Schedules for the 2023-2024 school year are now available on the Genesis Parent Portal!
https://parents.c2.genesisedu.net/vtsd/sis/view?gohome=true
We are pleased to announce that we are upgrading our communication tools for the 23-24 school year. We are using a new service called Apptegy. This service will be used for our alerts and notifications including emergency notifications like snow days and closures, etc. We will begin to use this service starting this week for our Digital Backpacks and other notifications. Please read the article below for more information.
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VTSD New Alert SystemVERNON TOWNSHIP
SCHOOL DISTRICT
Open Board of Education Seat
July 21, 2023
Board of Education – School News
A seat has become available on our Board of Education for a term ending 12/31/2023. Interested applicants should contact the Business Administrator, Patricia Ratcliffe-Lee and the Board President, Kelly Mitchell by Monday, August 21, 2023. Applicants must attend the interview at the Work Session/Public Meeting on Thursday, August 24, 2023 at 6:00 p.m.
Please send your letter of interest to:
Patricia Ratcliffe-Lee – pratcliffe-lee@vtsd.com (O) 973-764-4186
and
Kelly Mitchell – kmitchell@vtsd.com
Starting tomorrow, June 9, through June 14, parents will be required to log into the Genesis Parent Portal to update their child(ren)’s demographic information and free and reduced lunch participation. Parent and student access to Genesis will be paused until the form is completed, allowing the district to update crucial information used in applying for grant funding to fund programs. Families that currently participate or are eligible to receive free and/or reduced lunch will receive a one-time summer P-EBT (Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer) card of an estimated value of $100 per child currently attending VTSD from kindergarten through 12th grade. This card will be sent to families in early August. All families must confirm demographic information in Genesis and families who would like to join the 22-23 school year free and reduced lunch program in order to be eligible to receive the one-time summer P-EBT card must apply ASAP through the parent portal forms tab at the bottom of the screen. Eligibility notification will be automatically determined and you will be notified upon completion of the form. For additional questions, contact rhomestead@vtsd.com.
Please click the link below for information regarding the June BOE Meeting changes
Click here for more information
Cedar Mountain Performance Report
Glen Meadow Performance Report
Lounsberry Hollow Performance Report
Rolling Hills Performance Report
Vernon Township High School Performance Report
Walnut Ridge Performance Report
Below are the pictures from the Instrument Test Drive from Tuesday, May 2nd. High school band and orchestra students are helping our Rolling Hill’s 3rd grade students try out instruments. Over 90 students came to the instrument test drive!
Luke Keating was given the Vernon Township School District’s Superintendents Roundtable Award at the annual luncheon on April 21st at Lafayette House. Luke is a member of five academic honor societies, a 3-year varsity tennis player, a music section leader in the school marching band, and participates in the Mock Trial program at the high school. He is involved with the Youth Leadership Council through the Vernon PAL, and has worked several seasons at Mountain Creek. Luke has expressed interest in mastering Chemistry, so he may one day be a teacher. Congratulations on this well-deserved award!
VTSD is excited to announce another informational session with Douglas Vogel, who will be presenting information regarding long term planning for dependents with disabilities. On April 25th at 6pm via Zoom, Doug will speak about topics including special needs trusts, wills, letters of intent, life insurance, and other items related to a comprehensive support plan for children with disabilities.
Please register using this link: https://tinyurl.com/
March 24, 2023
Dear Vernon School Community,
As you know from previous correspondences and discussions at recent board meetings, Vernon is in a budget shortfall, losing $8.5 million in annual state aid over the past six years and over $6 million in grants and stabilization aid. This eventuated us to make very difficult decisions about our programs and overall instruction. Unfortunately, one of those decisions impacted many of our district faculty and staff members. Regretfully, we are writing to let you know that we spoke with many faculty and staff members yesterday to let them know they will not be with us for the 23-24 school year. Please note that affected faculty and staff will continue to work for the rest of the 22-23 school year. Below are the many questions that we have received from the community. We want to provide as many answers as possible.
Why weren’t parents notified first?
To show respect and dignity to faculty and staff who will no longer be with us at the close of the current school year, we needed to let the affected staff know first. An email was sent out before last week’s board of education meeting to inform the faculty and staff that if their employment status was affected by the cuts, they would be informed later the following week. At the March 16th board meeting, discussions occurred concerning our significant reduction in state aid and increased operating costs. As a result, we discussed that we would have to reduce faculty and staff and make reductions in all operational areas across the district. For details on the budget and state aid reductions, the March 16th board meeting can be viewed on the link above or at vtsd.com. Click on the Board of Education tab, and click on BOE Video Archive. HERE are the slides of the 23-24 Budget Presentation.
Why were teachers spoken to during school hours?
We understand how difficult this is for teachers and students; however, this had to take place during the teacher’s contracted school hours. Substitute teachers were in place to cover teachers’ classes if they could not return to their classrooms. Our goal was to ensure all staff members were notified on the same day if possible and began meeting with teachers at 7:00 AM, ending at 3:45 PM. We chose to begin on Thursday because we were uncertain if we could reach out to everyone during one day and wanted everyone to know before the weekend.
Why aren’t administrators being let go?
Faculty and staff cuts were made across all certified and non-certified areas, which include administrators, teachers, support staff, aides, secretarial staff, and custodial staff.
Are other staff or programs being cut?
Details regarding the overall 23-24 budget will be discussed at future board of education meetings. Our next Work Session meeting will be on Thursday, April 20, 2023, at 7:00 pm, at Lounsberry Hollow School, and our next Public Session will be on Thursday, April 27, 2023, at 7:00 pm, at Lounsberry Hollow School. HERE is the budget presentation.
Thank you for your continued understanding during these difficult times in the Vernon Township School District.
Sincerely,
Russell Rogers
Superintendent
