As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprising four schools, had an enrollment of 3,625 students and 328.8 classroom teachers (on anFTE basis), for astudent–teacher ratio of 11.0:1.[1]
The district is classified by theNew Jersey Department of Education as being inDistrict Factor Group "FG", the fourth-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by commonsocioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.[3]
The Burlington Township School District received publicity in 2009 after a video posted on YouTube by a parent without school approval showed more than a dozen children at B. Bernice Young Elementary School singing a song praisingPresidentBarack Obama, which Conservative groups cited as a means of indoctrinating students to support the President. At the conclusion of the song, the children pump their fists and chant "hip, hip, hooray!" The song had been performed in conjunction withBlack History Month activities and when the author of the bookI Am Barack Obama visited the school the next month[4][5]
The district'sboard 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 2013) 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.[12][19][20]
^Kates, Brian."Conservatives plan protest over pro-Obama song at New Jersey's B. Bernice Young School",New York Daily News, October 12, 2009. Accessed July 1, 2011. "The songs drew national attention when their performances at the B. Bernice Young School in Burlington Township were posted on YouTube last month. In it, second graders sing: 'Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama/He said that all must lend a hand/ To make this country strong again.' ... Conservatives say the songs show children being indoctrinated to idolize Obama. School officials deny the allegation."
^Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Burlington Township School District,New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2021. Accessed December 28, 2022. "The Township of Burlington School District (School District) is a Type II district located in the County of Burlington, State of New Jersey. As a Type II district, it functions independently through a Board of Education. The Board is comprised of nine members elected to three-year terms. These terms are staggered so that three member’s terms expire each year. The purpose of the School District is to provide educational services for resident students in grades K through 12."
