RED BANK: REFERENDUM Q&A SCHEDULED
Red Bank voters, faced with a $6.75 million ballot question in November, will get their first chance to grill Superintendent Jared Rumage on the issue Thursday night.
RED BANK: $6.75M REFERENDUM PLANNED
Red Bank Primary School, with a newly completed fire access road at left, would get a new roof if the November 5 measure passes. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A referendum on $6.75 million worth of school improvements will be on the ballot for Red Bank voters in November, under a plan approved by the board of education Tuesday night.
The project won’t increase property tax bills, officials said.
LITTLE SILVER: Q&A WITH NEW RBR PRINCIPAL
New RBR Principal Julius Clark in downtown Red Bank last month. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Many students at Red Bank Regional High School will recognize the new principal when they arrive at the Little Silver institution next month.
Completing a loop of sorts, Julius Clark returns to the area where he worked for 13 before departing for what turned out to be a one-year stay at a district in Mercer County.
RED BANK: ALTERNATE-SIDE PLAN REVISED
Borough officials say streets with one-side-only parking, including Spring Street, above, will allow parking on the other side during street sweeping. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
After a number of complaints were raised, a proposed alternate-side parking ordinance for Red Bank will be revised to make the system monthly rather than weekly.
RED BANK: COUNCIL LAUDS PRINCIPAL CLAY
The Red Bank council meeting Wednesday night began with an ending: a sendoff for Risa Clay, who’s retiring this summer as principal of Red Bank Regional High School.
RED BANK: PARKING, NEWS RACKS AND MORE
News boxes outside the Post Office on Broad Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s borough council is expected to introduce an ordinance Wednesday requiring alternate-side parking throughout town.
Also on the agenda: a law to regulate news racks, and honors for an educator who is retiring.
LITTLE SILVER: SPORTS CUTS SPARK OUTRAGE
Heavy turnout forced the relocation of the RBR board meeting to the media center, above. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank Regional students and parents packed a board of ed meeting Wednesday night in a bid to save the ice hockey and golf programs from a budgetary axe.
With a preliminary spending plan calling for a 6.5-percent tax increase, board members defended the cuts as necessary before parents appeared to coalesce around a plan to save the sports through outside fundraisers.
LITTLE SIVER: RBR TEACHERS BLAST MOORE
Superintendent Lou Moore at Wednesday’s RBR board meeting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The union representing teachers at Red Bank Regional accused Superintendent Lou Moore Wednesday night of running the three-town high school district with an “authoritarian” approach and a “general lack of integrity.”
The bombshell accusations were made at a board of ed meeting hours after the Red Bank Regional Education Association’s members “overwhelmingly” cast a no-confidence vote against Moore, said math teacher Sunny Lenhard.
RBR: FORUM ADDRESSES IMMIGRATION CRISIS
Immigrant advocates Brenda Codallos, left, and Itzel Perez listen as attorney Michele Alcalde speaks at RBR Thursday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The political conflicts that rage over immigration will eventually be settled by today’s young people, who overwhelmingly believe immigrants are good for America, a guest speaker at Red Bank Regional High said Thursday.
Until then, however, the fears of immigration opponents must be met with data that demonstrates the economic benefits of immigration, he and others said.
LITTLE SILVER: STUDENT CHARGED FOR THREAT
Little Silver and Red Bank police investigated an apparent implied threat of violence at Red Bank Regional High School Sunday night before concluding there was no actual danger, they said Monday.
RED BANK REGIONAL: REFERENDUM PASSES
Referendum supporters cheer the results at the RBR board of ed office Tuesday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Voters in three towns gave overwhelming support Tuesday to a referendum on $17.3 million worth of capital improvements to Red Bank Regional High School.
RED BANK REGIONAL: $17.3M PLAN ON BALLOT
The referendum includes $2.3 million for the installation of artificial turf and other improvements at the RBR football field. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Voters in Little Silver, Red Bank and Shrewsbury will decide a referendum on $17.3 million worth of capital improvements to Red Bank Regional High School Tuesday.
RBR: REFERENDUM INFO PUSH LAUNCHED
Red Bank Regional would get 10 new classrooms, a new roof, a turf field and other upgrades under the $17.3 million proposal. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank Regional High board of ed kicked off an information campaign Wednesday night with a dire message: if a proposed $17.3 million capital plan fails at the ballot box in December, taxpayers in three towns may be in for a tax shock. Read More
RBR, LOCAL DISTRICT TO HOST FORUMS
Red Bank Regional needs a new roof and more classroom space, officials say. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank Regional High and the Red Bank school district each plan to host future-oriented public information sessions in coming days.
For RBR, the focus is a $17.9 million capital plan up for approval by voters in the sending towns of Red Bank, Little Silver and Shrewsbury.
For Red Bank, it’s about a strategic plan to make the two-school district “best in America.”
RED BANK REGIONAL: $17.9M PLAN ON BALLOT
Frank Neary, who heads RBR’s finance committee, addressing the audience at the council meeting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Voters in Red Bank, Little Silver and Shrewsbury are scheduled to decide the fate of a $17.9 million capital plan for their shared high school later this year.
On Wednesday night, two Red Bank Regional High officials told an audience at the borough council meeting that a December 11 referendum is, in part, critical to maintaining a cash cow: tuition paid by non-district students.
RUMSON: ‘RIVAL’ TEENS UNITE TO SAVE LIVES
The student leaders behind the Ridge Road Run 5K, as seen on Ridge Road, are (left to right): RBR senior Michael Eulner, Shrewsbury; sophomore Claudia Kelly, Little Silver; senior Thomas Lloyd, Shrewsbury; RFH senior Ellie Gibney, Fair Haven; RBC senior Lily Salcedo; RFH senior Teddy Sourlis, Rumson; and RBC senior Courtney Carroll, Middletown.
[Press release from Red Bank Regional]
The sports rivalries among three Two River schools are legendary. It is always a super sweet victory when the Red Bank Regional (RBR) Buccaneers can defeat Red Bank Catholic (RBC) Caseys or Rumson Fair Haven’s (RFH) Bulldawgs, and vice versa for all three teams, two of which are located on Ridge Road, and the other not too far away.
However, seven students from all three schools have recently collaborated to use that rivalry to generate a very positive event.
FAIR HAVEN: WALKOUTS GET DETENTION
Fair Haven Superintendent Sean McNeil, seen below at a January event, expressed pride in Knollwood students who walked out, but told them there had to be consequences. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Seventy-two Fair Haven middle school students were ordered to report for detention after participating in a walkout Wednesday to mark the one-month anniversary of a mass school shooting in Florida.
Meanwhile, just half a mile away, hundreds of Red Bank Regional High students observed the nationwide walkout without penalty. But the fact that they were sequestered within the confines of the school stadium, and surrounded by police, irked at least one student.
RBR SUPERINTENDENT: ADDRESS GUN ACCESS
Superintendent Louis Moore speaking at an anti-hate rally in Red Bank last August. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
This essay, titled ‘Schools Will Not Be Secure Until We Address Access to Lethal Weapons,’ was submitted to redbankgreen by Red Bank Regional High Superintendent Louis Moore.
Since the tragedy at Columbine High School almost 20 years ago, school districts have implemented measures to protect students and staff from the threat of a mass shooting. Entrances have been hardened with “mantraps” and bullet resistant glass. “Active shooter” drills are now regularly conducted along with fire drills. New security staff have been hired and all staff are trained on best security practices.
Yet the brutal massacre in Parkland, Florida demonstrates that schools remain vulnerable and the threat is ongoing. Read More
RBR TEACHER NOTED FOR LITERARY BLOG
Gretna Wilkinson. (Click to enlarge)
Press release from Red Bank Regional High
Gretna Wilkinson, Red Bank Regional’s (RBR) acclaimed creative writing teacher, was recently notified that her website and literary blog, the Raven’s Perch, was selected as one of the top 100 literary blogs on the web by Feedspot.com, a website aggregator.
LITTLE SILVER: STUDENT FILM A PRIZEWINNER
‘Parallax Dreams,’ directed by and starring Red Bank Regional’s John Tuohy, seen below at the awards ceremony.
An enigmatic short film by a Red Bank Regional sophomore, shot in and around Red Bank, was a double prize winner at a student film festival last month.
John Tuohy, a 16-year-old rising junior from Little Silver took the top prize in the Big Dreams and Silver Screens Festival held in Rahway on June 3.
RED BANK: TWO WAYS TO MAKE ‘MERRY’
Two River Theater hosts two very different takes on Shakespeare’s comedy ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor,’ beginning with Saturday’s first preview of a three-actor free for all.
When William Shakespeare put quill to parchment and began work on The Merry Wives of Windsor, he probably wasn’t laboring under the illusion he might create something to be dissected by critics and scholars for hundreds of years to come. The more immediate tastes of the popular audience were calling out to him, and with Wives the busy Bard had the opportunity to spin one of his most crowd-pleasing creations — Sir John Falstaff, the portly and roguish companion to the future king in the two parts of his historical drama Henry IV — into a rowdy (and cheerfully out-of-time) little knock-down farce.
Beginning this Saturday night, the Two River Theater offers Red Bank audiences not one but two rather unique takes on one of Shakespeare’s silliest comedies: one an intimately scaled three-actor adaptation that goes in search of the play’s “dark undercurrent;” the other an abridged full-cast version showcasing a talented company of high school age performers.
RED BANK: PARKS & REC GETS ITS OWN LOGO
Jack Davis with the color version of his logo for the Red Bank Parks & Rec department. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
Red Bank’s Parks and Recreation department is getting some new branding, courtesy of a sophomore at Red Bank Regional.
Designed by Little Silver resident Jack Davis, the color version of the department’s new logo features a sun-tinged sky over the Navesink River, as seen through the archway entrance to Riverside Gardens Park on West Front Street.
RBR STUDENTS PROTEST RESPONSE TO PRAYER
According to one account, hall monitor Joel Gray, below, was placed on administrative leave after engaging Jazmin Graham, center above, in prayer. She said she had sought Gray’s counsel. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
For the second school day in a row, Red Bank Regional students staged a demonstration Monday afternoon to protest the school’s purported suspension of an aide for engaging students in prayer.
To date, there’s been no official confirmation of any type of action against 32-year-old hall monitor Joel Gray. Tom Pagano, the interim superintendent at the Little Silver school, declined to discuss Gray’s status with redbankgreen late Friday, citing the privacy of personnel matters. Gray himself has not returned phone messages.
But as they had on Friday, more than a dozen students, placards in hand, stood at the corner of Harding Road and Ridge Road Monday shortly after dismissal, chanting their support for a school employee they say has been mistreated by the administration. Read More
RFH’S BARRY HEADING TO DARTMOUTH
Rumson-Fair Haven’s top all-time scorer Brendan Barry will continue his basketball career at Dartmouth, Shore Sports Zone reports. Check out the video showing the secret to Barry’s success here.
RBR BOYS LOSE AS LADY BUCS ADVANCE
Red Bank Regional’s Matt Reardon led all scorers with 26 points, but the Bucs had no answer to the hot hand of Ocean Township’s Jake Talarico, who knocked down six three-pointers Monday. Playing at home, the Spartans won, 65-58, to advance in the boys’ B North Central Group 3 playoffs. Shore Sports Zone was there with its video cameras to catch the action.
In other state championship action, the Lady Bucs of RBR topped Steinert, 57-54 to advance in the Group 3 tournament.