As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprising six schools, had an enrollment of 3,123 students and 260.7 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 "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.[4]
Hillside High School on Liberty Avenue was originally constructed in 1940, replacing the Coe Avenue (A.P. Morris) School which became a grammar school. Additions were later added to accommodate the baby-boomers of the 1950s and 1960s. In the mid-1960s the high school held some 1,500 students.[15]
Administration
Core members of the district's administration are:[16][17]
Erskine R. Glover, superintendent[18]
David Eichenholtz, business administrator and board secretary[19]
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.[20][21][22]
^Hillside Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Hillside Public Schools. Accessed April 25, 2023. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Pre-K through twelve in the Hillside Township School District.
Composition: The Hillside Township School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Hillside Township."
^History, Hillside Public Schools. Accessed April 25, 2023. "As both schools in the township were grammar schools, students who wished to have more than a grammar school education went to a high school in Elizabeth. Because of the growing population in 1917 a new school called Central Grammar School was built on Coe Avenue. It would later become the first high school... By 1938 the Coe Avenue School was inadequate to meet the continued needs of the community so a new high school building was completed in 1940 to accommodate sophomores, juniors and seniors."
^Leadership, Hillside Public Schools. Accessed April 25, 2023.
^Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the HillsideTownship School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2022. Accessed April 1, 2024. "The Township of Hillside School District is a Type II District located in Union County, New Jersey. The District is an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, established to function as an educational institution. The District is governed by a nine member board elected to three-year terms and is responsible for the fiscal control of the District. A superintendent is appointed by the Board and is responsible for the administrative control of the District." See "Roster of Officials" on page 14.
^Board of Education, Hillside Public Schools. Accessed April 24, 2020. "There are nine members of the Board of Education who are elected in accordance with the provisions of the statute governing Type II school districts. Three of these nine members are elected each year for a three-year term."