Stone Harbor School District

The Stone Harbor School District is a community public school district that serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade from Stone Harbor, in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[3][4]

Stone Harbor School District
Address
275 93rd Street
, Cape May County, New Jersey, 08247
United States
Coordinates39°03′22″N 74°45′31″W / 39.056039°N 74.758565°W / 39.056039; -74.758565
District information
GradesK-8
SuperintendentStacey LaRocca Tracy
Business administratorLinda Fiori
Schools1
Students and staff
Enrollment86 (as of 2022–23)[1]
Faculty9.4 FTEs[1]
Student–teacher ratio9.2:1[1]
Other information
District Factor GroupFG
WebsiteDistrict website
Ind. Per pupil District
spending
Rank
(*)
K-8
average
%± vs.
average
1ATotal Spending$33,30170$18,89176.3%
1Budgetary Cost26,5046914,15987.2%
2Classroom Instruction16,226708,65987.4%
6Support Services4,634672,167113.8%
8Administrative Cost1,826541,54718.0%
10Operations & Maintenance3,649681,612126.4%
13Extracurricular Activities1323310426.9%
16Median Teacher Salary78,7797161,136
Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending.[2]
*Of K-8 districts with up to 400 students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=71

As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 86 students and 9.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.2:1.[1] In the 2016–17 school year, Stone Harbor had the 4th-smallest enrollment of any school district in the state, with 75 students.[5]

Starting with the 2011-12 school year, in an agreement with the Avalon School District, public school students in grades K-4 from both communities attend school in Stone Harbor while all students in grades 5-8 attend school in Avalon.[6]

Students in public school for ninth through twelfth grades attend Middle Township High School in Cape May Court House, as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Middle Township Public Schools, together with students from Avalon, Dennis Township and Woodbine.[7][8] As of the 2018–19 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 767 students and 64.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.9:1.[9]

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.[10]

Operations

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The Avalon and Stone Harbor school districts operate like a single school district even though they are legally two separate districts; they can move teachers between the two schools. In terms of their student populations both districts having among the lowest numbers in New Jersey. As of 2013 both school districts have a single school bus. The property tax rates are 5 cents per $100 of assessed value, relatively low in the state, as the two districts have ample taxable territory of summer houses.[11]

Curriculum

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The student sharing agreement means the Avalon and Stone Harbor districts retain foreign language and extracurricular programs they would not otherwise have.[11]

School

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Stone Harbor School had a student body of 99 students in the 2018–19 school year.[12]

In 2016 the school had 70 students. About 40% of the combined Avalon and Stone Harbor students were from out of district and paid tuition, with many coming from the Cape May Courthouse area.[11]

Administration

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

  • Stacey LaRocca Tracy, superintendent
  • Linda Fiori, business administrator and board secretary

Board of education

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The district's board of education, composed of five 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 one or two seats up for election each year held (since 2012) 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.[14][15] An additional representative is appointed by the Avalon district to represent its interests on the Stone Harbor board.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d District information for Stone Harbor School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  2. ^ Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
  3. ^ School Performance Reports for the Stone Harbor School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 3, 2024.
  4. ^ New Jersey School Directory for the Stone Harbor School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  5. ^ Guion, Payton. "These 43 N.J. school districts have fewer than 200 students", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 2017. Accessed January 30, 2020. "Based on data from the state Department of Education from the last school year and the Census Bureau, NJ Advance Media made a list of the smallest of the small school districts in the state, excluding charter schools and specialty institutions.... 4. Stone Harbor Borough; Enrollment: 75; Grades: K-4; County: Cape May; Town population: 866"
  6. ^ Stone Harbor Elementary School 2016 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed August 5, 2017. "The district has entered into a 'send-receive' agreement with the neighboring district on the island to consolidate the instructional programs in the two schools. Stone Harbor houses the K-4 programs for both districts and Avalon houses grades 5-8."
  7. ^ Middle Township High School 2015 School Report Card, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 23, 2020. "Middle Township High School is a four-year, accredited, comprehensive high school situated in central Cape May County. The school serves the communities of Middle Township, Dennis Township, Avalon, Stone Harbor, and Woodbine Borough."
  8. ^ Home page, Middle Township Public Schools. Accessed June 23, 2020. "The high school is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades. In addition to students from Middle Township, students from Avalon, Dennis Township, Stone Harbor and Woodbine attend the high school as part of sending/receiving relationships."
  9. ^ School data for Middle Township High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
  10. ^ NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 18, 2015.
  11. ^ a b c Grote, Dan (January 9, 2016). "As enrollment shrinks and taxes rise, school merger talk resumes". The Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  12. ^ Stone Harbor Elementary School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
  13. ^ New Jersey School Directory for Cape May County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Stone Harbor School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2019. Accessed June 22, 2020. "The Borough of Stone Harbor School District is a Type II district located in the County of Cape May, State of New Jersey. As a Type II District, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education. The board is comprised of five board members and 1 representative from Avalon elected to three-year terms. The purpose of the district is to educate students in grades K-8."
  16. ^ Boards of Education, Avalon Stone Harbor Schools. Accessed June 23, 2020.
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