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ANNUAL SCHOOL ELECTION BULLETINAre you ready for some good news? Finally? Bergenfield School District (BSD) is offer-ing a Full-Day Kindergarten Program for 2011-2012! Our computer to student ratio has increased by 300%! Bergenfield High School was ranked most improved high school in the State of New Jersey by New Jersey Monthly Magazine! Our administrators are not slashing programs, they are enhancing programs! And now… for the best news of all:

The proposed increase to the 2011-2012 Bergenfield Tax Levy is 0%!How is it possible to have no increase to the tax levy with the exploding costs of fuel, sala-ries, and health benefits? How can Bergenfield be adding new programs when the news is filled with budget cuts? The Bergenfield Board of Education has been fiscally responsible. The district experienced a large number of retirements this past year, and hired over thirty highly qualified replacement teachers and administrators on the first step of the negoti-ated salary guide. The balance, garnered from the differences in salaries at the bottom and the top of the guide, has been saved and is being passed along to the tax payer to offer you some relief in this challenging economy.

At the same time, BSD was fortunate to receive $377,783 from the federal government in stimulus funds distributed through the Education Jobs Fund. We deferred spending this money until 2011-2012. Meanwhile, three years ago, we installed a fiber optic network throughout our seven schools. As a result, we have realized a savings of $300,000 per year in Internet and phone costs. During this past year, BSD also purchased solar panels for the high school. Since we own the panels, we will be able to sell the unused Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) at a profit to help offset other items in the 2012-2013 Budget.

Innovative programs, such as the Tri-Valley Program for students on the autism spectrum and our alternative middle and high school programs, continue to bring the district outside revenue totaling over $250,000. These initiatives are also saving the district an average of $100,000 per student annually—which was the average cost to send students out of district for services.

Lastly, school leaders developed a budget with no expectation of an increase in state aid. Yet, Bergenfield received $576,762 in unexpected aid. Combining the Board’s sound fis-cal oversight with an unanticipated $576,762 in aid has enabled the Bergenfield Board of Education to expand services to meet the needs of all students while being mindful of the taxpayers’ burdens.

Over the past five years, the Bergenfield Community has supported our quest for excellence at the polls. Your commitment to education has inspired the Board of Education to take a leadership role and to model, for our state, the notion that fiscal responsibility and the drive for educational excellence can coexist. Let me speak on your behalf to acknowledge and express our deep appreciation to our Board of Education members for their devotion to quality education and sound fiscal practices, as evidenced in the 0% budget increase. The unique public trust shared between the Bergenfield community and its schools must never be broken. We are united in the common goal of growing Bergenfield’s leaders for tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael KucharSuperintendent

Bergenfield Board of Education Candidates:(1 seat available for position of trustee)

Eileen Ryder Dennis Smith

BOARD OF EDUCATION NEWS PAGE 2

2011-2012 PROPOSED BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS:

BSD is offering a number of new Advanced Placement (AP) courses in the following: AP Economics, AP Psychology, AP Art History, AP European History, AP Probability and Statistics, and AP Computer Science. In addition, in order for all of our students to be competitive in a global society, Bergenfield High School and Roy W. Brown Middle School are offering Chinese. In addition, Architecture to Robotics is a newly redesigned program that will meet the needs of 21st century learners.

Roy W. Brown Middle School is also altering the schedule to offer one and a half periods of both math and language arts in grades 6–8; 20 minutes of Accelerated Reader, which will encourage sustained silent reading related to quality litera-ture; increased time studying world languages, increasing from one marking period to every other day throughout the entire school year in grades 6 and 7; and new half-year unit courses instead of one marking period units.

Bergenfield is excited about including a Full-Day Kindergarten program in the 2011-2012 budget. We know from research that it is critical to provide young children with time to develop and learn in a child-centered environment. We believe that kindergarten is the place for young children to be nurtured, so that their natural curiosity is transformed into learning opportunities. Their learning is encouraged through a hands-on, language-rich environment in which they are discovering and experiencing the world around them. It is also important for children to be in a safe environ-ment where they can explore new skills without fear of mistakes.

GENERAL CURRENT EXPENSE Amount Budgeted for 2011-2012 Regular Programs - Instruction $17,242,391 Special Education - Instruction 4,080,660 Basic Skills / Remedial - Instruction 729,646 Bilingual Instruction - Instruction 601,253 School Sponsored Co-curricular Activities - Instruction 248,730 School Sponsored Athletics - Instruction 515,925 Community Services Programs / Operations 39,138 $23,457,743

UNDISTRIBUTED EXPENDITURES Tuition $3,425,720 Attendance & Social Work Services 301,915 Health Services 597,057 Other Support Services - Related & Extraordinary 767,540 Guidance - Students Regular Education 1,180,007 Child Study Team - Students Special Education 1,442,863 Improvement of Instruction / Other Support Services 303,423 Educational Media Services / School Libraries 481,035 Instructional Staff Training Services 7,122 Support Services - General Administration 1,366,150 Support Services - School Administration 3,146,936 Central Technology Business / Other Support Service 455,615 Operation & Maintenance of Plant 5,790,721 Student Transportation Services 2,843,990 Employee Benefits 9,601,431 Total Undistributed Expenditures $31,711,525 TOTAL CURRENT GENERAL EXPENSE $55,169,268 CAPITAL OUTLAY Equipment $263,379 Facilities Acquisition / Construction $631,920 Total Capital Outlay $895,299

Special Schools $78,763 Transfer of Funds to Charter Schools $467,740 GRAND TOTAL - GENERAL FUND $ 56,611,070

2011-2012 BUDGET SUMMARY REVIEW

Congratulations to the Class of 2011!

Matthew GalangCaptain of the Chemistry Olym-pics Team; Con-cer t Master of Symphony Or-chestra; Volunteer

WE ARE BERGENFIELD

Haylie MoralesVarsity Basketball; Student Congress President; Ameri-can Sign Language Honor Society; Attending FDU

Jacquelyn SchultzThree Sport Athlete and Captain; Executive Board Treasurer; Teacher Ap-prentice Program

Ryan Monaghan2-Year Inductee–National Spanish Honor Society; Varsity Baseball Captain; Attending William Patterson

Justin BevilacquaTop 10% of Class; Captain of the Var-sity Tennis Team; National, Math, and Tri-M Honor Society Member Charlene You

President of National Eng-lish Honor Society; Class Valedictorian with 6.46 GPA; Attending UPenn

Tara EkiertMarching Band Section Leader; Peer Transitions Program; Softball; Wind Ensemble

Rishita Gadi2-Year Varsi ty Girls Soccer; Se-nior Class Presi-dent; Annual Civil W a r I n s t i t u t e Scholarship Re-cipient

Melanie EskinPresident of Na-tional Honor Soci-ety; Vice President of Senior Class; Three Sport Ath-lete; Choir

Alexandria QuinerePresident of Interact Club; 5.5 GPA; Girls’ State Rep-resentative; 4-Year Honors Wind Ensemble

Christopher DanielDrama Club; Model UN; ERASE Club; Member of Four Honor Societies; Ranked Third in Class

BOARD OF EDUCATION NEWS PAGE 3

Election District(s)

1

2,4

3,6

5,8

7,9

10,11,13

12,14,15

16,17

Place Where You Vote

Borough Hall

Jefferson School

St. John’s Conlon Hall

Roy W. Brown Middle School

Senior Citizen Housing

Lincoln School

High School

Franklin School

Address & Location Inside the Building

198 N. Washington Ave.in the Council Chambers

Hickory Ave. & Martin St.in the Gym

N. Williams St.in the Main Hall

W. Clinton Ave. & S. Washington Ave.in the Lower Gym

293 Murray Hill Terr.in the Lobby

Highview Ave. & Schoolcraft Rd.in the Gym

80 S. Prospect Ave.in the Main Lobby

W. Church St. at N. Prospect Ave.in the East Hall (Playground Entrance)

The following is a chart that shows the locations where residents vote in school elections. If you are not sure in which dis-trict you live and vote, call the Board Office at (201) 385-8801.

Election Day is Wednesday, April 27, 2011. Please remember to vote!Polls are open from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm.

Bergenfield Board of Education100 South Prospect AvenueBergenfield, New Jersey 07621-1958

Postal CustomerBergenfield, NJ 07621

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VOTING LOCATIONS