Little Ferry Public Schools

The Little Ferry Public Schools is a community public school district that serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade from Little Ferry in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.

Little Ferry Public Schools
Address
130 Liberty Street
Little Ferry, NJ 07643
United States
Coordinates
District information
GradesK to 8
SuperintendentFrank R. Scarafile
Business administratorTina Trueba
Schools2
Students and staff
Enrollment900 (as of 2018–19)[1]
Faculty78.6 FTEs[1]
Student–teacher ratio11.5:1[1]
Other information
District Factor GroupCD
Websitewww.littleferry.k12.nj.us
Ind.Per pupilDistrict
spending		Rank
(*)		K-8
average		%± vs.
average
1ATotal Spending$14,91611$18,891−21.0%
1Budgetary Cost10,718514,159−24.3%
2Classroom Instruction7,18298,659−17.1%
6Support Services1,26832,167−41.5%
8Administrative Cost91811,547−40.7%
10Operations & Maintenance1,160101,612−28.0%
13Extracurricular Activities5915104−43.3%
16Median Teacher Salary64,9226561,136
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 2018–19 school year, the district, comprising two schools, had an enrollment of 900 students and 78.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.5:1.[1]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "CD", the sixth-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.[3]

Since Little Ferry does not have its own high school, public school students from the borough attend Ridgefield Park High School in Ridgefield Park for ninth through twelfth grades as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Ridgefield Park Public Schools that has been in place since 1953.[4][5][6] As of the 2018–19 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,196 students and 89.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.4:1.[7]

Awards and recognition

Memorial School was recognized by Governor Jim McGreevey in 2003 as one of 25 schools selected statewide for the First Annual Governor's School of Excellence award.[8]

Schools

The district operates two school facilities, across the street from each other.[6] Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[9]) are:[6][10]

  • Washington Elementary School[11] with 466 students in grades PreK-4
    • Tonilyn Peragallo, Principal[12]
  • Memorial Middle School[13] with 401 students in grades 5-8
    • Robert Porfido, Principal[14]

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:[15]

  • Frank R. Scarafile, Superintendent of Schools[16]
  • Tina Trueba, Board Secretary / Business Administrator[17]

Board of education

The district's board of education, with 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.[18][19][20]

References
  1. District information for Little Ferry Public 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. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 5, 2014.
  4. James, George. "School Districts' Battle On Tuition Goes to Court", The New York Times, December 16, 1989. Accessed October 17, 2017. "School officials in the borough, Little Ferry, which sends 202 students to the 546-student high school, say a partial audit several years ago raised suspicions that Ridgefield Park has overcharged them by hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years.... Little Ferry, a borough of 1.5 square miles and 9,900 people, has sent its high school students to this neighboring 1.92-square mile village of 12,000 people, since 1953."
  5. Miraglia, Mary K. "Little Ferry Schools Not Responsible For $1.5M Gap In Ridgefield Park", Ridgefield Park-Hasbrouck Heights Daily Voice, January 13, 2016. Accessed October 17, 2017. "Ridgefield Park Superintendent Eric Koenig reached out to Little Ferry Superintendent Frank Scarafile after his board meeting Jan. 7 to go over plans for filling the budget shortfall. Koenig assured him Ridgefield Park won’t be trying to make any changes to the sending - receiving contract that would impose new tuition in the current year, according to a letter Scarafile sent to his board members."
  6. About Our District, Little Ferry Public Schools. Accessed May 6, 2020. "Memorial School serves approximately 400 students and houses the Middle School which serves students in grades 5-8. The Memorial School facility is also the home of Little Ferry’s Board of Education Office. Washington Elementary School serves approximately 500 students in grades PreK to 4. Grades 2 to 4 attend classes in the Elementary wing of Memorial School. Little Ferry’s 9–12 students attend Ridgefield Park High School in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey."
  7. School data for Ridgefield Park Jr Sr High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
  8. McGreevey Celebrates Schools that are "Getting it Right": Schools of Excellence Winners Demonstrate Effectiveness of Governor's Education Priorities, New Jersey Department of Education press release dated November 21, 2003, backed up by the Internet Archive as of November 18, 2012. Accessed May 3, 2013.
  9. School Data for the Little Ferry Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
  10. New Jersey School Directory for the Little Ferry Public Schools, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.
  11. Washington Elementary School, Little Ferry Public Schools. Accessed May 6, 2020.
  12. Principal's Welcome - Washington, Little Ferry Public Schools. Accessed May 6, 2020.
  13. Memorial Middle School, Little Ferry Public Schools. Accessed May 6, 2020.
  14. Principal's Welcome - Memorial, Little Ferry Public Schools. Accessed May 6, 2020.
  15. New Jersey School Directory for Bergen County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.
  16. Superintendent's Corner, Little Ferry Public Schools. Accessed May 6, 2020.
  17. Business Office - Overview, Little Ferry Public Schools. Accessed May 6, 2020.
  18. 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.
  19. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the Little Ferry School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2018. Accessed May 1, 2020. "The Little Ferry Board of Education (the "Board" or the "District") is an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, established to function as an education institution. The Board consists of nine elected officials and is responsible for the fiscal control of the District."
  20. Board of Education General Information, Little Ferry Public Schools. Accessed May 6, 2020. "The Little Ferry Public Schools Board of Education is comprised of 9 elected members."
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