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JUNE 2020 FREE
Class of 2020 reflects on senior year As the 2019-2020 school year wraps up, Robbinsville High School seniors are looking ahead to college, their future plans and post-high school life—and, as we do every year, the Advance sent 10 of the Class of 2020’s district-selected exceptional students a questionnaire about RHS life and their post-R’ville plans. This year’s interview questions included the usual fare, like what college they plan to attend, RHS extracurriculars and favorite quotes. The Class of 2020 was active in the RHS community. They participated activities like varsity sports, National Honor Society, World Language Honor Society, FIRST Robotics, Leadership Corps, Math League and Model UN. They will attend colleges like Johns Hopkins University, Duke University, the University of Michigan, Georgia Tech and the United States Air Force Academy, where they will major in mathematics, the sciences, multiple engineering disciplines and neuroscience. And the students were able to decide all of this as their senior years—and lives—were upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. Each student was asked about their school experiences during isolation and how the virus affected their final semester of high school. To see their responses, turn to Page 12.
COMMUNITYNEWS.ORG
School board OKs budget
Township honors late veteran
BY SAM SCIARROTTA
Robbinsville Mayor Dave Fried reads a proclamation in recognition of Lt. Col. John Kapferer, who died in April and is Robbinsville’s most decorated veteran. Kapferer was honored May 4 with a drive-by parade, salute, street renaming of Newtown Boulevard and a framed resolution.
Township address takes new form Fried touches on flat taxes, coronavirus relief in speech BY SAM SCIARROTTA
Robbinsville Mayor Dave Fried’s annual State of the Township address has become somewhat of a tradition in town—each year, Fried delivers his address at a gala fundraiser in support of a local individual, cause or family. With this year’s contribution, Robbinsville has raised $350,000 since 2015. It looked a little different this year, though, as Fried spoke virtually from the municipal building due to COVID-19 precautions. The township originally
planned to put funds raised from this year’s State of the Township address toward a general fund—We Love Our R’Ville Neighbors. He said the pandemic only cemented the need for it. “So many local families were in need of support even before we ever heard the word coronavirus—families such as the Semmels, the Areneos and the Dorans, among others,” Fried said. “The more than $50,000 raised since March will be part of the We Love Our R’ville Neighbors fund managed by the CARE Program, and it will make a real difference in our community.” Coronavirus was a recurring theme in Fried’s address. Fried thanked healthcare workers, first responders and
township staff and thanked township council and the school district for a smooth transition to remote services. The township also provided 20,000 protective face masks to residents and offered the municipal building’s parking lot as a COVID-19 test site. He cited business administrator Joy Tozzi and senior center director Renee Burns as “instrumental” in converting the Robbinsville Senior Center into the township’s COVID-19 relief hub, where personal protective equipment, food and donated supplies were collected and distributed. Fried encouraged residents to be “responsible and respectful” as the state graduSee ADDRESS, Page 5
The Robbinsville Board of Education approved a $48.72 million budget for the 2020-21 school year on April 27. The budget will result in no increase in school taxes. However, there is an increase of $455,816 over last year’s spending package. “In spite of the challenges we currently face, the new budget continues to reflect our strong commitment to mindful and deliberate investing so our students can thrive socially, emotionally and academically,” said superintendent Kathie Foster in a letter to the community. “We strive to offer a wide variety of rigorous programs and diverse learning experiences, both in-class and extra-curricular, to convey the essential skills and knowledge necessary to be Robbinsville Ready for life in the real world.” This is Foster’s last budget (See column on Page 18). Following her retirement, Brian Betze takes over as superintendent starting July 1 and will inherit the budget. The budget is supported, in part, by $38.4 million in taxes. The district anticipates $7.8 million in state aid—an increase of $466,372 from the previous school year. Taxes account for 79 percent of the district’s total revenue. Other sources of alternate revenue include shared services, facility rentals, student activity fees, the RobSee BUDGET, Page 5
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