Mountainside School District

The Mountainside School District is a community public school district, that serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in the borough of Mountainside, in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.^[3]

Mountainside School District
Address
1497 Woodacres Drive Mountainside , Union County, New Jersey, 07092 United States
Coordinates	40.672543°N 74.370185°W / 40.672543; -74.370185
District information
Grades	PreK-8
Superintendent	Janet Walling
Business administrator	Dana Sullivan (interim)
Schools	2
Students and staff
Enrollment	747 (as of 2022–23)[1]
Faculty	71.6 FTEs[1]
Student–teacher ratio	10.4:1[1]
Other information
District Factor Group	I
Website	www.mountainsideschools.org
Ind. Per pupil District spending Rank (*) K-8 average  %± vs. average 1A Total Spending $15,200 12 $18,891 −19.5% 1 Budgetary Cost 10,688 4 14,159 −24.5% 2 Classroom Instruction 6,464 3 8,659 −25.3% 6 Support Services 1,658 17 2,167 −23.5% 8 Administrative Cost 1,218 8 1,547 −21.3% 10 Operations & Maintenance 1,240 15 1,612 −23.1% 13 Extracurricular Activities 110 55 104 5.8% 16 Median Teacher Salary 58,511 25 61,136 Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending.[2] *Of K-8 districts with more than 750 students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=84

As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of two schools, had an enrollment of 747 students and 71.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.4:1.^[1]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "I", the second-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.^[4]

Public school students in ninth through twelfth grades attend Governor Livingston High School in Berkeley Heights, as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Berkeley Heights Public Schools that is covered by an agreement that runs through the end of 2021–22 school year.^[5][6] As of the 2022–23 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 936 students and 88.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.6:1.^[7] Students also have the choice to attend the programs of the Union County Vocational Technical Schools, which serve students from across Union County.^[8]

Awards and recognition

In 2024, Deerfield school was one of 11 statewide that was recognized as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the United States Department of Education.^[9][10]

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2022–23 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics^[11]) are:^[12][13]

• Beechwood School^[14] with 269 students in grades PreK-2
  • Jessica Vierschilling, principal^[15]
• Deerfield School^[16] with 467 students in grades 3-8
  • Suzanne Jenks, principal^[15]

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:^[15][17]

• Janet Walling, superintendent^[18]
• Dana Sullivan, interim business administrator and board secretary

Board of education

The district's board of education is comprised of seven 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 two or 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 district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.^[19][20][21]