The Tenafly Board of Education: Shaping Education in a Thriving Community
The Tenafly Board of Education plays a vital role in overseeing the educational needs of the Tenafly, NJ community. This office serves as a central hub for managing curriculum development, budget allocations, and ensuring high standards of excellence in education for students and faculty alike. Serving as a link between parents, teachers, and administrators, the Board of Education contributes significantly to the overall success and well-being of the educational community in Tenafly.
Overview of the Tenafly Public School District
Tenafly Public Schools is a school district located in Bergen County, New Jersey, providing education to approximately 4,000 students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district operates six schools:
- Malcolm S. Mackay Elementary School
- Ralph S. Maugham Elementary School
- J. Spencer Smith Elementary School
- Walter Stillman Elementary School
- Tenafly Middle School (grades 6-8)
- Tenafly High School (grades 9-12)
The district's commitment to education is evident in its high demand and the regular upgrades to educational systems and services to match the changing needs of the student community. Tenafly schools have received various awards and recognition for providing good education to students. In September 2005, the United States Department of Education awarded the ‘Blue Ribbon School Award’ to Tenafly High School.
Board of Education Structure and Responsibilities
The Tenafly Board of Education consists of nine members who are directly elected by voters to serve three-year terms. These terms are staggered, with three seats up for election each year as part of the November general election. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters.
The Board of Education (the "Board" or the "District") is an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, established to function as an education institution. The board sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. A Superintendent of Schools is appointed by the Board and is responsible for the administrative control of the District
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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 Tenafly School District.
Budget and Financial Information
The Tenafly Board of Education continually stresses to improve educational standards in the town without putting too much stress on the taxpayer. Offering some of the best educational options in Bergen County, and providing schools with a congenial environment for learning, this year’s budget was designed to suit the taxpayers too. The new spending plan for 2011-2012 proposed that taxpayers with homes assessed at an average of $783,900 would see an increase of $355, which is lesser than the state-mandated cap of 2%. The district would also receive state aid of $534,000. It has been proposed, that half of the state aid would help to reduce the tax levy while the other half would go towards technology plans and programs in the district.
Here's a summary of the district's spending, based on the NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending:
| Item | Spending |
|---|---|
| Total Spending | $18,720 |
| Budgetary Cost | $15,599 |
| Classroom Instruction | $9,511 |
| Support Services | $2,093 |
| Administrative Cost | $1,896 |
| Operations & Maintenance | $1,740 |
| Extracurricular Activities | $349 |
| Median Teacher Salary | $69,805 |
School Elections and Community Issues
The Tenafly Board of Education elections are typically nonpartisan. However, in recent times, some elections have become controversial due to the rise of misinformation and political involvement.
For example, the 2022 Candidate Forum for the Tenafly Board of Education took place on Wednesday, October 26, to discuss some of Tenafly’s issues that have created controversy. For the November 8 board elections, there were six candidates in the running-Igor Frid, Matt Ackerman, Jocelyn Schwarz, Michael Croce, Marissa Buonomo, and Paula Newman.
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Jocelyn Schwarz, Paula Newman, and Igor Frid were all candidates running for reelection on the Board of Education. These three candidates have had previous experiences with the BOE and are familiar with the types of challenges that may arise in the future. While these candidates were running separately, as quoted in northjersey.com, Schwarz said that “they ‘fully support’ one another.” Additionally, these three candidates are in favor of the new state-mandated family life curriculum.
In opposition of these three returning candidates who also ran for election are Matt Ackerman, Marissa Buonomo, and Michael Croce, who were new to the Board of Education and ran together.
Tensions rose amongst many Tenafly residents due to the fact that the elections for the Board of Education are meant to be nonpartisan. However, it is a fallacy that CRT is taught in Tenafly schools as it is the job of teachers to teach proper information in their history classes. In response to the belief that Tenafly schools teach critical race theory, Katherine Carlburg, an African American mother who sponsors Tenafly’s Latino and Black coalition, stated in northjersey.com, “We’re not saying the Black power movement is going to take over schools. The idea that critical race theory is being taught in schools is an issue that is occurring not just in New Jersey but all across the United States.
This year’s board elections in Tenafly and across the United States are crucial to ensure the well-being of students for this year and in the years ahead. The main focus of the Board of Education is that its members understand and prioritize the safety of its students throughout their educational years.
District Factor Group
The district had been classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "I", the second-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts.
Read also: Highlights of the recent BOE meeting
Notable Incidents
In April 2021, a controversial incident occurred at Maugham Elementary School involving a fifth-grade student presentation. As part of a character development assignment, a student chose to dress up as Adolf Hitler and present an essay from his perspective, touting his "accomplishments." The student wrote a biography of Hitler that glorified the Nazi leader, stated that Hitler's "greatest accomplishment was uniting a great mass of German and Austrian people" in his support, framed the Holocaust in a positive light, and added that Hitler was "pretty great".
The assignment and subsequent public display of the student's essay led to outrage in the community, which has a substantial Jewish population. The subsequent social media maelstrom misconstrued the intentions of the student and teacher, resulting in harassment and the family's eventual departure from the district.
The teacher involved was placed on leave and later resigned.
Educational Excellence and Programs
Tenafly schools have received various awards and much recognition for providing good education to students. Besides providing top-quality education, the schools here have various special programs too. Tenafly boasts a broad range of placement and honors courses, and also an interdepartmental humanities honors class that focuses on the historical and cultural development of Western civilization. Another noteworthy aspect of the school system is its music program, which runs from kindergarten through graduation.
Private Schools in Tenafly
Besides the various public schools, the town also has five good private schools too.
- Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church and School
- Korean School of New Jersey
- The Montessori House Preschool
- Spring School
- Solomon Schechter Day school of Bergen County
- Chabad Jewish Day School
- JCC After School program
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