School District Audit Finds Toms River in 'Strong Financial Position'

Frank Holman III makes report to school board after first year of conducting the annual audit

The Toms River School District is in a "strong financial position" according to the results of a recent audit of its balance sheet. Frank B. Holman III of Toms River-based Holman & Frenia Associates presented his firm's findings at Tuesday night's meeting of the Board of Education, held in the auditorium of Toms River High School North. Holman conducted the audit for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, labeling it a “clean” audit that revealed a “strong financial position” for the Toms River district. “This was a thorough review, and the board is definitely paying attention to the numbers,” Holman said. Holman explained that the district had total assets of $138,550,000 and total liabilities of $95,470,000 – leaving a total of net …

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Brick Tops Toms River in Number of Violence Incidents in Schools

Presentation before Brick school board draws comparisons to Toms River

The Brick Township district piled up more instances of reported violence than any other Ocean County school system. That’s 157 incidents in Brick compared to 129 in Toms River. However, Toms River Regional had the most total incidents of school crime (that’s violence, vandalism, weapons and substance abuse violations), with 223 instances compared to Brick’s 218, according to the annual state Department of Education report for the 2010-2011 school year. Toms River’s incident breakdown: In a presentation Wednesday night before the Brick Board of Education, Brick Superintendent Walter Hrycenko said that there were 81 assaults, 49 fights, 19 instances of harassment, intimidation or bullying and one sexual assault reported by district officials…

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Tuition-Free Agreement is Over for Seaside Park Students in Toms River Regional Schools

Board of Education approves tuition plan for Seaside Park Students enrolled in Toms River Regional Schools on Tuesday.

Approximately $10,000 is the amount of tuition that 10 Seaside Park students' families will each pay to attend Toms River High Schools this fall. The tuition rate was set by the state Department of Education. Toms River Regional School Board approved the tuition-agreement that puts an end to the tuition-free agreement from 2008 when then-Superintendent Michael Ritacco urged the board to approve it. Previously, Toms River Regional was receiving no tuition revenue from the out-of-district Seaside Park students to attend high school here. For several years, a handful of residents continued to press the school board on why the agreement was allowed, and this spring the district began to work with officials in Seaside Park and Central Regional …

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Ritacco Watch

Newly Elected School Board Members Disapprove Retainment of "Ritacco Era" Professionals

Ben Giovine, Loreen Torrone and Alex Pavliv vote against approvals of contracts for "Ritacco Era" professionals and question transparency of Toms River Board of Education.

The Toms River Regional Schools board voted Thomas Monahan to another year of service as the board attorney, a measure that passed 5-4. Monahan, who has served as board attorney for more than 20 years, is of the firm Gilmour and Monahan. His and other professional contracts were up for vote last night, though three members of the board said the voting process was disappointing on several levels. At its meeting last night, the board voted to retain many of the same professionals used in previous years. Three board members voted almost across the board against the returning professional contracts, and decried the executive sesssion discussion and late-night vote without agenda notice as one lacking transparency for the public. Ben Giovine, …

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March 13: That Was The Week That Was

A 'twenty-somethings' weekly guide to the headlines

As we look at the news this week, it is interesting to see how quickly our priorities can change.   Reporters spent days fixated on the Charlie Sheen saga, but when the Japanese disaster struck, their headlines quickly adjusted. On that note, let's take a look at this week's guide to the headlines for the area's 'twenty-something' generation: LOCALLY:  Three longtime incumbents, who serve on the Toms River Regional District's School Board, will not be running for re-election.   Patch reported that Board President Linda Garvey and former board presidents Betty Vasil and Meera Malik would not be returning to serve on the board after their current terms expire. All three have served on the board since 1993. The district reports that 11 …

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Joseph Hyer

11:14 pm on Sunday, March 13, 2011

I agree. I hope my sarcastic take on the 'Sheen situation' helped to illustrate that.   more ›