# Rutherford School District

The Rutherford School District is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Rutherford, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprising five schools, had an enrollment of 2,652 students and 208.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.7:1.
The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "GH", the third-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.

## History

Public education began in Rutherford prior to 1900, but the oldest permanent school structure was the Park School, built in 1902. It is currently the home of the Rutherford borough hall, on Park Avenue.
Rutherford formerly had three "neighborhood" schools for grades K-5 (Washington, Lincoln, and Sylvan) which fed into two "magnet" schools for 6-8 (Union and Pierrepont). The magnet schools also served as elementary schools for their neighborhoods. Since the 2005–2006 school year, the Rutherford Schools have changed this format.
Sylvan School has since been closed by the Rutherford Board of Education; it houses YMCA Programs, the District Special Services Department, as well as a Handicapped Pre-School Program run by the South Bergen Jointure Commission.
Rutherford now has two elementary schools, Washington and Lincoln, for grades K-3. In grades 4-8 the students attend Union and Pierrepont Schools. For years before the realignment, the Rutherford School System underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation, which effected all of its buildings, with the most substantial amount of work taking place at Washington, Lincoln and Union Schools.

## Schools

Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are:

### Elementary schools

* Kindergarten Center (opened in 2014)
* Lincoln School (490 students; in grades PreK-3)
** Jeanna Velechko, principal
* Washington School (326; 1-3)
** William Mulcahy, principal
* Pierrepont School (595; 4-6)
** Joan Carrion, principal
* Union School (424; 7-8)
** Kurt Schweitzer, principal

### High school

* Rutherford High School (762; 9-12), built in 1922 and expanded in 1959 and 2005
** Frank Morano, principal

## Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:
* Jack Hurley, superintendent
* Joseph Kelly, business administrator and 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 2013) 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.