Christie’s School Cuts: Freehold Districts React

Governor Chris Christie's statewide school aid cuts--some $819 million--will hurt staffing and school programs for Freehold students next year, and officials must now figure out how to cope.

FRHSD

Update, 1:18PM: Freehold School District will lose about 9% of their state aid from the cuts, amounting to more than $868,000 less for 2011 than in 2010.  Patrick DeGeorge, the Business Administrator for the district, was not immediately available for comment.

"Mr. (Bret) Schundler lied. He's lost all credibility with his constituency," said
Brian Boyle, business administrator for Freehold Township's elementary and middle school
district.
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Power Outage Closes Freehold High School Mid-Morning

Power outages struck Freehold High School this morning after students had arrived for the day, as the weekend's massive storm continued to cause problems throughout our area today.

Buses were called to collect students mid-morning, and driving students were allowed to take their cars home during the outage. As of now, school will be open tomorrow.

FHS Senior Spotlighted for College-Level Research

Just call him Dr. Dorfman, already. Freehold High School senior Robert Dorfman has been invited to Monmouth University's Junior Science Symposium to present his independent research paper,The Effect of Tau Protein on Kidney Fibroblast Cells In the Absence of Fibrillar Beta-Amyloid.

Dorfman was one of 10 high school students in the state invited to present his research, which he completed as part of his coursework at the high school's Medical Sciences Learning Center. The project was designed to help understand a potential mechanism for the progression of Alzheimer's disease, according to a release by the district.
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FRHSD Debuts Budget Information Website

In just a few short weeks, the always-vocal audience at Freehold Regional High School District's meetings will have a chance to vet the proposed $187.6 million budget for 2010-2011 unveiled this week.

In preparation for any budget controversy--the proposal is about 7.8 percent higher than last year's and would raise property taxes in six out of eight towns--the district has compiled a Budget Information website with information, comparative statistics, and a feedback/suggestions component for users.
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Freehold Regional H.S. District OKs $187.6M budget

The Freehold Regional High School District has adopted a $187.6 million budget for the 2010-2011 school year, to bet vetted by the public later this month, according to the APP.

From the report:

The proposed budget unveiled Monday assumes the district will receive nearly flat state aid in 2010-2011, not yet a given considering the state's financial situation.
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FBEF Awards School Grants

The Freehold Borough Educational Foundation is donating more than $8,000 to projects benefiting the borough's elementary and middle school students, according to foundation chair Jean Holtz.

Freehold Borough Educational Foundation chair Jean Holtz

Holtz announced the awards, which total $8,601, at a borough school district meeting earlier this month.

The grants will be used to fund various initiatives ranging from writing programs at the Freehold Learning Center to new books at Freehold Intermediate Center.

The foundation has been awarding grants to worthy borough school projects since 2001. With this latest round, the foundation has now funnelled nearly $85,000 into the district, Holtz said.

For a full list of this year's projects, check out this report on APP.com.

Assembly to Vote on “Diploma Mill Bill” Thursday

Posted via APP.com:

The state Assembly is expected to vote on the so-called diploma mill bill Thursday, after it was approved by the state Senate Monday.

The bill was introduced after stories in the Asbury Park Press revealed that several Freehold Regional High School District employees, including Schools Superintendent H. James Wasser, benefited by obtaining doctoral degrees from an unaccredited, online university.

FRHSD Superintendent H. James Wasser

"The passage of this bill is essential as it directly affects what New Jersey residents are paying for school employees' salaries," state Sen. Jennifer Beck, R-Monmouth, who co-sponsored the Senate bill with Sen. Richard J. Codey, D-Essex, said in a prepared release. "While there is no problem with compensating people for hard work and additional education that only benefits our students, it is simply wrong to reward people with taxpayer dollars when no reward was earned."

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Park Ave. PTO Raffle Nets Thousands

A basket raffle hosted by the Park Avenue Elementary PTO raised just over $14,000 for that school's students, according to PTO treasurer Susan Greitz.

"It's pretty impressive," said Greitz, who co-chaired the event.

The raffle - which offered up prizes like a golfing trip and grocery gift certificates - was held this past Saturday at the Park Avenue Elementary school. The proceeds will go toward various student activities, including class trips, the school's Field Day event and classrooms items like books and indoor recess materials, Greitz said.

Letter to the APP Slams FRHSD

A letter from Marlboro resident James Sage to the APP slams the Freehold Regional High School District for failing to meet No Child Left Behind Act goals for adequate yearly progress in reading and math.

Superintendent H. James Wasser. Press file photo.

He cites Marlboro High School's failure in both subjects and the Board's refusal to acknowledge the issue when calling for parents to demand "accountability and responsibility from the board."

From the letter:
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Freehold Schools Consider Revisiting Goals

Freehold Schools Superintendent Elizabeth O'Connell wants to take a fresh look at the district's goals.

O'Connell floated the idea Monday night of reviving the district's strategic planning committee, which last met during the 2003-04 school year.

The committee would be tasked with creating new strategic objectives to guide the district, according to O'Connell. She hopes to assemble a "broad group" that would include administrators, teachers, parents, school board members and community volunteers.

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Former FRHSD Teacher Admits Taking Kids’ Money

As a teacher at Colts Neck High, Megan Laboy told her students they would get better grades if they made charitable donations. But in reality, she admitted Friday, the money went straight into her own pocket.

Laboy admitted the crime Friday, when she pleaded guilty to one count of fourth-degree theft by deception, according to the Asbury Park Press.

In exchange for her guilty plea, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office will ask that Laboy be sentenced to probation and seek forfeiture of any future public office.

Laboy joined the Freehold Regional High School District in 2001, but was no longer an employee by the time she turned herself in to authorities last year, district spokesman James Quirk said at the time.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 14.

WFS Collects Thousands for Haitian Relief

The numbers are in: West Freehold elementary students raised a cool $5,000 during their "Hopping for Haiti" fundraiser last week.

"Amazing...right?" the coordinator of last week's event, Natalie Gagliardi, said in an email announcing the good news.

The Freehold Township school's students collected pledges last week in return for participating in various hopping and jumping exercises during their gym classes. All donations are to be given to the American Red Cross International Response Fund for Haitian relief efforts.

Gagliardi, a second and third grade special education teacher, said she received the last of the donations Wednesday morning.

FHS Student Nabs Honorable Mention at Art Show

A Freehold High School art student will have her art shown at the upcoming Monmouth Festival of the Arts, after winning honorable mention at this weekend's county-wide student arts festival, according to the APP.

Erica Kawas, left, stands with her winning art and three others who received honorable mentions at the festival. STAFF PHOTO/MARY FRANK

Monmouth Reform Temple in Tinton Falls hosts the Monmouth Festival of the Arts Student Art Competition for students in over 50 high schools throughout Monmouth and Ocean Counties. The winner's artwork will be displayed at the 40th Ruby Anniversary of the Monmouth County Festival of the Arts, April 11-21.
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Jeans for Teens: Colts Neck Students Collect Pants for Homeless

Has there ever been a demographic more closely tied to blue jeans than American teenagers? For one group of Colts Neck High School students, those ties have grown even stronger as they donate their own gently-used jeans to hundreds of needy teenagers in their area and around the world.

The students, organized by the Colts Neck High School National Honors Society, collected and sorted more than 600 pairs of jeans last week to donate to the Teens for Jeans program, a national partnership between the teen retailer Aeropostale and DoSomething.org.
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Wasser-Inspired Bill Dies in Legislative Process, Awaits Next Session

The Freehold-inspired "Diploma Mill" bill proposed in the NJ state legislature died this week before it could get approved in the lame duck session, according to the APP.

The FRHSD Administrative Offices in Englishtown.

The bill, drafted in response to Freehold Regional High School District's Superintendent James Wasser being paid additional salary for an unaccredited, online doctoral degree, could be reintroduced in the beginning of the next legislative session, according to the article.
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