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liberty School news |
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Liberty School Newsletter April 8, 2005 |
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Voicemail:
908-637-4790 Web address: www.gmrsd.com/liberty.htm |
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Have Your Vote Counted
on April 19 The
annual school elections, this year and every year are very important. We hope that you have had ample
opportunities to become informed regarding the proposed school budget for the
2005-2006 school year, as well as the Board of Education candidates, and that
you recognize the importance of your vote on April 19. There is much information available on the
school district’s website www.gmrsd.com
concerning the budget. There is a
copy of the budget and many budget updates that provide detailed information
relative to budget issues. There are
Board of Education candidate profiles on the district website that will
provide background information on those candidates who chose to have their
profiles posted. The polls will be
open from 2:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 19. If your job or travel schedule makes it
impossible to vote at your district polling place on this date, check our website
for information on filing an absentee ballot. You can also print out a copy of the application for an
absentee ballot from the website. The
fact that the school budget has been defeated at the polls in three of the
last four elections does affect our school district and it is up to all
residents to have their voice heard through their vote. (Continued next column)
PSD Special Olympics
We announced in our last
newsletter that our preschoolers will be participating in the Special
Olympics co-sponsored by the NJ Special Olympics and Warren Hills High School
from 9:30AM to 12:15PM on Friday, May 20th. Ten volunteers are needed to help at food
stands and with water distribution.
Volunteers would need to arrive at the field at 9:00AM. The field is behind Warren Hills High
School, and that is where volunteers should park. Please note that this is an outdoor event and will be held rain
or shine. However, in the event of
pouring rain in the AM, the PSD Special Olympics will be cancelled. If you would like to volunteer,
please leave a message for Barbara Ciniewicz, PSD teacher, at 637-4790 ext.
202 with your name and telephone number.
She will then forward a list of volunteers’ names to Warren County Special
Services. PRE-SCHOOL
PROGRAM
Great Meadows Regional School
District offers a preschool disabled class, which is located at Liberty
School. We currently have morning and
afternoon sessions which run approximately 2 hours, 15 minutes each. The program is based educationally to
teach the whole child. Specialists
such as speech therapists, occupational therapists, and physical therapists
offer their services to the preschoolers. Parents with children aged 3-5
who might be considered educationally disabled or having developmental
speech, physical, or behavioral delays may contact the district’s Child Study
Team office at 637-6020 for further information. Gifted &
Talented Support Group
Parents/Guardians of children who have been recommended
for the GMRSD Gifted & Talented Enrichment Program (GATE) are forming an
advocacy and support group. The first meeting will be held on Wednesday, May
11th at 6:30 PM at GMMS. Jason Bing, Supervisor of Elementary
Education, will be present to discuss the following topics: G&T and NJ
Law, GMRSD 2005-6 Program, SAGES – II Test and the G&T Committee. For additional information or questions, please contact Jennifer Cassini at 908-637-8822 or email cassini@earthlink.net or Lori Donnelly at 908-637-6175 or email lori17@comcast.net. Help Wanted The Great Meadows Regional
School District has substitute school nurse positions available. Please stop in to the Board Office and
see Ellen Weiss or call 908-637-6576.
Telephone Book
Recycling Sponsored by Liberty Cub Pack
138 in conjunction with Sprint and
Warren County Recycling March 15 – April 15, 2005 Please bring old phone books to
Liberty School Place in trash container marked
“telephone books” Additional information-contact
Lynne Rutkoski @ 908-637-8758 PTO News (Continued) The first Field Day volunteer
meeting will be held on Monday, April 18th at 7:00 pm in the Liberty School
library. Please join us if you are interested in helping out.
Field Day is scheduled for Wednesday, May 25th, with a rain date of Tuesday,
May 31st. Questions? Call Chair Colleen Makarevich at 637-6995. 5th Grade Send-Off is
scheduled for Wednesday, June 8th. If you are interested in
participating in any way, please contact either of the following
Chairs: Sue Lechner at 637-8127 or Diane Francis at
637-4383. Community Day is
scheduled for June 11th this year. Volunteers to run the PTO game
booths that day for 1-2 hours are still needed! Last year the kids and
the parent volunteers had a great time together! If you are available
that day, even for a short time, please contact Chair Sarah Grub as soon as
possible at 637-6810 or 637-4457. Coordination efforts are under
way and there are still many time slots that need to be filled. Thank
you! The PTO portion of the school website has been updated
with meeting minutes, agendas, proposed by-laws and change summary, and
committees/chairs (along with e-mail addresses). We are hoping the
website will be used as an additional way of keeping the lines of
communication open within our PTO. The link is http://www.gmrsd.com/liberty.htm. Frequently Asked Questions: What are ratables? Ratables
are the assessed property valuations from which property taxes are
assessed. All privately owned real
estate in a municipality comprise the ratables. A large portion of the funds required for the budgets to
provide municipal, county and school district services comes from the taxes placed
on these ratables. What portion of the
school district revenue budget is derived from property taxes? In the
Great Meadows Regional School District, approximately 61% of the school
budget is derived from local property taxes.
This portion of the district’s revenue is called the tax levy. Approximately 36% is received in the form
of state aid for education, and in the 2005-2006 school year, a current fund
balance of $455,438 is being applied to meet the remaining 3% of the revenue
budget. How are the taxes for
each of the municipalities in our regional school district apportioned? The tax
levy portion of the revenue budget for each municipality is determined by the
actual count of students attending.
Each township has its portion or percentage of the tax levy determined
by the percentage of students attending the Great Meadows Regional Schools
and Hackettstown High School. |
Have Your Vote Counted on April 19 (Continued) Our school
district has demonstrated excellent results on statewide assessment tests and
our programs and school performance received commendations in the recent
State monitoring by the Department of Education. We hope to continue our current successful programs with our
proposed budget and also maintain reasonable class size. We plan to strengthen our Basic Skills
Improvement Program to more effectively address student needs at an earlier
point in their education. We are
addressing several building improvements and repairs with this budget at a
time that we can qualify for substantial State aid for these projects. All of these goals can be achieved with
the proposed budget and at a cost that remains well below the average cost
per pupil in the County and in the State.
Be sure to check the district website if you need more information to
make a decision, and please be sure to vote. Jim Alercia Interim Superintendent Board of
Education Regular Meeting April 11, 2005 7:30PM Middle School Chorus/Band
Concert
Date Change Please note that the 4th and 5th
grade chorus/band concert (Rainbow Rockfest
2005!) has been changed from Thursday, June 2nd to Wednesday, June 1st. Liberty Township Residents 2005 Spring Clean-Up SATURDAY,
APRIL 23RD & SUNDAY
APRIL 24TH 8AM – 4PM Residents are asked to bring their materials to the Road
Department parking lot where dumpsters will be in place. Proof of residency is required, i.e.
current driver’s license, tax bill, electric or phone bill, etc. 1st Car/Pickup Truck drop-off is free 2nd Car/Pickup Truck drop off $20.00 3rd and final Car/Pickup Truck drop-off $20.00 No Dump Trucks No Box Trucks No U-Hauls ACCEPTABLE MATERIALS Appliances, metals, mattresses, box springs, couches,
chairs, TV’s, clothing *Refrigerators, air conditioners, freezers – all must have
the Freon removed. Proper Freon
removal tag must he attached. UNACCEPTABLE MATERIALS Leaves, brush, tree stumps, etc., hazardous materials
(paint cans, oil cans, etc.), construction or building materials of any kind,
car parts, tires and household garbage. For more
info, call 908-637-4579 LONGABERGER BASKET TRICKY
TRAY Saturday, April 16,
2005, Independence First Aid Squad, Regina Lane
Doors open at 6:00
p.m., drawing starts at 7:30 p.m. Admission: $10.00
(includes 26 tickets and refreshments) No one under 18
admitted. Information: 908-852-3422 Reading By Two The
next Reading By Two meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 13th
at 7:00PM. Independence Twp. Summer Soccer Camp August
22nd – 26th Monday-Friday 9AM-2PM Camp
Prices: Soccer
Starz: $85 Full Day
Program: $130 Register
Before June 1st and save $15/Player on Full-Day Program. Venue: Field of Dreams Flyers
Available in School Office Camp Lost and Found Trinity Hospice is presenting
Camp Lost and Found. This is a
bereavement camp for children ages 7-14 who have lost a loved one due to
death anytime prior to March 2005.
Applications are due by May 20, 2005.
The camp will be held at Camp Matollionequay in Medford, NJ on June
10, 11, and 12, 2005. There is no
cost for camp to the child or family.
Donations are appreciated. For
more information, call Trinity Hospice at 1-800-255-8966 ext. 7157. Blair Academy Basketball Wednesday Spring Individual Skills
“Wednesday Workouts”
Each Wednesday April 6th – May 25th (8
sessions) 7:00-8:30PM Cost: $175 Walker Gymnasium (Blair Academy) Contact:
Joe Mantegna (Head
Basketball Coach) 908-362-6121 ext. 5619 or Email mantej@blair.edu PATHS NEWS PATHS would like to thank the candidates and parents
for attending "Meet the Candidates Night", profiles of the
candidates are posted on the district web site at www.gmrsd.com.
While we were unable to ask all the questions that were submitted, they were
handed over to Mr. Alercia for the school board's attention. PATHS would also like to thank Mark Francis and Bill
Eppell for their informative presentation on the current drug trends in our
area. What portion of the school district’s expenditures is needed to pay for the tuition of high school students? | |||
