As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprising seven schools, had an enrollment of 3,551 students and 328.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.8:1.[1]
The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "GH", the third-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.[5]
Joseph Mondanaro, business administrator and board secretary[20]
Board of education
The district's board of education, composed 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.[21][22] The Mount Arlington district appoints a tenth trustee to represent its interests on the Roxbury board.[23][24]
School policies
The Roxbury School District Board of Education requires that all students stand while the Pledge of Allegiance is being recited with their right hand over their heart.[25]
Controversies
Discipline of board member
In April 2011, an administrative law judge ruled that the Roxbury Board of Education acted outside of its authority when it censured Maureen Castriotta, a school board member. Castriotta had differed with other school board members about spending priorities and had protested against a student protest organized by Superintendent Michael Rossi and High School Principal Jeffrey Swanson against funding cuts proposed by Governor Chris Christie. The ALJ vacated the censure, as the matter should have been decided by the School Ethics Commission, rather than by a school board that denied Castriotta's due process.[26] At a June 2010 town hall meeting, Christie supported Castriotta's right to "speak up," and he asked the audience if school administrators would have allowed a student rally that was against the New Jersey Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union.[27]
Employee theft
In April 2015, the lead mechanic for the Roxbury school district's transportation department was charged with stealing about 1,900 gallons of fuel from the district. The mechanic was ordered to pay back the school district the $8,000 value of the fuel and required to give up his right to public employment in the state.[28]
^Roxbury Township Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Roxbury School District. Accessed June 13, 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 twelve in the Roxbury Township School District. Composition: The Roxbury Township School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Roxbury Township."
^Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Roxbury Township School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2019. Accessed June 13, 2020. "The Board is an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, established to function as an educational institution. The Board consists of elected officials 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."
^Board of Education Overview, Roxbury School District. Accessed June 13, 2020. "The Board of Education is made up of 10 members who are elected by citizens in non-partisan elections annually for a term of three years. The terms are staggered to ensure continuity of service."
^Roxbury Township Board of Education District Policy 0141.2 - Board Member and Term - Receiving District, Roxbury School District. Accessed June 13, 2020. "The Mount Arlington Board of Education shall designate their representative(s) to serve on the receiving district Board of Education on an annual basis upon notification from the County Superintendent of the appropriate representation on the receiving Board of Education."
^Roxbury Township Board of Education District Policy 8820 - Opening Exercises / Ceremonies, Roxbury School District. Accessed June 13, 2020. "The Board of Education requires the students in each school in the school district to salute the United States flag and repeat the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 18A:36-3."
^Goldberg, Dan. "Judge rules against Roxbury school board in censuring member for criticizing principal, superintendent", The Star-Ledger, April 7, 2011. Accessed December 20, 2015. "An administrative law judge ruled that the Roxbury Board of Education acted outside its authority when it censured board member Maureen Castriotta last May for her criticisms of the high school principal and superintendent.Castriotta, who has often clashed with other board members over spending, had objected to the administration's decision to allow high school students to protest Gov. Chris Christie's cuts to education funding."
