curriculum; the book is still in the school library, Bing said.

Arguments For and Against the Book Restriction

Martling said that has been her experience in the classroom. Díaz said that he is sensitive to the community's tragedies, both as an author and as an educator, but removing any literature was not the way to go.

Student Ellie Tamir-Hoehn, who is a current AP Lit student with Martling, helped organize a petition to reinstate the novel. It was signed by all 47 students in Martling's AP Lit class and over 200 other students and alumni. Tamir-Hoehn said that she is puzzled why the district believed it was better for students to read Oscar Wao on their own rather than in the more structured setting of a classroom. One of Martling's students in a Contemporary Literature class, Olive Witte, was another organizer of the response and said that the teacher approaches Diaz's work and other novels in the class with sensitivity.

CHS students have also asked why other works that not just mention suicide and suicidal ideation, but actively romanticize them, remain in the high school's curriculum. These include Shakespeare's plays Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet as well as Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment.

Mental Health Crisis

According to Bing, the mental health crisis at CHS is taking place among the students enrolled in AP and honors classes. Last Thursday, after news of the restriction of Oscar Wao spread across the community, the district released a 19-page report to CHS parents titled "Mental Health Data and Concerns 25-26," which it also sent to NPR.

Proficiency Measurements

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. As of the 2023-2024 school year, South Orange-Maplewood School District had 598.32 full-time classroom teachers.

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