Great Meadows Regional School District

The Great Meadows Regional School District is a regional public school district in Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, that serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from Independence and Liberty townships.[3][4] The New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division blocked a 2007 effort by Liberty Township to leave the Great Meadows district based on Liberty's greater share of district costs, with the court citing the inability of the two communities to provide an efficient education separately.[5]

Great Meadows Regional School District
Address
281 U.S. Route 46
Great Meadows
, Warren County, New Jersey, 07838
United States
Coordinates40.908379°N 74.871735°W / 40.908379; -74.871735
District information
GradesPreK-8
SuperintendentMichael Mai
Business administratorAmanda Kinney
Schools2
Students and staff
Enrollment643 (as of 2021–22)[1]
Faculty59.2 FTEs[1]
Student–teacher ratio10.9:1[1]
Other information
District Factor GroupGH
WebsiteDistrict website
Ind.Per pupilDistrict
spending		Rank
(*)		K-8
average		 %± vs.
average
1ATotal Spending$16,38526$18,891−13.3%
1Budgetary Cost13,0632814,159−7.7%
2Classroom Instruction8,261318,659−4.6%
6Support Services1,774202,167−18.1%
8Administrative Cost1,381231,547−10.7%
10Operations & Maintenance1,616491,6120.2%
13Extracurricular Activities235104−77.9%
16Median Teacher Salary59,2002761,136
Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending.[2]
*Of K-8 districts with more than 750 students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=84

As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprised of two schools, had an enrollment of 643 students and 59.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.9:1.[1]

The district was classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "GH", the third-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.[6]

Students attending public school for ninth through twelfth grades attend Hackettstown High School which serves students from Hackettstown, along with students from the townships of Allamuchy and Liberty, as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Hackettstown School District.[7][8] As of the 2021–22 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 869 students and 67.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.0:1.[9]

In 2019, in the wake of declining enrollment and state aid, the district announced that it would close Liberty Elementary School to consolidate into the two other schools located on a single campus.[10]

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2021–22 school year enrollment from the National Center for Education Statistics[11]) are:[8][12][13]

Elementary schools
  • Central Elementary School[14] with 302 students in grades PreK-3
    • Samantha Westberg, principal[15]
Middle school
  • Great Meadows Middle School[16] with 337 students in grades 4-8
    • Wendy Flynn, principal[17]

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:[18][19]

  • Michael Mai, superintendent
  • Amanda Kinney, business administrator and board secretary

Board of education

The district's board of education, comprised 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.[20][21] Seats on the board of education are allocated based on the population of the constituent municipalities, with six from Independence Township and three from Liberty Township, who are elected to office on a staggered basis with one seat from Liberty Township and two from Independence Township up for election each year.[22] A member represents the Board on the Hackettstown Board of Education to deal with issues pertaining to Hackettstown High School and the Hackettstown School District.

References
  1. District information for Great Meadows Regional School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 1, 2022.
  2. Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
  3. Great Meadows Regional Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Great Meadows Regional School District. Accessed April 14, 2020. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Kindergarten through eight in the Great Meadows Regional School District. Composition: The Great Meadows Regional School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Great Meadows."
  4. Great Meadows Regional School District 2014 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed May 16, 2017. "Great Meadows Regional is a K-8 school district with an enrollment of approximately 900 students. High school students attend Hackettstown High School as part of a sending/ receiving agreement. Great Meadows Regional consists of the contiguous townships of Independence and Liberty, is located in central Warren County and encompasses 32.35 square miles."
  5. Novak, Stephen J. "State court says Liberty Township cannot withdraw from Great Meadows school district" Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine, The Express-Times, April 2, 2009. Accessed June 6, 2013. "Formed in 1993, Great Meadows has three schools: Liberty Elementary, Independence Township Central School and Great Meadows Regional Middle School. Both townships send students to Hackettstown High School for grades nine through 12. Liberty Township sought to break from Independence Township in 2004 after a contentious budget season."
  6. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed November 3, 2014.
  7. Hackettstown High School 2013 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed May 16, 2017. "Hackettstown High School serves the communities of Hackettstown, Allamuchy, Independence, and Liberty."
  8. Warren County 2022-2023 Public School Directory, Warren County, New Jersey. Accessed December 27, 2022.
  9. School data for Hackettstown High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 1, 2022.
  10. Novak, Steve. "Great Meadows is closing an elementary school. A petition wants them to reconsider which one.", The Express-Times, May 2, 2019. Accessed October 4, 2023. "The Great Meadows Regional School District decided in March that Liberty Elementary in Liberty Township should be the one to shut down at the end of the school year. Its 207 students will instead go the district’s other elementary school three miles away. That school, Central Elementary, shares a campus with the district’s middle school in Independence Township.... Great Meadows has contemplated streamlining its facilities since at least 2017, when declining enrollment and tax revenue led to studies of its operations, according to Superintendent David Mango, whom the district shares with neighboring Hackettstown. It became more urgent when the state recently proposed aid cuts, Mango said in a December newsletter."
  11. School Data for the Great Meadows Regional School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 1, 2022.
  12. School Performance Reports for the Great Meadows Regional School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed October 4, 2023.
  13. New Jersey School Directory for the Great Meadows Regional School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.
  14. Central Elementary School, Great Meadows Regional School District. Accessed October 4, 2023.
  15. Welcome Packet Cover Letter, Central Elementary School. Accessed October 4, 2023.
  16. Great Meadows Middle School, Great Meadows Regional School District. Accessed October 4, 2023.
  17. Principal's Message, Great Meadows Regional Middle School. Accessed October 4, 2023.
  18. District Business Office Staff Directory, Great Meadows Regional School District. Accessed October 4, 2023.
  19. New Jersey School Directory for Warren County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.
  20. New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election, New Jersey Department of Education, updated February 16, 2018. Accessed January 26, 2020.
  21. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the Great Meadows Regional School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2018. Accessed March 1, 2020. "The District is a Type II District located in the County of Warren, State of New Jersey. As a Type II District, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education. The Board is comprised of nine members elected to three-year-terms. The purpose of the District is to educate students in Grades K-8. The District also has a sending/receiving relationship with Hackettstown school district for Grades 9-12. The District serves the communities of the Township of Independence and the Township of Liberty."
  22. Board of Education Members, Great Meadows Regional School District. Accessed October 4, 2023.
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