West Essex Regional School District

The West Essex Regional School District is a regional public school district serving students in seventh through twelfth grade from Essex Fells, Fairfield, North Caldwell and Roseland, four municipalities in western Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.^[3][4][5] These four suburban residential communities located approximately 25 miles (40 km) from New York City have a combined population of approximately 23,000 people and cover an area of 18 square miles (47 km²).^[6]

West Essex Regional School District
Address
West Greenbrook Road North Caldwell , Essex County, New Jersey, 07006 United States
Coordinates	40.869371°N 74.267459°W / 40.869371; -74.267459
District information
Grades	7-12
Superintendent	Damion Macioci
Business administrator	Melissa Kida
Schools	2
Students and staff
Enrollment	1,663 (as of 2022–23)[1]
Faculty	157.6 FTEs[1]
Student–teacher ratio	10.6:1[1]
Other information
District Factor Group	I
Website	www.westex.org
Ind. Per pupil District spending Rank (*) 7-12 average  %± vs. average 1A Total Spending $22,962 35 $18,891 21.5% 1 Budgetary Cost 17,013 36 14,586 16.6% 2 Classroom Instruction 9,675 37 8,339 16.0% 6 Support Services 2,202 20 2,114 4.2% 8 Administrative Cost 1,962 43 1,561 25.7% 10 Operations & Maintenance 2,274 37 1,798 26.5% 13 Extracurricular Activities 893 27 673 32.7% 16 Median Teacher Salary 70,627 28 65,769 Data from NJDoE 2017 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending.[2] *Of 7-12 districts with any number of students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=47

As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of two schools, had an enrollment of 1,663 students and 157.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.6:1.^[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.^[7]

West Essex Regional is accredited by the New Jersey Department of Education and the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 16th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 328 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2012 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 36th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.^[8] The magazine ranked the school 48th in 2008 out of 316 schools.^[9]

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2022–23 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics^[10]) are:^[11][12]

• West Essex Middle School^[13] with 599 students in grades 7-8
  • Gina Donlevie, principal^[14]
• West Essex High School^[15] with 1,043 students in grades 9-12
  • Kimberly Westervelt, principal^[16]

Administration

Members of the district administration are:^[17][18]

• Damion Macioci, superintendent ^[19]
• Melissa Kida, business administrator and board secretary ^[20]

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 district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.^[21][6] Seats on the board of education are allocated based on the population of the constituent municipalities, with three seats assigned to Fairfield, three to North Caldwell, two to Roseland and one to Essex Fells.^[22]