SOMSD

By race, white student enrollment has been stable, Black enrollment is declining, and Asian & Hispanic increasing.

Crossing guard schedules/locations and new school schedules & walking routes do not align, said Deputy Mayor Deb Engel.

Parents report significant delays, no-show buses, confused routes, last-minute cancellations and more. They — and the Board of Ed — are calling for swift action from the Superintendent.

“We started this process all the way back in January. We are at the point where we can finally see a finish line,” said the CFO. “We’re about to start our 2024 budget preparations,” joked Mayor Dean Dafis. 

Noting disparate outcomes for white & Black students, Board of Ed members say more work is to be done; results also rely on data from 2019-21.

The district is one of the few in the state piloting an AP African-American studies class. Also, the high school’s lauded Journalism class has been restored to a full-year class that will count toward graduation.

South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education members asked district administration for more qualitative data.

Elise Joy and her daughters Emma and Quinn Joy, co-founders of the non-profit Girls Helping Girls. Period, have been active in the effort to make period products accessible to menstruating public school students in New Jersey since 2018. 

Spring Break is now the last week in March, schools are closed for Eid al Fitr in April, and the last day of school is earlier than last year.

The district is seeking to fill 22 employee vacancies. Following the job fair, 8 job offers were made.