Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District

The Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District is a regional public school district serving students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from the suburban communities of Englishtown and Manalapan Township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States.[3]

Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District
Address
54 Main Street
Englishtown
, Monmouth County, New Jersey, 07726
United States
Coordinates40.294444°N 74.358163°W / 40.294444; -74.358163
District information
GradesPreK-8
Established1963
SuperintendentNicole Santora
Business administratorVeronica Wolf
Schools8
Students and staff
Enrollment4,910 (as of 2019–20)[1]
Faculty408.4 FTEs[1]
Student–teacher ratio12.0:1[1]
Other information
District Factor GroupGH
Websitewww.mersnj.us
Ind.Per pupilDistrict
spending		Rank
(*)		K-8
average		 %± vs.
average
1ATotal Spending$16,90435$18,891−10.5%
1Budgetary Cost13,3203214,159−5.9%
2Classroom Instruction7,952278,659−8.2%
6Support Services1,882252,167−13.2%
8Administrative Cost1,404261,547−9.2%
10Operations & Maintenance1,839671,61214.1%
13Extracurricular Activities6821104−34.6%
16Median Teacher Salary61,8694961,136
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 2019–20 school year, the district, comprised of eight schools, had an enrollment of 4,910 students and 408.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.0:1.[1]

The district is 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.[4]

Students from the two communities in public school for ninth through twelfth grades attend either Manalapan High School (all students from Englishtown and some from Manalapan) or Freehold Township High School (which serves other Manalapan students), as part of the Freehold Regional High School District.[5][6] The Freehold Regional High School District also serves students from Colts Neck Township, Farmingdale, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Howell Township and Marlboro Township.[7] As of the 2019–20 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,879 students and 122.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 15.3:1[8] and Freehold Township High School had an enrollment of 2,029 students and 133.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 15.2:1.[9]

History

In June 1963, voters approved a referendum by a more than 10-1 margin changing from a consolidated to a regional district. The approval of the regionalization proposal meant that the district was eligible for increased state aid and would have property taxes allocated to the two municipalities based on the number of students enrolled from each community.[10]

Covering an area of 31 square miles (80 km2), the district had 1,140 students in 1963. Population growth in the two constituent municipalities has led to enrollment growing to 3,200 by the early 1980s to more than 5,000 in 2017. The student body is primarily from Manalapan Township, which accounts for about 95% of enrollment, with Englishtown students accounting for the remaining 5%.[11]

After the 1960 United States census, Manalapan Township accounted for 78% of the district's overall population, with 22% from Englishtown. The population in Englishtown increased from 1,143 in 1960 to 1,847 in 2010, an increase of more than 60%, while Manalapan Township grew almost tenfold, from 3,990 to 38,872, over that same period, so that the population ratio between Manalapan Township and Englishtown is nearly 20:1.[12]

Awards and recognition

Clarks Mills School was one of nine schools in New Jersey honored in 2020 by the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, which recognizes high student achievement.[13][14]

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2019–20 enrollment from the National Center for Education Statistics[15]) are:[16][17]

Preschool
  • John I. Dawes Early Learning Center[18] with 365 students in PreK and K
    • Melissa Foy, principal
Elementary schools
  • Clark Mills School[19] with 491 students in grades 1-5
    • Jayme Orlando, principal
  • Lafayette Mills School[20] with 489 students in grades 1-5
    • Gregory T. Duffy, principal
  • Milford Brook School[21] with 523 students in grades K-5
    • Jodi Pepchinski, principal
  • Taylor Mills School[22] with 600 students in grades K-5
    • Kerry Marsala, principal
  • Wemrock Brook School[23] with 626 students in grades 1-5
    • Beverly Wilpon, principal
Middle schools
  • Pine Brook School[24] with 563 students in sixth grade
    • Julie Szustowicz, principal
  • Manalapan-Englishtown Middle School[25] with 1,227 students in grades 7 and 8
    • Michael Fiorillo, principal

In the news

Starting September 12, 2006, the approximately 1,400 students of Manalapan-Englishtown Middle School had to learn in the elementary and intermediate schools as the district's middle school building was not yet ready for use. Inspections had identified between 100 and 300 code violations, and the school could not be granted a certificate of occupancy. While the building was being completed, students attended school on the school's four-hour day schedule in cafeterias, gymnasiums, auditoriums, and empty classrooms in the elementary and intermediate schools.[26] As of September 25, 2006, students resumed a full day schedule at the Manalapan-Englishtown Middle School.[27]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the district superintendent John Marciante abided by the New Jersey state government's policies in regards to the wearing of face masks in order to protect the wider community against the spread of the virus. On June 8, 2021, amidst rising summer temperatures, some parents became concerned that wearing masks would become a greater health concern than COVID. A group of such parents gathered during the board of education meeting in the evening of June 8, 2021, to protest, and persuaded the board of education to place Marciante on administrative leave through the end of the academic year, June 22. Immediately after, the board passed a motion to allow each individual parent to decide whether his or her child would attend school without a mask against government policies.[28]

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:[29][30]

  • Nicole Santora, superintendent
  • Veronica Wolf, 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 2012) 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.[31][32][33] Seats on the nine-member board are allocated based on population, with eights seats assigned to Manalapan Township and one to Englishtown.[34]

References
  1. District information for Manalapan-Englishtown Regional Schools School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2021.
  2. Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
  3. Manalapan-Englishtown Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District. Accessed March 23, 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 8 in the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District. Composition The Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Manalapan Township and Englishtown Borough."
  4. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed September 17, 2014.
  5. FRHSD Attendance Boundaries: Which High School Will My Child Attend?, Freehold Regional High School District. Accessed March 23, 2020.
  6. Manalapan High School 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 23, 2020. "Manalapan High School is a fully accredited comprehensive high school serving a community of nearly 39,000 residents living primarily in the Township of Manalapan and the Borough of Englishtown. One of six high schools in the Freehold Regional High School District, which opened in 1971, Manalapan High School has enjoyed an outstanding reputation throughout the state for its academic and extracurricular programs."
  7. Freehold Regional High School District 2016 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 23, 2020. "The Freehold Regional High School District, the largest regional high school District in New Jersey, has six high schools with over 11,000 students and over 1,500 employees and spans 200 square miles. District members include the townships of Colts Neck, Freehold, Howell, Manalapan, and Marlboro, and the boroughs of Englishtown, Farmingdale, and Freehold."
  8. School data for Manalapan High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2021.
  9. School data for Freehold Township High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2021.
  10. "Voters Shift School Type To Regional", Asbury Park Press, June 12, 1963. Accessed September 1, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Voters yesterday approved, 219-20, changing the Manalapan-Englishtown Elementary School District from a consolidated to regional district.... Earl B. Garrison, county superintendent of. schools, estimates the change will bring an increase of $33,236 in state aid the first year, with additional increases in later years. The present formula provides for equal tax contributions by Manalapan and Englishtown. Future taxes will be apportioned according to the number of pupils attending school from each municipality."
  11. A History Lesson with a Future, Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District. Accessed September 1, 2021. "Manalapan and Englishtown formally joined as a regional elementary district in 1963. That year, the population of the district was 1140. According to a September 13, 2002 article in The Star-Ledger, for the past twenty years the Manalapan population soared within the thirty-one square miles. During that twenty years, Manalapan increased by more than seventy-five percent to approximately 34,000 residents. Growth is also a factor in the school district. In 1982, there were 3209 students. Today, thirty-five years later, almost 2000 additional students have been added to the roster. As of January 2017, the district had 5085 students: 4811 from Manalapan and 274 from Englishtown."
  12. New Jersey Population Trend: 1790 - 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Accessed September 1, 2021.
  13. 2020 National Blue Ribbon Schools All Public and Non-Public Schools, National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Accessed September 27, 2020.
  14. Clark, Adam. "9 N.J. schools just won a huge national honor", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 24, 2020. Accessed September 27, 2020. "Nine New Jersey public schools have been awarded the national Blue Ribbon designation, one of the highest honors in education. The schools were recognized Thursday by the U.S. Department of Education for high student achievement."
  15. School Data for the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2021.
  16. School Hours, Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District. Accessed September 1, 2021.
  17. New Jersey School Directory for the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 24, 2016.
  18. John I. Dawes Early Learning Center, Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District. Accessed September 1, 2021.
  19. Clark Mills School, Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District. Accessed September 1, 2021.
  20. Lafayette Mills School, Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District. Accessed September 1, 2021.
  21. Milford Brook School, Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District. Accessed September 1, 2021.
  22. Taylor Mills School, Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District. Accessed September 1, 2021.
  23. Wemrock Brook School, Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District. Accessed September 1, 2021.
  24. Pine Brook School, Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District. Accessed September 1, 2021.
  25. Manalapan-Englishtown Middle School, Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District. Accessed September 1, 2021.
  26. "School's first day gets failing grade: Busing Problems Confuse Kids, Anger Parents", Asbury Park Press, September 13, 2006.
  27. District Homepage.
  28. N.J. superintendent put on leave for refusing to make masks optional for students.
  29. Administration, Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District. Accessed May 31, 2023.
  30. New Jersey School Directory for Monmouth County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 24, 2016.
  31. 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.
  32. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2018. Accessed March 1, 2020. "Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District ('District') is organized under the Constitution of the State of New Jersey. The District operates under a locally elected Board form of government consisting of nine members elected to three-year terms, which are staggered.... It is located in Monmouth County and provides education for all of Manalapan-Englishtown Regional's students in grades K through 8."
  33. Board Members, Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District. Accessed September 1, 2021.
  34. Rosman, Mark. "Manalapan-Englishtown school board reorganizes for 2020", News Transcript, January 10, 2020. "The school board has nine members – eight residents of Manalapan (Bruno, Parisi, Kane, Urgo, Dotty Porcaro, Brian Graime, Janet Lewis and Joanne Schechter) and one resident of Englishtown (Lori Semel)."
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