West Cape May School District

West Cape May School District is a community public school district located in West Cape May in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, that serves students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. With an average of fewer than 10 students per grade, it one of the districts with the smallest enrollment in the state.[3][4]

West Cape May Elementary School
West Cape May Elementary School
Address
301 Moore Street
West Cape May, NJ 08204
Coordinates38.940301°N 74.933559°W / 38.940301; -74.933559
District information
GradesPreK to 6
SuperintendentRobert Garguilo
Business administratorTodd D'Anna
Schools1
Students and staff
Enrollment103 (as of 2017-18)[1]
Faculty9.6 FTEs[1]
Student–teacher ratio10.8:1[1]
Other information
District Factor GroupDE
WebsiteWest Cape May Schools
Ind.Per pupilDistrict
spending		Rank
(*)		K-6
average		%± vs.
average
1ATotal Spending$20,75050$18,8919.8%
1Budgetary Cost15,6053813,64914.3%
2Classroom Instruction10,096448,36620.7%
6Support Services2,919522,16135.1%
8Administrative Cost79311,467−45.9%
10Operations & Maintenance1,770411,55214.0%
13Extracurricular Activities272039−30.8%
16Median Teacher Salary52,8781357,437
Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending.[2]
*Of K-6 districts with any number of students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=59

The district has been a participant in the Interdistrict Public School Choice Program.[5]

As of the 2017-18 school year, the district and its one school had an enrollment of 103 students and 9.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.8:1.[1]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "DE", the fifth-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]

For seventh through twelfth grades, public school students attend the schools of the Lower Cape May Regional School District, which serves students from Cape May, Lower Township and West Cape May, along with students from Cape May Point who attend as part of a sending/receiving relationship.[7][8] Schools in the district (with 2017-18 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[9]) are Richard M. Teitelman Middle School[10] (458 students; in grades 7 and 8) and Lower Cape May Regional High School[7] (871; 9-12).[11]

In 2013, the Lower Cape May Regional School District received a feasibility study that looked at ways to reconfigure the district, which had been established in 1956. The study considered Cape May City withdrawing from the regional district or the dissolution of the district, converting Lower Township's existing PreK-6 district to serve PreK-12, as the regional district's school facilities are located in the township. Cape May City and West Cape May could see annual savings approaching a combined $6 million from the dissolution.[8]

School

West Cape May Elementary School serves students in grades PreK-6.[12] The school had an enrollment of 102 students in the 2017-18 school year.[13]

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:[14][15]

  • Robert Garguilo, Superintendent[16]
  • Todd D'Anna, Business Administrator / Board Secretary[17]

The district's board of education has five members who set policy and oversee 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 either one or two seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election.[18][19][20]

References
  1. District information for West Cape May Elementary School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 1, 2019.
  2. Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
  3. Procida, Lee. "Sea Isle, Long Beach Island are examples of how closing small, high-cost schools can be difficult, unpopular", The Press of Atlantic City, September 20, 2011. Accessed March 12, 2015. "The 10 smallest school districts in the state each have fewer than 100 students. Seven of them, all in South Jersey, are grappling with shrinking enrollment, aging buildings and rising property taxes.... West Cape May disregarded a recommendation to send students to Cape May, and instead started welcoming students from outside its borders through the state Public School Choice program. The first 16 choice students increased the prekindergarten-through-sixth-grade school's enrollment to 58 students this year."
  4. 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.... 8. West Cape May Borough - Enrollment: 98; Grades: Pre-K-6"
  5. West Cape May School District 2016 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed October 25, 2017. "The West Cape May School District has been a Choice District since 2011. The New Jersey Interdistrict Public School Choice program provides the opportunity for non-resident students to attend West Cape May Elementary School at no cost to their parents/guardians. The West Cape May School District is comprised of one school, grades Pre-K through sixth with an enrollment of 100 students."
  6. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed October 30, 2014.
  7. Lower Cape May Regional High School, Lower Cape May Regional School District. Accessed January 30, 2020.
  8. Johnson, Virgil; and Kirtland, James L. "A Feasibility Study to Reconfigure the Lower Cape May Regional School District", Statistical Forecasting LLC, June 2013. Accessed October 31, 2014. "Cape May City is one of three constituent communities served by the Lower Cape May Regional School District ('Lower Cape May Regional'), a limited purpose school district providing education for the middle and high school students from Cape May City, Lower Township, and West Cape May.... Students from Cape May Point attend on a sending-receiving basis."
  9. School Data for the Lower Cape May Regional High School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 1, 2019.
  10. Richard M. Teitelman Middle School, Lower Cape May Regional School District. Accessed January 30, 2020.
  11. New Jersey School Directory for the Lower Cape May Regional School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 26, 2016.
  12. New Jersey School Directory for Cape May County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.
  13. School Data for West Cape May School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 1, 2019.
  14. Staff Directory, West Cape May School District. Accessed January 30, 2020.
  15. New Jersey School Directory for the West Cape May Elementary School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.
  16. Chief School Administrator, West Cape May School District. Accessed October 25, 2017.
  17. Meet Our Members, West Cape May School District. Accessed October 25, 2017.
  18. 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.
  19. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the West Camp May School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2018. Accessed January 30, 2020. "The Borough of West Cape May School District (“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 of Education is comprised of five members elected to three-year terms. These terms are staggered so that one or two member’s terms expire each year. The purpose of the School District is to provide educational services for resident students in grades K through 6."
  20. Board Members, West Cape May Elementary School. Accessed January 30, 2020.

Further reading
  • Fichter, Jack (2010-11-30). "Report Recommends Closing West Cape May School". Cape May County Herald.
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