59°F light rain

RED BANK: AFTER RBMS, HIGH SCHOOL SUCCESS

The Red Bank Middle School class of 2019 was well represented in the RBR class of 2023. (Click to enlarge.)

Press release by the Red Bank Borough Public Schools

Red Bank Regional High School celebrated its Senior Awards recognition ceremony on June 7, and the Red Bank Middle School Class of 2019 received numerous awards and scholarships.

This group of students truly represented our “Best in America” mentality by achieving recognition in various award categories, including academic, athletics, arts, and community service.

More →

RED BANK: RUMAGE NAMED SUPER OF THE YEAR

Superintendent Jared Rumage, second from left, with board members. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

Press release by the Red Bank Borough Public Schools Board of Education

The Red Bank Borough Public Schools Board of Education is proud to announce that Dr. Jared J. Rumage, Superintendent of Schools, has been selected as the 2023 Monmouth County Superintendent of the Year.

Annually, superintendents from each of the nearly 60 school districts in Monmouth County nominate a superintendent who embodies the spirit of district leadership. This year, Dr. Rumage was recognized with this distinction by his colleagues during the monthly Monmouth County Superintendents’ Roundtable on Friday, March 24, 2023.

More →

RED BANK: EX-COP TO BECOME SCHOOL SRO

Joey Fields at a ceremony marking his promotion to police sergeant in 2014. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicA retired Red Bank police officer who’s a product of borough schools will be returning to work as a school resource officer, following action by the council last week.

In other RBPD news, the ranks of retired officers is slated to grow by two.

More →

RED BANK: SCHOOL COPS ON HOLD

Councilman Michael Ballard, seen here at a June 29 forum, cited . (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njThe Red Bank council tabled a plan to put armed police in the borough’s primary and middle schools Wednesday night.

The council’s second session of the month ended with quarreling among members over a requested change to the meeting schedule.

More →

RED BANK: SCHOOL COPS ON AGENDA

RED BANK MIDDLE SCHOOLThe middle school, above, and primary school would each have a school resource officer onsite when in session, said Chief Darren McConnell. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Action that would put a police officer in Red Bank’s primary and middle schools is up for approval by the borough council Wednesday night.

Here ‘s the agenda at a glance:

More →

RED BANK: CHARTER SCHOOL WINS EXTENSION

The school’s campus includes buildings on Oakland Street, above, and Monmouth Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

See UPDATE below

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03The Red Bank Charter School has won state authorization to operate for another five years, Head of School Kristen Martello announced Wednesday.

The widely expected extension was granted by the New Jersey Department of Education over the objection of borough school district’s board, which was joined by the town council in its request that the school be closed.

More →

RED BANK: SCHOOLS MUSTER FOR RESTART

Domenic Kalorin, left, was elected board president, succeeding Fred Stone, right. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicWith “a huge chunk” of their staff out on pandemic-related absences, Red Bank’s public schools mustered once again to provide instruction Tuesday, Superintendent Jared Rumage said that night.

More →

VIRUS UPDATE: RBR ON REMOTE, BOROUGH NOT

Students and staff at Red Bank Regional are scheduled begin 2022 in remote mode Tuesday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njRed Bank borough schools will be open Tuesday, but the regional high school in Little Silver will go remote as shifting approaches to a surging COVID-19 virus arrived with the new year.

More →

VIRUS UPDATE: SCHOOLS SCRAMBLE AGAIN

The trend in lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases for three towns since November 1. (redbankgreen chart from Monmouth County data. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njSharp increases in COVID-19 cases scrambled schedules for some Red Bank-area schools as they emerged from their year-end 2021 breaks Monday.

Here’s a rundown.

More →

RED BANK: RUMAGE TEES UP CHARTER FIGHT

JARED RUMAGE, red bankSuperintendent Jared Rumage at the borough middle school in May, 2019. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03Red Bank schools Superintendent Jared Rumage called on the borough council Wednesday to aid the district in a bid to shut down the Red Bank Charter School, whose authority to operate is up for renewal.

In a direct challenge that echoed rhetoric from a bitter battle leading up to the school’s charter renewal in 2017, Rumage called for a “unified” borough educational system and the elimination of an institution that he said has fostered segregation for its entire 23-year existence.

“It’s a travesty that we have tolerated school segregation for so long in Red Bank,” Rumage told the council via Zoom during its workshop session.

More →

RED BANK: BOARD NIXES REDEVELOPMENT BID

Saxum owns the former VNA site, viewed here from the former Raceway gas station on Riverside Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njSaxum Real Estate‘s request for a controversial zoning change in Red Bank hit a solid brick wall Monday night.

At a meeting that lasted just 12 minutes, the borough planning board unanimously rejected a proposal that objectors feared would lead to massive tax breaks for the developer.

More →

RED BANK: SAXUM HEARING POSTPONED

A rendering of Saxum’s planned project at Riverside Avenue and Bodman Place. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njOpponents of a potential tax deal for a massive proposed development in Red Bank may have to cool their heels until October to challenge the first step in the process.

More →

RED BANK: TAX BREAK CLOUDS SAXUM HEARING

Saxum’s project would replace the former Visiting Nurse Association headquarters at 176 Riverside Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njRed Bank’s planning board kicked off a process Monday night that could result in a rezoning of prime real estate.

But while the ultimate goal of the effort – a tax break for a developer – was not under immediate consideration, it was clearly on the minds of objectors, including at least one board member.

More →

RED BANK: COAT DRIVE FACES BIG DEMAND

red bank, nj, jared rumageRed Bank Schools Superintendent Jared Rumage helps unload coats donated in 2018. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

Press release from Red Bank-based Knights of Columbus council #525

red bank, nj, done good, In 2017 our Council kicked off the first ever ‘Coats for Kids’ program in the Red Bank area. In our fifth year of the program program we have provided hundreds of kids across the community who do not have the means to purchase a new or appropriate jacket for the harsh winter weather we experience.

More →

LITTLE SILVER: COVID SHUTS WEIGHT ROOM

After a Red Bank Regional High School student tested positive for COVID-19 this week, the Little Silver school’s weight room was closed for additional cleaning, an official told players and parents Thursday.

More →

LITTLE SILVER: RBR SET FOR MP4 AND BEYOND

Closing out its third marking period last week, Red Bank Regional High School shared photos over the weekend of the recently completed addition to the Little Silver school, above and below.

More →

LITTLE SILVER: RBR BACK TO REMOTE CLASSES

hot topic

[See UPDATE below]

Red Bank Regional High School will revert to an all-remote schedule Friday because of  “high rates of community transmission” of COVID-19 and other factors, Superintendent Lou Moore announced Thursday evening.

More →

RED BANK: PRIMARY SCHOOL BACK TO REMOTE

RED BANK primary schoolredbankgreen hot topicAll Red Bank Primary School students, and some in the middle school, will revert to remote instruction Thursday, Superintendent Jared Rumage said in an announcement Wednesday.

He cited a number of COVID-19-related factors as driving the change.

More →

RED BANK: RBR BACK TO FULL-REMOTE SKED

redbankgreen hot topicRed Bank Regional High School goes back to a full-remote schedule Monday after a student who was present for two days last week tested positive for COVID-19, Superintendent Lou Moore announced Sunday.

More →

RED BANK: SCHOOLS DIVERGE ON SCHEDULES

redbankgreen hot topicThe construction fence surrounding an addition at Red Bank Regional High School has come down, in time for a resumption of a hybrid schedule that will bring students back to the Little Silver campus starting Monday, Superintendent Lou Moore announced Thursday.

But in Red Bank borough, RBR’s largest sending district, the primary and middle schools will remain off-limits to students and staff for another month due to the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic, Superintendent Jared Rumage said.

More →

VIRUS UPDATE: COVID-19 CASES ON THE RISE

Red Bank schools, including the middle school, continued on all-remote learning Monday after a planned return to a hybrid schedule was postponed. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

hot topic red bank nj

By JOHN T. WARD

Governor Phil Murphy warned of a delayed post-Thanksgiving COVID-19 surge Monday, while cautioning New Jersey residents against gathering over the coming holiday season.

More →

RED BANK: BOROUGH SCHOOLS GO REMOTE

hot topic red bank njRed Bank borough’s two public schools would immediately switch to all-remote instruction Friday in response to “several positive cases of COVID-19 across the district,” Superintendent Jared Rumage wrote in an announcement Thursday night.

More →

ON THE GREEN: COVID CASES IMPACT SCHOOLS

A student being screened for elevated temperature on September 14. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

[CORRECTION: Red Bank’s action was prompted by a positive test of an adult, not a student, Rumage said.]

By JOHN T. WARD

One person each at the middle schools in Fair Haven and Red Bank have tested positive for COVID-19, the respective district superintendents reported over the weekend.

More →