Pleasantville Public Schools

The Pleasantville Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in kindergarten through twelfth grade from the cCity of Pleasantville, in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States.[3] The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide,[4] which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.[5][6]

Pleasantville Public Schools
Address
801 Mill Road
Pleasantville, New Jersey
, Atlantic County, New Jersey, New Jersey, 08232-0960
United States
Coordinates39.413626°N 74.523349°W / 39.413626; -74.523349
District information
GradesK-12
SuperintendentNatakie Chestnut-Lee
Business administratorElisha Thompkins
Schools7
Affiliation(s)Former Abbott district
Students and staff
Enrollment3,757 (as of 2018–19)[1]
Faculty314.2 FTEs[1]
Student–teacher ratio12.0:1[1]
Other information
District Factor GroupA
Websitewww.pps-nj.us/pps/
Ind.Per pupilDistrict
spending		Rank
(*)		K-12
average		%± vs.
average
1ATotal Spending$20,52681$18,8918.7%
1Budgetary Cost17,8289814,78320.6%
2Classroom Instruction10,399958,76318.7%
6Support Services2,728822,39214.0%
8Administrative Cost1,834981,48523.5%
10Operations & Maintenance2,383911,78333.7%
13Extracurricular Activities284662686.0%
16Median Teacher Salary56,001864,043
Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending.[2]
*Of K-12 districts with more than 3,500 students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=103

As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of seven schools, had an enrollment of 3,757 students and 314.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.0:1.[1]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "A", the lowest 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.[7]

Students from Absecon attend the district's high school for ninth through twelfth grades as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Absecon Public School District.[8] Absecon has sought to end its agreement with Pleasantville and send its students to Absegami High School under a new sending/receiving relationship with the Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District that Absecon argues would give its students a better education at a lower cost, without negatively impacting the demographics in Pleasantville High School. About 10% of Absecon's graduating students have been choosing to attend Pleasantville High School, for which the Absecon district has been paying $18,000 per student each year.[9]

Awards and recognition

For the 2005-06 school year, Washington Avenue Elementary School was one of 22 schools statewide selected as Governor's School of Excellence Winners, an award given to schools that demonstrated significant improvement over the previous two academic years.[10]

In March 2007, the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education appointed a monitor to supervise and address a series of issues raised regarding the district's financial practices and "to ensure that state school aid is spent efficiently and effectively".[11]

Controversy

On September 6, 2007, The FBI arrested five members of the Pleasantville school board as part of a federal corruption case that included several state lawmakers and other public officials. Included in the sweep were the arrests of Assemblymen Mims Hackett and Alfred E. Steele, and Passaic Mayor Samuel Rivera.[12] Indictments were filed against four sitting members of the Board of Education charging that they had accepted bribes to steer insurance or roofing business from the district. Charged were Jayson Adams (accused of accepting $15,000 in bribes), James McCormick ($3,500), James Pressley ($32,200) and Rafael Velez ($14,000). Former board member Maurice 'Pete' Callaway, a current Pleasantville councilmember, was accused of accepting $13,000 in bribes as part of the scheme and was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison for his role as bagman in the scheme.[13]

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[14]) are:[15][16][17]

Early childhood
  • Decatur Avenue Early Childhood Center[18] with NA students in grade PreK
    • Sheila Ceasar, Early Childhood Supervisor
Elementary schools
  • Leeds Avenue School[19] with 625 students in grades PreK-5
    • Lisa Stuart-Smith, Principal
  • North Main Street School[20] with 372 students in grades PreK-5
    • Teresa McGaney-Guy, Principal
  • South Main Street School[21] with 491 students in grades PreK-5
    • Dr. Felicia Hyman-Medley, Principal
  • Washington Avenue School[22] with 425 students in grades K-5
    • Dr. Cynthia Ruiz-Cooper, Principal
Middle school
  • Pleasantville Middle School[23] with 760 students in grades 6-8
    • Nanette Stuart, Principal
  • Pleasantville High School[24] with 828 students in grades 9-12
    • Howard Johnson, Principal

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:[25][26]

  • Natakie Chestnut-Lee, Superintendent of Schools
  • Elisha Thompkins, Business Administrator / Board Secretary

Board of education

The district's board of education, comprised of 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. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the day-to-day operation of the district.[27][28][29]

References
  1. District information for Pleasantville Public 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. Pleasantville Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Pleasantville Public Schools. Accessed June 11, 2020. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Pre-Kindergarten through twelve in the Pleasantville School District. Composition: The Pleasantville School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Pleasantville."
  4. Abbott School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 1, 2020.
  5. What We Do, New Jersey Schools Development Authority. Accessed March 1, 2020.
  6. SDA Districts, New Jersey Schools Development Authority. Accessed March 1, 2020.
  7. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed November 30, 2014.
  8. Bogdan, Jennifer. "For the first time in decades, Absecon's students are choosing public schools over private schools", The Press of Atlantic City, April 5, 2011. Accessed June 11, 2020. "For the first time in at least 30 years, more than half of the school district's eighth-graders are choosing public high schools over private ones. In past years, as many as 90 percent of the district's students opted for private school. But about 55 percent of the district's 93 eighth-graders have plans to go on to publicly funded schools in September, including Pleasantville High School, Atlantic County Institute of Technology and Charter Tech High School for the Performing Arts."
  9. Lowe, Claire. "Judge to hear Absecon schools request to leave Pleasantville, attorney says", The Press of Atlantic City, February 25, 2020. Accessed June 11, 2020 . "The Absecon School District will appear before a judge in July to argue why it should be allowed to leave its sending and receiving relationship with the Pleasantville School District.... The K-8 district submitted its request to the state Department of Education in August to sever its decades-old agreement with Pleasantville, citing the cost and quality of education there. The petition calls for students from Absecon to instead attend Absegami High School in neighboring Galloway Township."
  10. Snapshots of 2005 Governor's School of Excellence Winners, New Jersey Department of Education, backed up by the Internet Archive as of June 26, 2006. Accessed April 17, 2013.
  11. Commissioner Davy Appoints State Monitor for Pleasantville, New Jersey Department of Education press release, March 29, 2007. Accessed April 17, 2013.
  12. Baldwin, Tom. "11 arrested in N.J. corruption probe", USA Today, September 6, 2007. Accessed September 6, 2007. "Among the arrested were state Assemblymen Mims Hackett Jr. and Rev. Alfred Steele aides in their legislative offices acknowledged. Also reportedly arrested was Samuel Rivera, the mayor of Passaic, and Keith Reid, the chief of staff to Newark City Council President Mildred Crump."
  13. "Pleasantville Man Sentenced to 12 Months in Prison for Being a 'Bagman' for Corrupt Payments to Board of Education Member", Federal Bureau of Investigation press release dated January 28, 2009. Accessed July 23, 2011. "A Pleasantville man was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison today for his conviction on charges of assisting former Pleasantville Board of Education member Maurice 'Pete' Callaway in the receipt of cash bribes, Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr. announced."
  14. School Data for the Pleasantville Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 7, 2016.
  15. Schools, Pleasantville Public Schools. Accessed June 11, 2020.
  16. 2019-2020 Public School Directory, Atlantic County, New Jersey. Accessed June 11, 2020.
  17. New Jersey School Directory for the Pleasantville Public Schools, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.
  18. Decatur Avenue Early childhood Center, Pleasantville Public Schools. Accessed June 11, 2020.
  19. Leeds Avenue School, Pleasantville Public Schools. Accessed June 11, 2020.
  20. North Main Street School, Pleasantville Public Schools. Accessed June 11, 2020.
  21. South Main Street School, Pleasantville Public Schools. Accessed June 11, 2020.
  22. Washington Avenue School, Pleasantville Public Schools. Accessed June 11, 2020.
  23. Pleasantville Middle School, Pleasantville Public Schools. Accessed June 11, 2020.
  24. Pleasantville High School, Pleasantville Public Schools. Accessed June 11, 2020.
  25. Administration. Accessed September 21, 2020.
  26. New Jersey School Directory for Atlantic County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed September 29, 2016.
  27. 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.
  28. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the City of Pleasantville School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2019. Accessed June 11, 2020. "The City of Pleasantville School District is a Type II district located in the County of Atlantic, State of New Jersey. As a Type II District, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education. The board is comprised of nine members elected to three-year terms. Effective with the 2012 fiscal year, the election of Board Members was moved to the general election in November resulting in the members whose term would have expired in April of 2012 being carried over to December 31, 2012. The purpose of the district is to educate students in grades K-12."
  29. Board of Education, Pleasantville Public Schools. Accessed June 11, 2020.
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