Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending.[2] *Of K-12 districts with more than 3,500 students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=103
Orange Board of Education is a comprehensive community publicschool district that is headquartered in the city of Orange, in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.[3] The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide that were established pursuant to the decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Abbott v. Burke[4] which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.[5][6] The district was considered high performing as per the New Jersey Department of Education having achieved 80% and above on all indicators within the NJQSAC evaluation in June 2020.
As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of 12 schools, had an enrollment of 5,629 students and 507.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.1:1.[1]
The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "A", the lowest 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.[7]
History
In 1948 the district had a racially integrated school system with an open enrollment school system in which families could choose which schools their children could attend. In 1948 one predominately African-American school had five teachers deemed "colored".[8]
Jason E. Ballard, board secretary and school business administrator
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. Since November 2017, it is a Type II school district, in which 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 2018) 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.[31][32][33] In November 2016, voters approved the change from a Type I district, in which the board is appointed by the mayor, to a Type II district, in which residents vote for board members. In November 2017, the first election for the elected board took place.[34]
^District Policy 0110 - Identification, Orange Board of Education. Accessed February 26, 2022. "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 Orange Township School District. Composition: The Orange Township School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of the City of Orange."
^What We Do: History, New Jersey Schools Development Authority. Accessed March 1, 2022. "In 1998, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in the Abbott v. Burke case that the State must provide 100 percent funding for all school renovation and construction projects in special-needs school districts. According to the Court, aging, unsafe and overcrowded buildings prevented children from receiving the "thorough and efficient" education required under the New Jersey Constitution.... Full funding for approved projects was authorized for the 31 special-needs districts, known as 'Abbott Districts'."
^Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the City of Orange Township School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2019. Accessed February 1, 2021. "As of November 2017, the voters of the City of Orange Township School District (the 'District') located in the County of Essex, State of New Jersey approved the change from a Type I to a Type II District. As a Type II District, the District functions independently through a Board of Education (the 'Board'). The Board is comprised of nine (9) members elected to three-year staggered terms."
^Mazzola, Jessica. "Embattled N.J. town votes to elect its school board", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 15, 2016, updated January 16, 2019. Accessed February 3, 2021. "According to the unofficial election results from the Essex County Clerk's Office of a question on last Tuesday's ballot, more than three-quarters of voters in Orange opted to change the Board of Education in the city from one that is appointed by the mayor to one that is elected by the residents. The change will take place immediately, with the first election for the new members of the seven-member board to happen in November 2017."