Saddle River, Ramsey School Arrangement on Verge of Renewal

The arrangement the Saddle River and Ramsey school districts have with sending students from one district's schools to another looks like it will continue for another 10 years.

The Ramsey School District announced it has reached an agreement to proceed with the continuance of Saddle River middle and high school students attending  Ramsey schools, a contract that has been in place between the districts since the late 1990s, according to Ramsey Board President Tony Gasparovich.

The new contract, which will run through June, 2024 and was discussed at the Ramsey Board of Education's Dec. 17 meeting, has not yet been finalized, said Karen Khoury, the Ramsey School District communications coordinator.

The legal aspects of the arrangement will be completed by spring, she said.

One of the details not yet available is the amount of money the Ramsey district will receive for each of the incoming Saddle River students. Of the 125 students in the 2013-2014 school year affected by the arrangement, 98 attend Eric S. Smith Middle School and 27 are students at Ramsey High School, Khoury said.

“We are grateful that the Saddle River community recognizes the excellent educational program offered at Smith School,” Gasparovich said in a statement. “The Smith School faculty and administration have developed a robust curriculum that incorporates leading-edge technology to make sure our students become life-long learners and are thoroughly prepared for high school.  

"We believe the renewal of this relationship is just one of many ways our two communities can collaborate to offer more opportunities for our kids to develop academically, culturally and athletically," he said.