The Livingston Board of Education discussed the recent power outage at Heritage Middle School (HMS) and the district’s college assessment exams scores at its November 12 meeting.
Power Outage at HMS
In his superintendent’s report, interim superintendent Daniel Fishbein discussed the lack of electricity at HMS and the district’s central offices on Monday, November 11. Classes at Heritage were canceled on Monday as a result. The district is meeting with the Livingston Education Association to determine the make-up date.
Fishbein had also reached out to Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L) about better communication and prioritizing schools. “It’s my understanding that this was known at 5:30 a.m. and they got there at 9-ish to do the repairs,” he said.
AP Exams
Laura De Nicola, assistant principal at Livingston High School, led a presentation about the previous school year’s Advanced Placement (AP) Exams results.
Seventy-one percent of all students taking exams last year scored a 4 or a 5, and 89 percent of those scored 3 or above. Ninety-one percent of 11th and 12th grade students were enrolled in at least one AP class last year, and 72.5 percent of graduated seniors scored a 3 or higher on at least one AP exam. Additionally, 475 students were honored with AP Scholar Awards.
Looking at the data from the past five years, more students are taking AP classes at LHS than ever before, De Nicola said.
SATs and ACTs
Natalie Topylko, director of curriculum and instruction - STEM/ testing, discussed the recent scores in both the Scholarly Aptitude Tests (Continued on Page A-6) (SATs) and American College Testings (ACTs).
This past year, 314 LHS students took the SATs, which was a decrease from 352 Lancers who took the test in 2023. The scores in both math and evidence-based reading and writing increased over the previous year and are now the highest they have been in the last five years.
This past school year, 170 LHS students took the ACT Exam. In comparison to last year’s average composite score throughout the five content areas tested, LHS’ average rose from 25.9 to 26.3. Lancers have outpaced the mean scores both nationally and within the state.
Darcy Bialik, the Board’s student representative, expressed concerns about the trend of looking at the average means when submitting scores to a test-optional university. She suggested it could inadvertently raise each school’s average minimum scores.
Board Goals and Budget Goals
Fishbein discussed the Board’s three goals for the next year. The Board plans to develop a two-year schedule and process for the hiring of a permanent superintendent; develop a 2025-26 school year budget; and establish a facility improvement plan based on the long range facilities plan, which will culminate in a referendum.
The Board’s budget goals include developing a long range facilities plan, and implementation of districtwide security improvements. Other budget goals for the school year include supporting a five-year curriculum writing cycle; initiating technology solutions throughout the district; and continuing to provide professional development.
“These are excellent goals to provide focus for the administration to develop a budget within the statutory guidelines we have to follow,” Fishbein said.
Public Comment
During the public comment portion of the meeting, Carmel Borochov, a Livingston resident and Boy Scout who is homeschooled, asked the Board to consider changing its policy regarding out-of-district students living within the township; currently, these students are not permitted to participate in co-curricular activities. This echoed the sentiments expressed by former LHS teacher Elliot Lovi at Monday’s “Five on Five” meeting.
The Board will next meet on Tuesday, November 19.
