IS A MARSHALL-JEFFERSON SCHOOLS SPLIT A GOOD IDEA?

Marshall School, South Orange

In a discussion at the school board meeting on Monday about district goals and budget assessments, Board Member Jeffrey Bennett raised the idea of ending the Marshall and Jefferson joint school system and making each school a kindergarten-5th Grade curriculum. 

Currently, Jefferson and Marshall share students, with Marshall offering a K-2 grade school and Jefferson a 3rd grade to 5th grade curriculum. The unusual pairing dates back to desegregation efforts that prompted the move to integrate the disrict. The plan has stayed in place.

Jefferson School, Maplewood

Students zoned for the schools begin in kindergarten at Marshall, which is in South Orange, and then transfer to Jefferson, in Maplewood, at Third Grade. Such an arrangement has drawn some complaints since many of the students are forced to be bused at least at some point in their grade school career. 

Bennett said at a time when enrollment is growing and other schools are becoming more crowded, a look at a Jefferson-Marshall split might be worthwhile. He also noted the busing costs could be saved.

"I think we have to see what the demographics of Marshall-Jefferson would be like if they were independent K-5 schools," Bennett said. "We could see how much it would cost to retrofit the schools to be K-5 schools...I know the Marshall-Jefferson pairing means a lot to some parents ... but there are different ways to maintain diversity."

Board Member Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad said such a review should be done as part of the planned Education Summit in November "where we get real community engagement."

The board also looked at the issue of out-of-district placements, when students are placed in other districts and the tuition paid for from the district budget. That often includes special needs students.