By Nancy Gartenberg
Did you know?
South Hunterdon’s participation in the Interdistrict Public School Choice Program has generated over $320,000 in revenue to offset the tax levy for the 2012-13 school year.
The governor has approved the move of annual April school board elections to November. Your next local school board member election will now take place in November of 2012, along with the presidential election. If the budget is over the 2 percent (cap), a second question would be required for approval in November.
There will be no public vote on the school budget unless the proposed school budget is greater than a 2 percent tax levy. We are still required to hold a public budget hearing in March. Stay tuned for the scheduled hearing date.
That even with our ability to submit a 2 percent tax levy increase, the Board of Education will submit a 2012-13 school budget that has a flat tax levy. This means that the school portion of your property tax bill will remain the same as last year with no increases.
Our students are now required to complete community service hours as a graduation requirement. High school students are required to complete 20 hours each year and middle school students will complete 10 hours per year. The community has benefited in areas of youth athletics, township activities, and rescue efforts during the flooding which occurred last fall.
South Hunterdon has one of the only FFA Chapters in Hunterdon County, which has sent teams to compete at the National FFA Convention for the past three years. In addition, our Dairy Cattle Evaluation Team won the state title last year! Also, we are in partnership with Rutgers University to offer courses in animal science, plant science and look forward to a biotechnology course in the 2013-14 school year. See Scott Kresge for details.
South Hunterdon is going green through the installation of a large solar field, projected to save the district thousands of dollars each year in energy costs. We are a member of the South Hunterdon Renewable Energy Cooperative (SHREC), a cooperative solar project with West Amwell Township, West Amwell Elementary School, Lambertville Municipal Utilities Authority, the City of Lambertville and Lambertville Public School. The field will be placed on the West Amwell Municipal lot, adjacent to South Hunterdon.
South has a Facebook page that has been the “talk” of the New Jersey School Boards Association and many school districts around the state. Our ability to use Facebook as a tool for communication and a means to engage our school community has been incredibly successful and well received. Plus — it’s free! Please join us at www.facebook.com/SHRHSD.
South Hunterdon’s new opponent for our Thanksgiving Day football game is New Hope-Solebury. It has been publicized as, “The Battle of the Bridges,” with banners displayed on both sides of the river by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission. South Hunterdon’s nail-biting victory on the field at New Hope this year has us looking forward with great anticipation as we host the 2013 Thanksgiving Day game and hope this becomes a friendly interstate football tradition.
In 2011, SHR used a $5,000 grant from JC Penney to start a FIRST Robotics Team that participated in the New Jersey Regional competition in March of 2011. They ranked 40th out of 60 teams from all over the world but, more importantly, won an award for the highest scoring rookie team. The 2012 season is in full swing; come see the team compete in the Mid-Atlantic Regional competition at Hatboro-Horsham High School on March 2 and 3. For more information about FIRST Robotics, visit www.usfirst.org.
Thank you for your continued support of our school. I hope this “Did you know?” provided you with attention-grabbing facts and additional insight into the accomplishments and upcoming events in the district.
Nancy H. Gartenberg is superintendent of South Hunterdon Regional High School District.

