Ho-Ho-Kus School District

Ho-Ho-Kus School District is a community public school district located in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, United States, that serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.[3]

Ho-Ho-Kus School District
Address
70 Lloyd Road
Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ 07423
Bergen County
United States
Coordinates41.000266°N 74.10403°W / 41.000266; -74.10403
District information
GradesPreK-8
SuperintendentDr. Diane Mardy
Business administratorMichael Donow (interim)
Schools1
Students and staff
Enrollment599 (as of 2018–19)[1]
Faculty46.0 FTEs[1]
Student–teacher ratio13.0:1[1]
Other information
District Factor GroupJ
WebsiteDistrict website
Ind.Per pupilDistrict
spending		Rank
(*)		K-8
average		%± vs.
average
1ATotal Spending$16,32515$18,891−13.6%
1Budgetary Cost13,4052214,159−5.3%
2Classroom Instruction7,814178,659−9.8%
6Support Services2,235332,1673.1%
8Administrative Cost1,828481,54718.2%
10Operations & Maintenance1,446201,612−10.3%
13Extracurricular Activities8020104−23.1%
16Median Teacher Salary68,9825661,136
Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending.[2]
*Of K-8 districts with 401-750 students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=64
Aerial view of Ho-Ho-Kus Public School, its snow-covered North Field and nearby Route 17, looking south; January 2011

As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 599 students and 46.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.0:1.[1]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "J", the 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]

Public school students in Ho-Ho-Kus for ninth through twelfth grades attend Northern Highlands Regional High School, which also serves students from Allendale, Upper Saddle River and some of Saddle River's students (who have the option of attending either Northern Highlands or Ramsey High School, as part of sending/receiving relationships with the two districts).[5][6] In 2016, the Ho-Ho-Kus and Northern Highlands districts reached an agreement to extend the send / receive agreement through 2026 under a fixed-price contract by which Ho-Ho-Kus would pay $3.6 million for the 2016-17 school year, escalating by 2% a year to $4.3 million in 2025-26, regardless of the number of students from the borough sent to the high school.[7] As of the 2018–19 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,377 students and 110.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.5:1.[8]

History

The original school building was constructed in 1936.[9] Over the years, several additions have been made to the school. The most recent construction added 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) of space, primarily in the middle school wing, but the addition included the new cafeteria, two science rooms, and administrative offices. There was also a renovation of the existing school building.

A 1973 plan to have students from Ho-Ho-Kus attend Midland Park High School in Midland Park, New Jersey as part of a combined regional district never came to fruition, despite official approval and encouragement by the New Jersey Board of Education. Ridgewood had been hosting students in grades 9 to 12 from Ho-Ho-Kus at Ridgewood High School for 75 years as part of a sending/receiving relationship, until the Ridgewood board of education ended the arrangement in 1973 due to overcrowding and a proposed regionalization agreement between Ho-Ho-Kus and Ridgewood was rejected by voters from both communities in 1969. The state had proposed the formation of a regional agreement between Ho-Ho-Kus and Midland Park, though the choices of funding based on either property values or on the number of students would mean that one borough would shoulder higher costs than the other, regardless of which method was selected, given the sharp differences in demographics between the two communities.[10]

The small size of Midland Park High School and the lack of electives led to efforts in the mid-1990s to find another high school to serve students from the borough.[11] Since then, high school students from Ho-Ho-Kus have been attending Northern Highlands Regional High School.[12] The current agreement between Ho-Ho-Kus and Northern Highlands runs through 2018.[13]

In 2012, school elections were shifted from April to the November general election as part of an effort to reduce the costs of a standalone April vote.[14]

Awards and recognition

During the 1989-90 school year, Ho-Ho-Kus Public School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,[11][15] the highest award an American school can receive.[16][17]

In 2002, John Smith of the Ho-Ho-Kus Public School was recognized with the History of Distinguished Leadership Award by the New Jersey Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.[18]

School

Ho-Ho-Kus Public School had an enrollment of 590 students as of the 2017–18 school year.[19]

  • Dr. Alexis Eckert, Principal[20]

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:[20][21]

  • Dr. Diane Mardy, Superintendent
  • Michael Donow, Interim Business Administrator

Board of education

The district's board of education, comprised of five 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 either one or two seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the day-to-day operation of the district.[22][23][24]

References
  1. District information for Ho-Ho-Kus School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
  2. Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
  3. Ho-Ho-Kus Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Ho-Ho-Kus School District. Accessed March 26, 2020. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Pre-Kindergarten through 12 in the Ho-Ho-Kus School district. Composition The Ho-Ho-Kus School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus."
  4. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed November 30, 2014.
  5. Staff. "Tuition to rise $219 under new contract", Town Journal, November 19, 2009. Accessed November 30, 2014. "With no high school in the borough, Saddle River students have the option of enrolling in either Ramsey High School or Northern Highlands."
  6. Northern Highlands Regional High School 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed May 31, 2016. "A four-year public high school, Northern Highlands strives to address the needs of all of its students who come from four towns in northern Bergen County: Allendale, Upper Saddle River, Ho-Ho-Kus, and Saddle River."
  7. Northern Highlands Regional High School and the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus announced a new 10-year send/receive agreement through 2026 last week.... The total tuition to be paid by Ho-Ho-Kus for the 2016 to 2017 school year is $3,580,675. The fee increases by approximately 2 percent per year to $4,279,238 in the 2025 to 2026 school year."
  8. School data for Northern Highlands Regional High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
  9. District Information, Ho-Ho-Kus School District. Accessed August 22, 2011.
  10. Staff. "High-School Merger in Doubt", The New York Times, April 29, 1973. Accessed August 22, 2011.
  11. Cheslow, Jerry. "If You're Thinking of Living In/Ho-Ho-Kus; A Borough That Guards Its Traditions", The New York Times, February 5, 1995. Accessed August 22, 2011. "The district serves Kindergarten through eighth grades. High school students are sent to nearby Midland Park, an arrangement Mayor Sayers terms "unsatisfactory" because, he says, Midland Park High School is small and offers few electives. The Ho-Ho-Kus Board of Education is discussing possible alternatives."
  12. Peterson, Iver. "Taxes May Fuse School Districts; Rising Expenses Test New Jerseyans' Love of Local Control", The New York Times, April 29, 1994. Accessed August 22, 2011. "The proposed district would send Ho-Ho-Kus ninth graders to Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale. Northern Highlands High is nationally known for quality, but it is operating at just over half capacity and desperately seeking ties to other districts. Now, Ho-Ho-Kus children go to Midland Park High School after eighth grade."
  13. Crusco, Jennifer. "Trustees approve new 10-year contract with Highlands", The Villadom Times, March 4, 2009. Accessed September 7, 2011. "The Ho-Ho-Kus Board of Education last week signed a new send/receive contract with Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, which covers 2008 (retroactively) through 2018.... Ho-Ho-Kus has been sending its high school age students to Northern Highlands since the 1990s, when the district severed its send/receive relationship with Midland Park High School."
  14. Kleimann, Karen; Clyde, John. "Districts moving school elections", Town Journal, February 15, 2012. Accessed November 30, 2014. "The Allendale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Northern Highlands, Saddle River and Upper Saddle River boards of education voted to move their respective school elections to November for at least the next four annual elections. The five districts, along with a majority of school boards across the state, are moving their elections from April to November in hopes of sparing taxpayers the expense of a separate election, according to the New Jersey School Boards Association."
  15. Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed May 11, 2006
  16. "CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department", Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."
  17. "Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test", The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
  18. Awards History Archived 2007-03-18 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. Accessed January 4, 2007.
  19. School Data for the Ho-Ho-Kus School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
  20. Administration, Ho-Ho-Kus School District. Accessed March 26, 2020.
  21. New Jersey School Directory for Bergen County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.
  22. 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.
  23. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the Ho-Ho-Kus School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2019. Accessed September 5, 2020. "The Board of Education (“Board”) of the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus School District ('District') is an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, established to function as an educational institution. The Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus School District is a Type II district located in the County of Bergen, 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 [sic] members elected to three-year terms. The purpose of the District is to educate students in grades K-8. A superintendent is appointed by the Board and is responsible for the administrative control of the District."
  24. Ho-Ho-Kus Board of Education, Ho-Ho-Kus School District. Accessed March 26, 2020.
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