Irvington, NEW JERSEY

August 18, 2008 - Two contractors have pleaded guilty to offering bribes to former Irvington Mayor Michael Steele while he served as business administrator for Irvington Board of Education. (Double dipping in New Jersey is an artform.)

Michael Steele, 52, was indicted in June on bribery and official misconduct charges and has pleaded not guilty. He was accused of taking at least $120,000 in kickbacks connected to district contracts. He served as mayor from 1990 to 1994 and retired as the school business administrator in April.
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New Jersey Office of the Attorney General
Press Release (June 5, 2008) on Steele's indictment.
- Indictment PDF (434k)
- View Charts Listing Rigged Contracts and Kickbacks (73k & 56k PDFs)

New Jersey Office of the Attorney General
Press Release (August 18, 2008) on the guilty pleas of the two contractors.
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SCHOOL INFO: It's no surprise that the Irvington Township School District rates a 2 at GreatSchools.net for appalling test scores. The district has 8 schools with 7,253 students.

The high school rates 1 at GreatSchools.net
(High school is a good measure of the cumulative education of students in a district.)

Grade 11 - %age performing at or above grade level
Science
- This District = 11% State Average = 73%
Language Arts Literacy
- This District = 62% State Average = 85%
Math
- This District = 20% State Average = 73%

School population = 92% Black, 7% Hispanic
Students participating in free or reduced-price lunch program = 38%
(A surprisingly low figure.)

Attendance rate students = 89% Statewide = 94%

NCLB REPORT CARD
The Faculty Attendance Rate is found in the NCLB Report Card at the New Jersey Department of Education.
The rate is 94% in the high school. Statewide it is 96.1%.
Numbers of students per faculty member = 13.4

Number of teachers who have been certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards = 0

Median Salary for Administration
This District = $102,107 (Statewide = $108,431)

Median Salary for Teachers
This District = $59,741 (Statewide = $55,550)

Total Cost per pupil
This District = $15,367 (State Average = $13,701)

Google Map

Be sure to read the parent reviews at GreatSchools. One student observed, "This school is not a learning enviornment, more like a teenage daycare. The children of Irvington have no future."