nj • December 11, 2024

Full-day kindergarten coming to N.J. district after voters approve $46M bond

Full-day kindergarten is coming to Haddonfield in Camden County after residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of a $46.7 million school referendum.Voters passed the referendum with 2,756 votes in favor, and 772 against on Tuesday. Public bids are expected to begin in the spring, with construction to start in the summer.Construction that will include new space for kindergarten classes will take three to five years, school officials said. Full-day kindergarten is coming to Haddonfield in Camden C...

nj • December 10, 2024

These 10 N.J. school districts don’t have free, full-day kindergarten. Here’s why.

The number of school districts that only offer free half-day kindergarten is slowly shrinking in New Jersey, and could become even smaller if a referendum is passed in one South Jersey town this week.In Haddonfield, a referendum will be up for a vote Tuesday to approve the funds needed for more kindergarten classroom space. Previous efforts to refurbish old buildings did not pan out.The vast majority of districts in New Jersey offer free-full day kindergarten as the standard option, an N.J. Adva...

nj • December 6, 2024

N.J. school test scores revealed for 2024. Look up how students did in your district.

New Jersey students continued to show some progress in the third year of post-pandemic state testing, but average scores still remain below pre-pandemic levels, according to new numbers released by the state Department of Education this week.Only 52.2% of students tested at or above expectations on the English Language Arts, or ELA, portion of the statewide New Jersey Student Learning Assessments given during the 2023-2024 school year, state officials said Wednesday. In math, 39.6% of students w...

nj • December 5, 2024

N.J. students still testing below pre-pandemic levels. See the new scores.

New Jersey students continue to struggle in math and reading, testing below pre-pandemic levels for the third year in a row on state tests, according to new numbers released by the state Department of Education.Just over half of students statewide — or about 52.2% — tested at or above expectations in English Language Arts on the statewide New Jersey Student Learning Assessments given during the 2023-2024 school year, state officials said Wednesday.In math, the number of students testing at or ab...

nj • December 4, 2024

See how every N.J. town voted for president in 2024 interactive map

Democratic candidate Kamala Harris received the majority of votes in 253 of New Jersey’s 565 towns in this year’s presidential election, but President-elect Donald Trump gained significant ground statewide for Republicans in a traditionally blue state.Certified results show that Harris won 2,209,872 votes in the state, compared to Trump’s 1,961,706, much closer than predicted in a typical Democratic stronghold.Harris received 51.73% of the vote, a 5.81-percentage point lead over Trump.President...

nj • December 4, 2024

Man accused in N.J. cold case killing fled to Canada on separate charges, officials say

The man recently arrested in the cold case killing of a New Jersey woman in 1997 has a lengthy criminal history and fled to Canada more than two decades ago to avoid prosecution, authorities said Wednesday.The latest revelations in the case against Robert A. Creter, 60, came during his first appearance in a New Jersey court to face murder charges in the death of Tamara “Tammy” Tignor.He spoke in a raspy voice only to answer “yes” or “no” questions from Judge Angela Borkowski and he consented to...

nj • December 2, 2024

Cold case breakthrough in 1997 N.J. killing leads to charges against Canadian man

A cold case breakthrough has led to murder charges against a Canadian man accused of killing a New Jersey woman in 1997 and dumping her body off a dirt road in Somerset County.Robert Alan Creter, 60, of Winnipeg, was extradited to New Jersey on Nov. 26, more than 27 years after Tamara “Tammy” Tignor’s body was found in Bridgewater, Somerset County Assistant Prosecutor Michael McLaughlin said at a press conference.“It’s been 9,885 days since her body was found,” McLaughlin said, crediting investi...

nj • November 27, 2024

Man killed in midnight crash in Ocean County

A 39-year-old man from Forked River was killed in a single-car crash in Lacey Township just after midnight on Wednesday, police said.Police were called to the 2800 block of Dover Rode around 12:20 a.m., township police said. Christopher Winkle was driving when his car left the roadway, crashed into a pole and guardrail, then overturned in a wooded area, police said, adding the driver was ejected from the car.Winkle was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The road was closed for four hours...

nj • November 26, 2024

Thanksgiving week gas prices hit 4-year low. See your county’s average.

At least one part of your Thanksgiving celebration will be cheaper this year – the gas to get there.The average price for a gallon of gas in New Jersey is $2.99 as of Tuesday, AAA data says. That’s the lowest gas has been in the week before Thanksgiving since 2020, when prices were around $2.20 a gallon. (See averages for your county in the map below.)Prices hit a post-pandemic high in 2022, when pre-Thanksgiving gas was about $3.79 a gallon on average.Gas has ticked up slightly since the start...

nj • November 25, 2024

The 17 N.J. school districts with highest teacher salaries, ranked

Public school teachers in New Jersey had median salaries of more than $80,000 during the 2023-24 school year, with teachers in the top-paying districts earning six-figure salaries, according to the recently released state Taxpayers Guide to Education Spending.The highest paying district, Northern Valley Regional in Bergen County, had a median salary of $119,285.The best paying districts tend to be larger, or regional high school districts without elementary schools, an NJ Advance Media analysis...

nj • November 18, 2024

These 17 N.J. towns need to build the most affordable housing, new guidelines say

Municipalities in New Jersey learned last month exactly how many affordable housing units they’re expected to allow over the next decade.The state Department of Community Affairs released the calculations in October detailing the number of affordable units each of the state’s 564 municipalities are required to allow to be built or rehabilitated by 2035.The numbers don’t mean towns will be building and renovating housing themselves. Instead, they are required to create zoning ordinances and housi...

nj • November 14, 2024

N.J. median teacher pay now over $80K. See how much your district pays in latest data.

The median teacher pay in New Jersey rose 2.88% to $80,196 for the 2023-24 school year, data recently released by the state Department of Education shows.That’s up from $77,950 the prior year, according to the 2024 Taxpayers Guide to Education Spending, an annual release detailing local district finances. (See how much teachers in your district earn in the chart below.)The 2.88% increase is lower than the increase seen the year before, when the median salary rose 5.1%.Median pay varies widely ac...

nj • November 14, 2024

Kingda Ka closed to make way for ‘record-breaking’ mystery ride at Six Flags Great Adventure

Kingda Ka, the tallest roller coaster in the world, is permanently shut down at Six Flags Great Adventure as the park makes way for a new roller coaster set to break records, officials said Thursday.The New Jersey theme park announced the closure of the ride, one of the fastest roller coasters in the world, after months of intense speculation about the coaster’s future. Green Lantern, another popular roller coaster, is also slated to be demolished.Two new rides were touted in Kingda Ka’s departu...

nj • November 13, 2024

Green Lantern coaster, 2 other rides to be demolished at Six Flags Great Adventure

As rumors swirl about the future of Kingda Ka, the fates of three other rides at Six Flags Great Adventure have become clear.Green Lantern, Twister Top, and the parachute ride are all slated for demolition, according to construction permits filed in Jackson Township on Tuesday.Six Flags Great Adventure has not issued any announcement on the ride closures, and has declined to comment on the future of Kingda Ka.“We plan to share information about the ride and additional park news very soon,” a spo...

nj • November 12, 2024

Fate of Great Adventure‘s Kingda Ka roller coaster coming ’very soon,' park says

Has the reign of Kingda Ka, the tallest and once fastest roller coaster in the world, come to end at Six Flag’s Great Adventure?The rumors of Kingda Ka’s closure have been swirling online for days among roller coaster enthusiasts and Six Flags fans.Park officials have been tight-lipped, neither confirming or denying the closure rumor in an statement to NJ Advance Media on Tuesday morning.“We plan to share information about the ride and additional park news very soon,” a spokesperson for Six Flag...

nj • November 10, 2024

Massive N.J. wildfire grows to 2,500 acres, none contained yet. Other blazes burning, too.

Wildfires continued to rage across New Jersey on Sunday, as a record-long dry spell is poised to come to an end.The largest was West Milford’s Jennings Creek wildfire, which straddles the New York-New Jersey border. The fire had so far consumed 2,500 acres and threatens 25 structures, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said late Sunday morning. The blaze was at 0% containment as of Sunday morning, the West Milford Fire Marshal’s Office said.The fire started on Saturday, officials said, and the c...

nj • November 8, 2024

Nearly every N.J. county voted more Republican in 2024 than in 2020 and 2016. See how your county voted.

Despite losing nationwide, Vice President Kamala Harris won New Jersey in Tuesday’s presidential election, the ninth election in a row the state has voted for a Democratic candidate.But Harris did not win a majority of support in every county, with Republican president-elect Donald Trump winning support in 12 of the state’s 21 counties. (See which candidate your county voted for in the map below).Mercer County was the bluest in the state, giving Harris a 33-percentage point lead over Trump. Ocea...

nj • November 7, 2024

Ranking N.J.’s school superintendents per-student costs. See the full list.

Superintendents in New Jersey’s biggest districts tend to make bigger salaries than superintendents in small districts — but that doesn’t tell the whole story.Leaders of smaller districts tend to make more money per-student than leaders of the biggest districts, an NJ Advance Media analysis of superintendent pay data from the 2023-24 school year found.In one of the state’s largest district, the superintendent made just $7 per student. Superintendents in New Jersey’s biggest districts tend to ma...

nj • November 6, 2024

N.J. election day 2024: Gloucester County live results

Voters in Gloucester County cast their votes Tuesday in the 2024 general election for county and local seats.Check back here for the unofficial local and county results, which will be updated as they become available. Vote totals will be listed for all races. Winning candidates will have an X in front of their names.Ballots that are mailed in and postmarked by November 5 can be accepted until November 11, so results will continue to change after the close of polls on election night. Provisional...

nj • November 4, 2024

Nearly 2M voters in N.J. cast their ballots before Election Day

Election workers across New Jersey took a deep breath on Monday.The early voting period ended on Sunday — with massive turnout — and poll workers and election officials used Monday to prepare mail-in ballots for counting and to brace for Election Day on Tuesday, when the rest of the state’s registered voters can cast their ballots in what historians are calling the most consequential election of our lifetimes.But more than a quarter of the state’s registered voters didn’t wait for Election Day,...