Lakewood School District (New Jersey) Explained
The Lakewood School District is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in Lakewood Township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[1]
As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprising eight schools, had an enrollment of 5,433 students and 511.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.6:1.[2]
History
The school district provided busing to 18,000 students enrolled at 74 yeshivas as of 2011,[3] which by 2016 had grown to a private school population of 25,000, more than quadruple the number of public school students.[4]
In March 2017, Superintendent Laura Winters stated that due to a proposed $14.7 million decrease of the district budget, the district would be "unable to provide students with a thorough and efficient education required by the New Jersey State Constitution." The proposed cuts may cause 120 teachers to lose their positions.[5]
An appeals court ruled in March 2023 that the district was shortchanged in state funding, a condition that was aggravated by the costs of providing private-school busing and special education services to all eligible students. Based on data from the 2020 United States census, a majority of the township's population of 135,000 were under the age of 18, of which nearly 6,000 attended the district's schools and 30,000 were attending private schools.[6]
Demographics
As of 2017, most of the students are black and Latino/Hispanic, while many of the Orthodox Jewish township residents send their children to private Jewish schools.[7]
Schools
Schools in the district (with 2021–22 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[8]) are:[9] [10] [11] [12]
- Preschool
- Lakewood Early Childhood Center[13] with 247 students in PreK
- Sara Garfunkel, Supervisor of Early Childhood Center
- Elementary schools
- Ella G. Clarke School[14] with 375 students in grades 2-5
- Clifton Avenue School[15] with 387 students in grades 2-5
- Oak Street School[16] with 633 students in grades 1-5
- Joseph Schroepfer, principal
- Piner Elementary School[17] with 415 students in grades PreK-1
- Aleida Salguero, principal
- Spruce Street School[18] with 384 students in grades PreK-1
- Marcy Marshall, principal
- Middle school
- Lakewood Middle School[19] with 1,126 students in grades 6-8
- High school
Administration
Core members of the district's administration are:[21] [22]
- Laura A. Winters, superintendent of schools
- Vacant, business administrator and board secretary
Board of education
The district's board of education, composed of nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held (since 2013) as part of the November general election. 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.[23] [24] [25]
External links
Notes and References
- https://www.straussesmay.com/seportal/Public/DistrictPolicy.aspx?policyid=0110&id=69d917eec73348b88ae66af620e165e5 Lakewood Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification
- https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?Search=2&details=1&ID2=3408220&DistrictID=3408220 District information for Lakewood Township School District
- Ahearn, James. "Opinion: In Central Jersey, a school imbroglio", The Record, June 5, 2012. Accessed April 6, 2017. "The answer was eye-opening. Eighteen thousand kids. That is, to repeat, 18,000. They attended 74 yeshiva schools, served by 14 bus companies, on 400 routes, more than any other district in the state."
- Rinde, Meir. "Is Lakewood on the Verge of a Meltdown?", NJ Spotlight, June 21, 2016. Accessed April 6, 2017. "State and local educational funding systems aren’t built to handle a town with 25,000 children in religious institutions and 6,000 in the public schools, says Rev. Glenn Wilson."
- Guion, Payton. "Lakewood could fire 100-plus teachers amid $15M shortfall", Asbury Park Press, March 24, 2017. Accessed April 6, 2017.
- Strupp, Joe. "Lakewood Schools deserve more state funding for busing students, appeals court rules", Asbury Park Press, March 6. 2023. Accessed August 22, 2023. "Their complaint challenged the state’s funding of the 6,000-student district, claiming the district’s legal obligation to provide transportation and other services to more than 30,000 nonpublic school students required more state aid.... Its population surged by 46%, from 92,843 to 135,158, in the last decade, according to the U.S. Census, and more than 50 percent of the population is now under the age of 18."
- Brodie, Leslie. "N.J. School District Strains Under Severe Budget Pressures; The school superintendent in Lakewood is warning that the proposed 2017-18 spending plan would decimate public schools", The Wall Street Journal, March 30, 2017. Accessed April 6, 2017.
- https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3408220 School Data for the Lakewood School District
- https://www.lakewoodpiners.org/domain/531 School Directory
- https://www.co.ocean.nj.us//WebContentFiles//d45de12b-013b-4f0e-9862-ba1738325d1e.pdf#page=38 Public Schools Directory 2023-2024; Living & Learning in Ocean County
- https://rc.doe.state.nj.us/selectreport/2022-2023/29/2520 School Performance Reports for the Lakewood Township School District
- https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/school/districtid/2520 New Jersey School Directory for the Lakewood School District
- https://www.lakewoodpiners.org/Domain/179 Lakewood Early Childhood Center
- https://www.lakewoodpiners.org/Domain/13 Ella G. Clarke School
- https://www.lakewoodpiners.org/Domain/12 Clifton Avenue School
- https://www.lakewoodpiners.org/Domain/10 Oak Street School
- https://www.lakewoodpiners.org/Domain/429 Piner Elementary School
- https://www.lakewoodpiners.org/Domain/11 Spruce Street School
- https://www.lakewoodpiners.org/Domain/9 Lakewood Middle School
- https://www.lakewoodpiners.org/Domain/8 Lakewood High School
- https://www.lakewoodpiners.org/Page/565 District Administration
- https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/district/county/ocean New Jersey School Directory for Ocean County
- https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/dwb/DistrictByTypeList2018.pdf New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election
- https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/acfr/search/22/2520.pdf#page=65 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Lakewood Township School District
- https://www.lakewoodpiners.org/domain/16 Board of Education
