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Mountainside superintendent unveils draft 2024'029 strategic plan after parent survey
Summary
The superintendent presented a draft five-year strategic plan and summarized a parent survey of 314 responses, highlighting academic rigor, family engagement and partnerships; the board discussed including a clear step to finalize a long-term high-school partner before the Governor Livingston contract ends in 2027.
The Mountainside superintendent presented a draft strategic plan for 2024'029 and summarized results of a parent survey that drew 314 responses, saying the feedback will guide the district's priorities. "We had 314 total responses," the superintendent said, noting strong interest in core academics, parental communication and access to advanced-placement coursework.
Board members were shown three overarching goals in the draft plan: expanded educational opportunities and academic rigor; parent, guardian and stakeholder involvement; and partnerships and grants to support long-term sustainability for a small district. The superintendent said the district will post the approved plan on the Mountainside Board of Education website and provide at least biannual progress reports to the board.
The presentation also flagged the district's receiving-district relationship with Governor Livingston High School, whose contract with Mountainside runs through 2027. Board members pressed for clearer language tying the strategic plan to work on high-school options; one member asked that the plan explicitly list actions to "solidify a high-school partner" before the contract's end. The superintendent said the survey included questions about parents' confidence in Governor Livingston and showed roughly half of respondents would definitely send their children there: "That was 49.5%," she said.
Why it matters: Mountainside is updating its priorities at a time when enrollment, programming and facilities needs are being reviewed alongside negotiations about where students attend high school. The board says it will use the strategic plan as a guiding document for budgeting, curriculum alignment and community partnerships over the next five years.
Next steps: The superintendent will place the strategic plan on the district website after board approval and return with periodic milestone reports. Board members said further work on the high-school send/receive relationship should be scheduled as a separate agenda item and likely requires a small working committee to begin evaluation during 2025.
