May 30th Meeting Recap: New Superintendent Introduced, Demographic Study Highlights Declining Enrollment and Enrollment Disparity Confirmed with 750 Empty Seats at IHHS

Tonight’s 8pm RIH BOE meeting began around 8:35pm. The room was filled with people, and the Board was over a half hour late to arrive. After opening the meeting, the Board introduced the new Superintendent, Dr. Tarchichi, who was present with his 7, 11 and 12 year old boys, and who said a few words.

The Board then proceeded to conduct their entire two hour long meeting before commencing the Meet and Greet, which had been announced for 8pm, at 10:35pm. By that time, the crowd had thinned, which was unfortunate for Dr. Tarchichi and those who wanted to meet him.

The most interesting presentation and discussion of the evening was the Demographic Study, conducted by an outside firm. The study noted that enrollment has been declining for at least the past five years, and concluded that it is expected to CONTINUE to decline, for at least three more years. The study also noted the SHARP decrease in enrollment at Indian Hills vs. at Ramapo. We have all known enrollment disparity was an issue, and the study confirmed what was known, as well as confirming that overall enrollment will continue to decline.

There is a surplus of capacity in both buildings, but the study noted 750 EMPTY SEATS in Indian Hills.

Members of the public asked the demographer questions about why there are so many more students at Ramapo vs. Indian Hills. He noted that these are not questions for a demographer, because our district has a school choice option (students in three towns CHOOSE which of the two high schools they want to attend). These are not demographic questions, which are objective and data based, but rather subjective questions, which are based on emotions, values, personal opinions, etc. The study also did not address whether FLOW K8 students choose private high schools over either district high school, and if so, why.

The District’s Strategic Plan, which appears to have been put on a shelf, had outlined a plan which would have explored the root causes and subjective factors this past year. We have lost a year of time in the quest to address enrollment disparity, and it is unclear what actions (if any) the BOE will take to address this in the future.

The Demographic Study presentation was not made available to the public in advance of the meeting, but is now posted on the district website.

Update on May 31st at 7:30am

Here is the link to the 2024 Demographic Study done by the district, as presented at last night's meeting: https://cdnsm5-ss11.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_237981/File/Demographic%20Study%202024.pdf