Clinton Township Newsletter

1 2 J a n u a r y 2 0 1 6 www.ClintonTwpNewsletter.com C L I N T O N T O W N S H I P S C H O O L N E W S www.ctsd.k12.nj.us A L e t t e r f r o m Dr. Drucilla Clark, Superintendent of Schools Dear Members of the Clinton Township Community: Everyone outside of the school world sees January 1 as a new beginning, but for us as educators half the year is over and we're starting to plan and budget for the 2016-2017 School Year. We are already into the budget process. Our Principals are working with staff on classroom needs, the Board is looking at the future of the district and our Curriculum department is looking at textbooks, programs and state requirements. In case no one has noticed, we are all in the midst of changes that will impact our town and our schools. The choices we make now will create the future for our children and community. Soon you will be hearing about plans for the future and change in the district. Decisions about schools, enrollment, state mandates and facilities are all in process as I write this. So many say a school budget is confusing and difficult to understand. There are different funds and line items that seem to go in all directions and repeat themselves. However, the Business Administrator is certified in this area and leads us through the process with a complete understanding of where each fund is and how it is accounted for in the budget process. School budgets have many fixed costs. The majority of these fixed costs are salaries and benefits and the continual rise of unfunded state mandates. Towns struggle with these concerns as well, but most on a smaller scale. A town may have 50 employees and a school district, 300 or more. When you have that many employees, and benefits and salaries are the majority of your budget, you have even less to work with. Let me give you an example: A tragedy happens and a Rutgers' student is harassed and bullied and commits suicide. There is a public and legislative outcry about bullying in schools and the need to make changes. Whether you agree or not, the State of New Jersey passes a law and now we must hire and train anti-bullying experts. Our administrators must be provided with training and provide professional development in this area for all staff, including bus drivers and office staff. Schools must pay for the time to do this. We must then follow very strict procedures, under penalty of law for violations. Administrators supervise, monitor procedures, inform parents, possibly assign discipline or consequences, report to the Board of Education and document each step of the process and be sure it is filed appropriately with the state. The law also requires preventative programs to take place in school and, in fact, we now have a full anti-bullying curriculum that is part of instruction. The paper to process just one single case, along with the man-hours involved, could fill a room. This must be done anytime anyone reports/says the word bullying or a related act in the schools, on our buses or with our students. We have required Board Member training and follow an Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights. The Clinton Township Schools follow this law and investigated at least 53 incidents of Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) cases last school year, with five actually founded to be HIB. It required additional staff to meet those requirements and to follow the law. Please do not misunderstand my message here. I am against bullying, but when thinking about school budgets it is important to know there are many laws like this that impact a school budget that we have no actual control over. More staff, more time, more paper and more opportunity costs are taking time away from interaction with students to work on a report. You may not see a Principal in the lunchroom as often or walking in the halls because they are completing an investigation in their office. Is it an important issue, absolutely, but there is also a financial cost as well and it is only one of the myriad of mandates that are impacting our schools and budgets. We have unfunded mandates for testing, curriculum changes, dealing with life-threatening allergies, concussions and sports teams, medical forms, security needs, teacher certification and evaluation and there are bills in the legislature about more time for recess, special education and the list goes on and on. Many of these items are important and necessary, but all cost money and precious time that we are struggling to find, and no one really understands the long-term cumulative effect on schools, their operations or their budgets. I know we are in a society and time where we want it all and we want it now, but something has got to give. Districts keep cutting and managing, but this creates a constant need to catch up with aging facilities and the struggle to give students and staff our best. There just isn't enough time or money to go around. Our town budgets are facing similar squeezes and difficulty. You're seeing more prolonged contract negotiations, more stress on systems and more stress on infrastructure. Towns, schools and communities will need to find ways to work together, team up, combine forces and deal with aging populations and declining school enrollment without having a huge negative effect. We need leaders who are willing to work together as teams. We need to ask and find answers to the hard questions and understand priorities. We need to know how shrinking communities will survive all the changes we are facing without hurting each other or our children's future. I already know that for school districts and communities to survive and thrive, we will need to make changes and be much more creative in the process. Just something to think about. With appreciation for a great community, Dr. Drucilla Clark 1. Mail a check payable to: The Clinton Township Foundation for Educational Excellence, P.O. Box 183, Annandale, NJ 08801. 2 . D o n a t e O n l i n e : w w w . c t s d . k 1 2 . n j . u s / c o m m u n i t y / f o u n d a t i o n - f o r - e d u c a t i o n a l - excellence! Click on the "Donate NOW!" button. 3. Amazon Smile section on our website automatically gives the CTFEE .5% of all proceeds! T h e C l i n T o n T o w n s h i p F o u n d a T i o n F o r e d u C a T i o n a l e x C e l l e n C e Please help us continue to enhance our children's educational experiences! There are three ways to make a donation: s p r u C e r u n s C h o o l : 2 0 1 0 - 2 0 11 Motor Skills - $929 Read Across America Artist - $4,000 Kitchen on a Cart - $800 2 0 11 - 2 0 1 2 Walk Smart Active Schools - $1,703 Greenhouse Gardening - $2,252 Study Buddies (with PMG/RVS) - $2,944 2 0 1 2 - 2 0 1 3 Doceri Seed Funding - $7,804 Puzzle Pieces Mural - $1,650 2 0 1 3 - 2 0 1 4 Spruce Run School Song - $1,000 WE DO Robotics - $3,789 Study Buddy - $740 2 0 1 4 - 2 0 1 5 S.T.E.A.M. with BRISTLEBOTS - $1,078 2 0 1 5 - 2 0 1 6 SRS Maker's Space - $2,363 p a T r i C k M C G a h e r a n s C h o o l 2 0 1 0 - 2 0 11 Mix and Matter - $570 Integrating Literacy - UA Curriculum - $2,475 Recorder Express - $1,011 Writer's Workshop Mentor Texts - $2,770 The Swamp Returns - $450 Perceptions in Patchwork - $3,729 Study Buddies - $1,650 Ducks Rule - $1,161 2 0 11 - 2 0 1 2 Study Buddies (with SRS/RVS) - $2,944 2 0 1 2 - 2 0 1 3 Lenape Native American Lifeways - $600 Digital Piano - $2,340.37 "PMG, Where Friendship Grows" - $3,425 PMG Publishing Center - $1,202.95 WE DO Robotics - $3,882 The Swamp Returns 2 - Bartram - $162 2 0 1 3 - 2 0 1 4 PMG School Theme Grant (Fairy Tales) - $1,978 2 0 1 4 - 2 0 1 5 NAO Evolution - $14,920 Walk 4 Life - $1,225 PMG Greenhouse Project - $283 Insectropolis – Bugs on the Go - $1,406 r o u n d V a l l e y s C h o o l 2 0 1 0 - 2 0 11 Round Valley Productions - $1,400 5th grade nonfiction books - $3,601 Percussion – Xylophone - $912 Portable Keyboard - $4,282 Healthy Choices: Healthy Life (with CTMS) - $5,700 2 0 11 - 2 0 1 2 Mobile Classroom Convergence Cart - $8,765 Farm to Fitness Trail - $18,887 Study Buddies (with SRS/PMG) - $2,944 2 0 1 2 - 2 0 1 3 Trail Art - $1,800 The Reading Race - $365 2 0 1 4 - 2 0 1 5 "BEE Responsible" Round Valley Apiaries - $3,400 Author's Visit - $1,850 2 0 1 5 - 2 0 1 6 Bringing Some Bass to the Band - $5,700 RVS Author' Visit - $1,800 C l i n T o n T o w n s h i p M i d d l e s C h o o l 2 0 1 0 - 2 0 11 History Alive! - $950 Upgrading American History Collection - $2,500 Healthy Choices/Healthy Life (with RVS) - $5,700 2 0 11 - 2 0 1 2 Mapping History - $3,000 CTSD Live! - $9,993 2 0 1 2 - 2 0 1 3 "Character Counts!" - $6,585 Quiz Bowl Buzzer System (CTMS/RVS) - $2,000, Enhancing Digital Research Resources - $2,682 2 0 1 4 - 2 0 1 5 CMTS Art Club Supplies - $1,000 CTMS/RVS Assemblies - $4,700 Integrated Learning with Lego Robotics - $8,055 Upgrading CTMS Musical Instruments - $1,853 2 0 1 5 - 2 0 1 6 Fabulous Photos and Films - $2,500 C T F e e a p p r o V e d G r a n T s l i s T e d b y s C h o o l ~ 2 0 1 0 - F a l l 2 0 1 5

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