Oakland Public Schools

This article is about the school district in New Jersey. For the public school system in Oakland, California, see Oakland Unified School District. For the school district in Michigan, see Oakland Schools.

Oakland Public Schools
Address
315 Ramapo Valley Road
Oakland
, Bergen County, New Jersey, 07436
United States
Coordinates41°01′21″N 74°14′40″W / 41.022556°N 74.244461°W / 41.022556; -74.244461
District information
GradesPreK-8
SuperintendentGina M. Coffaro
Business administratorAnnette Wells
Schools4
Students and staff
Enrollment1,348 (as of 2023–24)[1]
Faculty131.3 FTEs[1]
Student–teacher ratio10.3:1[1]
Other information
District Factor GroupI
Websitewww.oaklandschoolsnj.org
Ind. Per pupil District
spending		 Rank
(*)		 K-8
average		 %± vs.
average
1ATotal Spending$17,86554$18,891−5.4%
1Budgetary Cost14,8096014,1594.6%
2Classroom Instruction8,796518,6591.6%
6Support Services2,507672,16715.7%
8Administrative Cost1,957791,54726.5%
10Operations & Maintenance1,440331,612−10.7%
13Extracurricular Activities7427104−28.8%
16Median Teacher Salary68,4397561,136
Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending.[2]
*Of K-8 districts with more than 750 students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=84

The Oakland Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district serving students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from the borough of Oakland in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[3]

As of the 2023–24 school year, the district, comprising four schools, had an enrollment of 1,348 students and 131.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.3:1.[1]

Students in ninth through twelfth grades for public school attend the schools of the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District, a regional district serving students from Franklin Lakes, Oakland and Wyckoff.[4] Before enrolling, students have the option to choose to attend either of the district's high schools.[5][6][7] Schools in the high school district (with 2023–24 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[8]) are Indian Hills High School, located in Oakland[9] with 694 students and Ramapo High School, located in Franklin Lakes[10] with 1,188 students.[11][12]

History

In 1954, Oakland, which had sent its students to Pompton Lakes High School, joined an effort to create a regional high school together with Franklin Lakes and Wyckoff, which had been notified in 1954 that students from those two communities at Ramsey High School beyond the 1956-57 school year.[13][14] The creation of a regional high school was approved in 1954 by all three communities by a margin of 1,060 to 51.[15]

The district had been classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "I", the second-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.[16]

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2023–24 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[17]) are:[18][19]

Elementary schools
  • Dogwood Hill Elementary School[20] with 241 students in grades K-5
    • Sean Bowe, principal[21]
  • Heights Elementary School[22] with 376 students in grades PreK-5
    • Jacqueline Micari-Christiano, principal[23]
  • Manito Elementary School[24] with 257 students in grades K-5
    • Adam I. Silverstein, principal[25]
Middle school
  • Valley Middle School[26] with 446 students in grades 6-8
    • Gregg J. Desiderio, principal[27]

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:[28][29]

  • Gina M. Coffaro, superintendent of schools
  • Annette Wells, school business administrator and board secretary[30]

Board of education

The district's board of education, consisting of five members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats up for election each year held as part of the April school election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.[31][32] As one of about a dozen districts statewide with school elections in April, voters also decide on passage of the annual school budget.[33][34]

References

  1. ^ a b c d District information for Oakland Public School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
  2. ^ Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
  3. ^ Oakland Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Oakland Public Schools, adopted January 17, 2023. Accessed November 3, 2025. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Pre-Kindergarten through eight in the Oakland School District. Composition: The Oakland School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Oakland."
  4. ^ Ramapo Indian Hills Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District, adopted March 11, 2013. Accessed November 3, 2025. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades nine through twelve in the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District. Composition: The Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Franklin Lakes, Oakland, and Wyckoff."
  5. ^ Van Dusen, Matthew. "Ramapo-Indian Hills schools chief to retire.", The Record, October 24, 2007. Accessed November 3, 2025, via Newspapers.com. "Later, parents of Oakland students protested their lack of choice, and students in Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes and Oakland can now attend either school."
  6. ^ Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed May 28, 2020. "The Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District serves students from Franklin Lakes, Oakland, and Wyckoff in a comprehensive two-campus setting. Students from the three communities may choose which of the two high schools they wish to attend for their four-year high school experience."
  7. ^ School Choice / Home Instruction, Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District. Accessed November 3, 2025. "All eighth grade students from Franklin Lakes, Oakland, and Wyckoff may choose to attend the high school of their choice within the following regulations, which are subject to review and revision."
  8. ^ School Data for the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
  9. ^ Indian Hills High School, Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District. Accessed November 3, 2025.
  10. ^ Ramapo High School, Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District. Accessed November 3, 2025.
  11. ^ School Performance Reports for the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed September 1, 2025.
  12. ^ New Jersey School Directory for the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  13. ^ "Regional High At Polls Jan. 26", The Morning Call, January 14, 1954. Accessed November 3, 2025, via Newspapers.com. "Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes and Oakland voters will go to the polls at a special election Tuesday, Jan. 26 to vote on whether or not they, approve Board of Education plans for a regional high school for the three towns. Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes now send pupils to Ramsey High school and Oakland sends to Pompton Lakes High School."
  14. ^ Staff. "Enrollments Tax Schools In Bergen; Auxiliary Rooms Are Being Converted for Classes and Construction Is Pushed", The New York Times, September 4, 1954. Accessed November 3, 2025. "Crowding is a critical problem in the high schools of the triangular area embracing Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes and Oakland. They have united in a plan for a regional high school. How soon this plant will be ready is problematical, but there is pressure in the fact that Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes students will not be accepted at Ramsey High School after the fall of 1956."
  15. ^ "Voters Okay Three-Town High School", Ridgewood Herald-News, January 28, 1954. Accessed November 3, 2025, via Newspapers.com. "A new regional high school district to include Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes and Oakland received overwhelming approval Tuesday night as residents of the three towns voted 1,060 to 51 in favor of its formation.... Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes have already been informed by Ramsey High School to which they send senior high pupils that the school can accommodate them only until other arrangements can be made, Oakland is momentarily expecting a similar ultimatum from Pompton Lakes which Its students attend."
  16. ^ District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 1, 2024.
  17. ^ School Data for the Oakland Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
  18. ^ School Performance Reports for the Oakland Public School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed September 1, 2025.
  19. ^ New Jersey School Directory for the Oakland Public Schools, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  20. ^ Dogwood Hill Elementary School, Oakland Public Schools. Accessed November 3, 2025.
  21. ^ Principal's Corner, Dogwood Hill Elementary School. Accessed November 3, 2025.
  22. ^ Heights Elementary School, Oakland Public Schools. Accessed November 3, 2025.
  23. ^ Principal's Corner, Heights Elementary School. Accessed November 3, 2025.
  24. ^ Manito Elementary School, Oakland Public Schools. Accessed November 3, 2025.
  25. ^ Principal's Message, Manito Elementary School. Accessed November 3, 2025.
  26. ^ Valley Middle School, Oakland Public Schools. Accessed November 3, 2025.
  27. ^ Principal's Message, Valley Middle School. Accessed November 3, 2025.
  28. ^ Administrative Offices, Oakland Public Schools. Accessed November 3, 2025.
  29. ^ New Jersey School Directory for Bergen County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  30. ^ Business Office, Oakland Public Schools. Accessed November 3, 2025.
  31. ^ Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the Oakland Public School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2024. Accessed November 3, 2025. "The Board of Education (“Board”) of the Oakland Board of Education (“District”) is an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, established to function as an educational institution. The Oakland Board of Education is a Type II district located in the County of Bergen, State of New Jersey. As a Type II district, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education. The board is comprised of five members elected to three-year terms. The purpose of the District is to educate students in grades K-8. A superintendent is appointed by the Board and is responsible for the administrative control of the District." See "Roster of Officials" on page 16.
  32. ^ New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election, New Jersey Department of Education, updated February 16, 2018. Accessed January 26, 2020.
  33. ^ Mazzola, Jessica. "13 N.J school districts held elections Tuesday and - surprise! - hardly anyone voted. See how bad it was", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, April 18, 2018, updated May 14, 2019. Accessed February 17, 2020. "The rest of their 530 counterparts across the state have switched to November elections – most made the change immediately after a 2012 law allowing school district votes to move from April to the fall, held in tandem with the general election. But voters in 13 New Jersey towns went to the polls Tuesday to cast votes for their local boards of education, and in most cases, on whether or not to pass the district budgets."
  34. ^ Board of Education Members, Oakland Public Schools. Accessed November 3, 2025. "The Oakland Board of Education is comprised of five elected members, a Board Secretary and the Superintendent of Schools. By law, only the five elected members are eligible to vote. Each elected member serves a three-year term."
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