New Redistricting Option Details At Cranford BOE Meeting Monday

CRANFORD, NJ - For those who have been asking for more information, details on budget implications and how to implement a full-day kindergarten program as part of the Cranford School District's Reimagining plan, officials say the answers will all be revealed Monday night.

"At this meeting, the District will present additional options along with the original reimagining proposal," said Superintendent Scott Rubin.

Rubin said the presentation will include a high level of detail for each plan, including pertinent budget information.

"Dr. Ross Haber, the demographer the District used to study options on how to implement full-day kindergarten, will be present at the meeting," Rubin said. "Additionally, his final report, which is being utilized to help form the Dec. 17 presentation was submitted to the Board of Education."

Those interested in seeing Haber's report prior to the meeting, it can be seen here.

The Reimagining Plan, which could shake up the Cranford School District and include redistricting, has been controversial from the start. The most frequent lament during a series of school listening sessions was that the details on the finances were not shared.

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Those who missed those school based meetings can find their presentations here.

These presentations were designed to illustrate the reasoning or “beliefs” behind the proposal to Reimagine the Cranford Public School System, Rubin said.

Another concern brought up routinely by residents was the potential impact of the 750 Walnut Avenue Development project on Cranford Public Schools. The impact study, which is separate from the full-day kindergarten study, can be found here.

While much material will be presented at the meeting, Rubin noted that they public will not be given the chance to speak Monday night.

"The meeting on Dec. 17 will be informational. Although there will be no live Q & A segment, options for electronic feedback will be provided," Rubin said. "We believe it is important for everyone to take time to consider all the information presented, therefore there will be four future meetings specifically for discussion of the options and Q & A."

These community-wide sessions will take place at 7 p.m. as follows:

• Jan. 22, Livingston Avenue School
• Feb. 5, Orange Avenue School
• Feb. 7, Hillside Avenue School
• Feb. 19, Brookside Place School

According to Rubin, more meetings will be scheduled if necessary and electronic feedback gathered throughout the process will help guide discussions at the community-wide sessions.

Next Steps

According to Rubin, after the Winter meetings, the District will send out a mailer to every household in Cranford instructing community members on how to access information on the Reimagining Cranford Public Schools proposals and how to provide input through an online survey.

"There will be an option for those who prefer to fill out a hard copy survey and the school will also provide dates for community members in need of technical assistance," Rubin said.

One month after the survey is administered, the target date being mid-March, a team of individuals, including a parent representative from each school, will take part in analyzing the feedback, Rubin said.

"All results will be shared publicly and will be used to guide the next steps in the process," Rubin said. "If there is a consensus from the community as to a pathway forward, the District will form a series of task forces around specific topic areas, ie scheduling, extra-curricular activities, transportation, if applicable, referendum items."

Rubin said there will be multiple pathways for community members to have input into each task force and if there is no consensus from the community survey, the District will still use the feedback to guide next steps.

"The District may still be on target for a potential referendum vote to take place in November/December of 2019, but the community survey results will ultimately guide the process and timeline," Rubin said.

(Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

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