The district is comprised of four constituent municipalities: Franklin Borough, Hamburg Borough, Hardyston Township and Ogdensburg Borough.[7] Each of these communities supports its own independent K-8 elementary school district. There are 14,000 residents in the constituent districts, which cover an area of 42.9 square miles (111 km2).[8]
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 617 students and 48.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.8:1. There were 95 students (15.4% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 19 (3.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
The school has four assistant principals and 70 certified full and part-time faculty members, of whom 64% hold a master's degree.
The district had been classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "DE", the fifth-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.[9]
History
In the face of "badly overcrowded conditions" at Franklin High School, which served students from all four constituent municipalities, voters approved by a 4-1 margin a referendum in November 1972 for the creation of Wallkill Valley Regional High School.[10]
In December 1974, voters in the four constituent municipalities voted against a referendum that would have spent $10 million (equivalent to $61.8 million in 2023) on the construction of a new building, as well as other questions that covered additions for a planetarium and a swimming pool.[11]
For the 1978-79 school year, Ogdensburg withdrew from Franklin High School and began sending students to Sparta High School.[12]
The district sought bids in 1979 for a building costing $8.3 million (equivalent to $34.8 million in 2023), using funds from a referendum approved the previous year.[13]
The school building opened in September 1982 with an enrollment of 500 students.[14]
The school was the 184th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology.[15] The school had been ranked 125th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 195th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[16] The magazine ranked the school 189th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[17] The school was ranked 190th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[18]
Extracurricular activities
There are 21 different athletic activities available to the students at Wallkill Valley. Many of these activities have three levels of participation including freshmen, junior-varsity and varsity. Several non-athletic activities are also available and leadership positions are sometimes available in each area. Some examples include Mock trial, Student Council, Math League, Environmental Club, and Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA).
Athletics
The Wallkill Valley Regional High School Rangers[3] participate in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Morris, Sussex and Warren counties and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[19][20] The school had participated in the Sussex County Interscholastic League until the SCIL was dissolved in 2009.[21] With 440 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group I for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 75 to 476 students in that grade range.[22] The football team competes in the National Blue division of the North Jersey Super Football Conference, which includes 112 schools competing in 20 divisions, making it the nation's biggest football-only high school sports league.[23][24] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 254 to 474 students.[25] The athletic director is Daryl Jones.
The school participates in joint ice hockey, boys lacrosse and boys / girls swimming teams with High Point Regional High School as the host school / lead agency. Wallkill Valley also participates in a co-op wrestling team, with Vernon Township High School as the host school. These co-op programs operate under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.[26][27]
The field hockey team won the North I Group I state sectional championship in 1982-1984 and 2017, and won the North I, Group II title in 1988, 1991, 1992 and 2006.[28]
The wrestling team won the North I, Group II state sectional championship in 1987–1989.[29]
The 1994 football team finished the season with a 9-1-1 record after winning the North I Group II state sectional title with a 22–0 win against Lenape Valley Regional High School in the championship game.[30][31]
In each of the three years from 2012 to 2014, Craig Corti won the individual Group II cross-country running championship, making him the eighth runner in state history to earn three individual state titles.[32]
Administration
Core members of the school's / district's administration are:[33][8][34][35]
David Carr, superintendent and principal
Joseph P. Hurley Jr., business administrator and board secretary
Board of education
The district's board of education, comprised of nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.[36][37] Seats are allocated based on the populations of the constituent municipalities, with four seats assigned to Hardyston Township, two to Franklin, two to Hamburg and one to Ogdensburg.[34]
^ abSchool and Community Profile, Wallkill Valley Regional High School. Accessed March 12, 2022. "The Wallkill Valley Regional High School District is located in the eastern section of Sussex County, a rural area of New Jersey, which is approximately forty miles northwest of New York City. It comprises four constituent districts which include Franklin Borough, Hardyston Township, Hamburg Borough, and Ogdensburg Borough."
^"Voters in Sussex Approve 2 of 3 School Referendums", Paterson Evening News, November 29, 1972. Accessed November 18, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The final tally was 1138 to 282 in approving the creation of a new regional high school district for grades 9 through 12 for students in Franklin, Hamburg, Hardyston and Ogdensburg.... By that vote, the four districts have paved the way for the formation of a regional board of education and granted authorization for a current expense budget of $30,000 for the regional board. High school youngsters from all four municipalities plus Vernon, are now attending Franklin High School under badly overcrowded conditions."
^"Voters Yell 'No' To HS in Sussex", Paterson Evening News, December 4, 1974. Accessed November 18, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Voters In the four towns which comprise the Wallkill Valley Regional High School District left no room for doubt as to their general feeling about the construction of a $10 million high school, when they voted Tuesday almost 3 to 1 against the building referendum. The total vote from the four participating districts of Hardyston, Hamburg, Ogdensburg and Franklin was 1,527 no and only 631 yes. Included in that overwhelmingly negative vote was the defeat of two additional questions on the ballot: a $450,000 swimming pool and a $191,000 planetarium."
^Fitzmaurice, George. "Sussex Towns May Merge Police Forces", Paterson Evening News, December 5, 1977. Accessed November 18, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Franklin, with its own high school and a sending district for Hamburg and Hardyston, overwhelmingly rejects a Wallkill Valley Regional High School. Ogdensburg, once in favor; now votes no. It will remove its students from Franklin High in 1978 and send them to Sparta."
^"Wallkill Valley to open bids for regional school", Paterson Evening News, July 24, 1979. Accessed November 18, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The Wallkill Valley Regional Board of Education will accept bids for its new $8.3 million high school on Aug. 16. The 55-room regional facility for Ogdensburg, Hardyston, Franklin and Hamburg will house 850 students when opened in September 1981 on Route 23, Hardyston."
^"School throws open doors", Daily Record, September 8, 1982. Accessed November 18, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The new Wallkill Valley Regional High School, in Hardyston, opened its doors for the first time yesterday. It was estimated at least 500 students showed up at the new building."
^Home Page, Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference. Accessed August 27, 2020. "The Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference prides itself on being one of New Jersey's premier high school conferences and comprises 39 high schools located in Northwest New Jersey."
^Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Wallkill Valley Regional High School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2023. Accessed December 22, 2024. "The Board is an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, established to function as an educational institution. The Board consists of elected officials and is responsible for the fiscal control of the District. A superintendent is appointed by the Board and is responsible for the administrative control of the District." See "Roster of Officials" on page 11.
