School Board

EXPLAINING THE RESULTS – Dan Loughran, the school district’s Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, discusses the results of two assessments taken by Franklin students this past school year. The percentage of Franklin High School juniors with disabilities, and those with special needs, who are considered “graduation-ready” in three academic subjects increased from the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, the …

BEST OF THE BEST – Schools Superintendent John Ravally speaks at the annual Educators of the Year breakfast. The best of Franklin Township educators were honored June 6 at the annual Educators of the Year breakfast, held at The Imperia on Easton Avenue. Honored were teachers of the year and educational professionals of the year from each of the district’s …

SSP Architects and FirstBank announce the 4th annual “Tee Up for Teachers” golf outing, hosted at the Heron Glen Golf Course in Ringoes on June 24. This event, organized to benefit the Franklin Township Warrior Education Foundation (FTWEF), aims to provide vital grants to educators of Franklin Township Public School District, fostering innovative educational programs beyond traditional budget constraints. Reflecting …

NEW PRINCIPAL – Lorri Vaccaro speaks to the Board of Education after she was named the new principal of Hillcrest Elementary School. Hillcrest Elementary School has a new principal. Lorri Vaccaro, a veteran principal from the M orris school district, was named by the Board of Education May 23 to fill the position vacated by longtime Hillcrest principal Albert Fico. …

GRANT RECIPIENT – Schools Superintendent John Ravally said the grant money will be used to develop ready made lesson plans. (File photo). District teachers will be able to spend more time teaching and less time planning curricula with the help of a $200,000 state grant. Franklin was one of 18 school districts across the state sharing in nearly $2 million …

BUDGET EXPLAINER – Board of Education Business Administrator Stephen Fried explains the tax implications of the Board’s FY 2025 budget, approved at the April 25 meeting. The Board of Education on April 25 approved its $194.1 million FY 2025 general fund budget, which carries a small school portion tax increase. The newly minted budget is roughly $7 million more than …

SUPPORTING THE PROGRAM – Deputy Mayor Ed Potosnak said he now supported the Council contributing $300,000 to a construction trades program for Franklin High School students. With an enrollment-based “guardrail” in place, the Township Council on April 9 voted to partner with the Board of Education to offer some Franklin High School students training in the construction trades. The Council …

TALKING NUMBERS – Schools Superintendent John Ravally reviews the preliminary 2024-25 school district budget at the March 20 Board of Education meeting. A steep cut in state aid and a multi-million dollar increase in charter school tuition presented stiff challenges, but school district officials said the proposed 2024-25 budget should only result in a minor increase in the school portion …

EXPLAINING THE PLAN – Township Manager Robert Vornlocker brought a proposal to the Council that turned out to be controversial. A nearly hour-long, sometimes heated discussion on partnering with the Board of Education to provide a construction trades training program ended March 12 with the Township Council agreeing to discuss the issue in April. At issue was a proposal for …

School district officials are looking into ways to compensate for the approximately 2 percent cut in state aid for Fiscal Year 2025. The district will receive $21,119,162 in state K-12 aid, a reduction of $386,982 from last year’s figure. A district spokeswoman said the amount cut represents about 6 percent of the equalization aid given to Franklin by the state. …