Referendum Open House Invitation

Dear Falcon Family,

During the week of September 8 through September 14, the District will be recognizing Suicide Prevention Awareness Week.  As you may be aware, the suicide rate among teens is rising.  The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has identified suicide as a major public health problem and a leading cause of death in the United States.   According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, on average one person dies by suicide every 11 hours in New Jersey. Suicide continues to be the 14th leading cause of death in the state and is the second leading cause of death for New Jersey youth ages 15 to 24.   (AFSP Fact Sheet)

In recognizing this week, I wanted to take the opportunity to share with you some resources from the NJ Department of Education for families, students, and educators that are available on the DOE website, NJDOE Suicide Prevention Resources. I also encourage parents to watch this video for strategies to talk with their children about suicide, Video: Suicide Prevention for Parents.

In an effort to continue their mission of providing mental health awareness programs to the community, JT Connect along with Project Speak Out! will be showing the movie Suicide: The Ripple Effect in the JTHS Auditorium at 7:00 pm on Saturday, September 28, 2019.  Doors will open at 6:30 pm. Admission is free and all are welcome to attend.

As always, the Crisis Text Line, the New Jersey Hopeline, the 2nd Floor Youth Helpline, and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline are available 24 hours/7 days a week if you or someone you know is considering suicide.

If you have any questions regarding suicide prevention, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s school counselor or other mental health community resources.

Margaret Widgren, Director of Student Personnel Services

Dear Falcon Family:

On behalf of the members of the Board of Education, administration, and staff, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the Class of 2032, families who are new to Jefferson Township and welcome back all returning members of our Falcon family.

Every student deserves the best environment possible in which to learn.  Thanks to last year’s referendum being approved by our Township’s voters, the summer months have been very busy, as Phase 1 of the referendum projects began the day after school ended last year.  The scope of work included modernized science and technology labs, security upgrades, renovated Makerspaces, renovated Middle School locker rooms, and much more.  I invite you to visit our district’s website to view many pictures showing the progress taking place.

I strongly encourage you to attend the back-to-school night at your child’s school to hear all of the innovative programs that will be offered to your child in the upcoming school year.  This is a great time to get to know your child’s teacher(s) and learn about all of the exciting things your child will be learning throughout the school year.

Student achievement is the constant focus of the district.  The district is committed to providing an enriching curricula to all of our students and working to ensure that our students gain essential knowledge and skills for lifelong success. The Board of Education is committed to providing our teaching staff with continual professional development. Included in this year’s calendar are four early dismissal days for professional development. Please review the calendar for these dates as well as review the changes to unused snow days.

I welcome your comments, questions, and concerns at any time. I urge you to communicate with your child’s teacher, principal, and my administrative team when you have a concern. Together we will work to help assure that your child has a successful and enriching school year. 

Jeanne Howe

I would like to share with the Jefferson Township community a letter written by Ms. Zeno, Business Administrator/Board Secretary and me in response to an inquiry from Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce and shared with Senator Joseph Pennacchio and Assemblyman Jay Webber.  

Dear Assemblywoman DeCroce:

Thank you for taking an interest in the state aid our district received this year and what impact this will have on our students.

Before listing the numerous reductions our district needed to make this year, I would first like to point out our past fiscal accomplishments.  We have historically developed a tight budget that promotes the success of all our students. With minimal or no state aid increases for the last several years, our district has managed to implement the following among other improvements:

• Use of a student data management system to analyze the performance of our students to make improvements in the educational process;
• A 1:1 laptop program for students in grades 6-12;
• Full-day kindergarten;
• Makerspaces;
• STEM electives;
• Significant revisions to district curricula to align to standards and best practices;
• Special education programs including an extensive transition program for our

grade 12 - age 21 students;

• An increased offering of Advanced Placement courses;
• Offering PSATs for all sophomores and juniors at no cost;
• Enhancing overall district security by purchasing a visitor management system, adding cameras for buses and buildings, installing retention vestibules in some buildings, and hiring an additional hall monitor;
• Phasing in our bus fleet to meet current standards such as three-point seat belts, external stop cameras, and internal security cameras and complying with new laws;
• Improving the High School auditorium to include new flooring and air conditioning;
• Various roofing projects; and
• Boiler Replacements.

We were able to accomplish the above with flat aid while simultaneously accommodating increases in costs of healthcare, salary increases for staff members, increased cost of utilities, costly repairs for aging facilities, and increased number of ESL and special education students, a record number of student mental health referrals, and increased homebound instruction. It is unfair to be categorized as “overfunded” while promoting student success and implementing mandated programs with no additional aid for several years.  

With the almost $1.2 million reduction in state aid for the 19-20 school year, on top of the $554,620 reduction in the 18-19 school year, our district will be forced to take the following measures:

• Elimination of instructional and support positions;
• Removal of all facility improvement projects;
• Reduction in already sparse supply accounts;
• Reduction of staff professional development money;
• Discontinue upgrades to student laptops, impacting overall technology device management program;
• Postpone purchase of two buses, impacting overall fleet management program;
• Realignment of central office and building support staff; and
• Initiate tuition for our inclusive pre-school disabled program.

If our district continues to realize future budget cuts as outlined in Senate Bill 2, the impact to our district would be catastrophic.  We will be forced to reduce programs and staff, eliminate some athletic programs, reduce co-curricular activities, consider pay-to-play, reduce courtesy busing, and increase class size, among other cuts.

The Jefferson Board of Education is hopeful that as the ramification of these budget cuts become apparent to the communities across the State, the funding formula will be reexamined and adjusted to at least keep districts’ state aid flat.  

Should you require any additional information or would like to further discuss, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Dear Parent/Guardian:

As the district moves forward with increasing the security of our school buildings, I would like to bring to your attention a new protocol we will be implementing at all of our schools.

Starting Friday, May 11, 2018, bins will be placed outside each school for parents to drop items off for their child.  Please use the intercom to notify the main office that you placed an item in the bin and be sure to have your child’s first and last name on the item.  The school staff will retrieve the item and give it to your child in a timely manner.

Continuing the protocols already in place, you will be expected to present a form of photo identification when entering the building.  We ask that you do not hold the door open for any other visitors; each visitor must ring the main office for entry. Additionally, all visitors will be required to answer the following questions when ringing the main office:

• Your name;
• Whom you are here to see;
• Purpose of your visit; and
• If you are expected.

We thank you for your cooperation to help us improve the safety and security of the students and staff in our buildings.

Should you have any questions, please contact the main office of your child’s school.

Sincerely,

Jeanne Howe
Superintendent of Schools