The Policy Committee continues its work with the Superintendent to review and revise the district’s policy manual. The committee has now reviewed and completely revised policy series 100 through 400 of the manual. We hope to complete the overall review of the manual by June of this year.
NJ School Boards Association Activities: I will represent school districts from
Federal Relations Network (FRN) Activities Update: The House of Representatives has now put forward two separate bills along party lines to reform the Elementary and Secondary Education Act(ESEA). There seems to be an impasse between the members on how best to reform No Child Left Behind. It does not appear that a consensus bill will be passed before the November elections. It’s now been over four years since ESEA expired and was due to be re-authorized. Only funding provisions within the Annual Federal Appropriations Bill have allowed the provisions of the original law to remain in place.
A reminder to the public that the next regular board of education meeting will be held on Thursday, May 10 at 7:30 PM (public portion) at the
On January 25, Mr. Trethaway and I attended the Ocean County PTA Founders Day Program in Toms River. This program recognizes the contributions of PTA members from around our county and remembers the founders and those members who have served the PTA over the years. Thanks to our local PTA members, Manchester’s children have benefited from various in-school education programs, book fairs and scholarship awards. A special thank you to our current PTA Co-Presidents, Cara McAllister & Christine Grille, and their Executive Committee Members for all they do for the children of Manchester.
I want to publicly acknowledge and thank our High School students who recently were recognized for making a substantial donation of money to the Kevin’s Kids and Habitat For Humanity programs. It’s great to see our students continue to be involved and supportive of community service related activities. I also understand that the Habitat Club at the High School will be involved in helping with the construction of a Habitat home planned for Pine Lake Park. Congratulations and a great job by our students.
The QSAC (Quality Single Accountability Continuum) visit by the Acting County Executive Superintendent for Ocean County was postponed due to a power failure that adversely affected the BOE Offices on Route 539 on February 14. The site review will have to be rescheduled for a later date with the Acting County Superintendent and his staff.
On behalf of the Board of Education, I hope you and your families have a safe and happy holiday season, and a New Year filled with good health, prosperity and peace on earth!
Gentlemen:
I am writing on behalf of the Manchester Township Board of Education (BOE) and theManchesterTownshipSchool Districtin order to express our concerns related to the increased traffic volume and speeding along Route 571. Recently we learned that a large skilled nursing facility was being proposed in the area of two of our schools (ManchesterTwp.Middle School & RidgewayElementary School). Some of our parents have come to several of our BOE meetings to express their concerns related to the safety of their children who are being bused to our schools from the vicinity of the proposed location of this new facility. After an internal review of this situation by our staff we have decided to write to you.
As you are aware our primary concern as a board is for the safety of our students, staff and members of the public who visit our schools on a daily basis. While we don’t specifically object to the approval/disapproval of this new facility, we are concerned about the increasing volume of traffic in the vicinity of our schools on route 571. Our transportation staff have also expressed concern about increased speeding and weaving in and out of traffic while our buses are entering/exiting our schools or traveling along route 571. It is noted that there has also been a number of high profile tragic accidents along this stretch of roadway involving our staff, parents and some of our students. We also read recently in the media thatJacksonTownshipis talking about developing a local growth area in the vicinity of Navy Lakehurst that may increase traffic along route 571 and also impact theRegionalDay SchoolatJackson, which we manage for the State ofNJ. So, the BOE recognizes that what our neighbors to the east and west do may also seriously impact conditions along route 571.
Therefore, we are asking that you keep us informed of any proposed large commercial, residential, or industrial developments involving the areas adjacent to our schools, especially along route 571. We would also ask that you keep in mind the impact that these large developments may have on our schools, the 1,300+ students in them and our busing and parent traffic requirements on a daily basis. Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.
For the Board of Education, For theSchool District,
Donald Webster, Jr. David Trethaway
President of the Board Superintendent of Schools