Hopatcong Public Schools

The Hopatcong Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Hopatcong, in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States.[3][4]

Hopatcong Public Schools
Address
2 Windsor Avenue Hopatcong, NJ 07843 United States
Coordinates	40.9395°N 74.658556°W / 40.9395; -74.658556
District information
Grades	PreK-12
Superintendent	Arthur DiBenedetto
Business administrator	Carolyn Joseph
Schools	5
Students and staff
Enrollment	1,573 (as of 2018–19)[1]
Faculty	144.4 FTEs[1]
Student–teacher ratio	10.9:1[1]
Other information
District Factor Group	FG
Website	www.hopatcongschools.org
Ind. Per pupil District spending Rank (*) K-12 average %± vs. average 1A Total Spending $20,284 38 $18,891 7.4% 1 Budgetary Cost 15,912 39 14,783 7.6% 2 Classroom Instruction 9,104 39 8,763 3.9% 6 Support Services 2,436 35 2,392 1.8% 8 Administrative Cost 1,982 46 1,485 33.5% 10 Operations & Maintenance 2,104 46 1,783 18.0% 13 Extracurricular Activities 257 2 268 −4.1% 16 Median Teacher Salary 78,750 47 64,043 Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending.[2] *Of K-12 districts with up to 1,800 students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=49

As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprising five schools, had an enrollment of 1,573 students and 144.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.9:1.[1]

To address a significant reduction in state aid, Hudson Maxim School, which had served grades PreK-1, was closed at the end of the 2018-19 school year. For the 2019-20 school year, the grades were reconfigured across the remaining four school facilities.[5]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "FG", the fourth-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.[6]

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[7]) are:[8]

Elementary schools

• Hudson Maxim School (closed; was 275 students in grades PreK-1)
• Tulsa Trail Elementary School[9] (now PreK-1; was 235 in 2-3)
  • Brian Byrne, Principal
• Durban Avenue School[10] (now 2-3; was 255 in 4-5)
  • Katherine McFadden, Principal

Middle school

• Hopatcong Middle School[11] (now 4-7; was 356 in 6-8)
  • Lewis Benfatti, Principal
  • Tracey Hensz, Principal

High school

• Hopatcong High School[12] (now 8-12; was 423 in 9-12)
  • Emil Binotto, Principal of Grades 9th - 12th
  • Jeffrey Hallenbeck, Principal of Grade 8

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:[13][14]

• Arthur DiBenedetto, Superintendent of Schools
• Carolyn Joseph, Business Administrator / Board Secretary

Board of education

The district's board of education, with 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.[15][16][17]

References

1. District information for Hopatcong Borough School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
2. Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
3. Hopatcong Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Hopatcong Public Schools. Accessed May 7, 2020. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades K through 12 in the Hopatcong Borough School District. Composition: The Hopatcong Borough School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Hopatcong."
4. Public School Directory 2019-2020, Sussex County, New Jersey. Accessed May 7, 2020.
5. Miller, Jennifer Jean. "Hopatcong BOE votes unanimously to close Hudson Maxim School", New Jersey Herald, December 18, 2018. Accessed May 7, 2020. "In response to an anticipated $8.8 million loss in state aid over the upcoming six years, the borough Board of Education voted unanimously, 9-0, on Monday night to reconfigure the district and close the Hudson Maxim School at the conclusion of the 2018-2019 school year. Pre-K students, kindergartners and first-graders from Hudson Maxim will start at Durban Avenue School in the fall. Tulsa Trail School will remain the location for second and third grade students. Fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh graders will be housed at Hopatcong Middle School. Eighth grade will join ninth through 12th graders at Hopatcong High School.... In addition to the loss of state aid, Hopatcong schools have been operating at less than half capacity, with about 1,600 of its 3,268 seats filled. Costs have increased 61 percent over the last decade, while enrollment dropped 34 percent."
6. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed October 3, 2014.
7. School Data for the Hopatcong Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1,2020.
8. New Jersey School Directory for the Hopatcong Public Schools, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.
9. Tulsa Trail Elementary School, Hopatcong Public Schools. Accessed May 7, 2020.
10. Durban Avenue School, Hopatcong Public Schools. Accessed May 7, 2020.
11. Hopatcong Middle School, Hopatcong Public Schools. Accessed May 7, 2020.
12. Hopatcong High School, Hopatcong Public Schools. Accessed May 7, 2020.
13. Staff Directory, Hopatcong Public Schools. Accessed May 7, 2020.
14. New Jersey School Directory for Sussex County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.
15. New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election, New Jersey Department of Education, updated February 16, 2018. Accessed January 26, 2020.
16. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the Hopatcong Borough School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2018. Accessed May 1, 2020. "The Hopatcong Board of Education (the 'Board' or the 'District') is an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, established to function as an education institution. The Board consists of nine elected officials and is responsible for the fiscal control of the District."
17. Board of Education, Hopatcong Public Schools. Accessed May 7, 2020.

External links

• Hopatcong Public Schools
• Hopatcong Public Schools's 2015–16 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for Hopatcong Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics