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Catskills in NJ, that sounds nice. Funny somene recommended Wayne to me & here you left it for Randolph. I will stay away from Ginsberg for certain. Great sport programs sounds good. My son plays ice hockey and I hear the program is good in Randolph. About high taxes, I will take that under advisement...but I am will to pay more for better schools and community programs. But wasteful spending, no thanks.
Ice hockey in Randolph is definitely among the stronger programs in the area and the town generally has great youth sports programs.
You're right to try to balance the taxes against the schools and other services. We moved to Randolph from Morris Township and we miss the lower taxes. Morris Twp has some great neighborhoods, but a relatively higher percentage of people end up sending their kids to private school.
Randolph is a great town to live in. Great schools - almost excellent-
providing many services and choices to students. The NJ Monthly ranking is not all inclusive.
There are many excellent town services - parks and recreation -offering many choices of trails, and parks for hiking and enjoyment. The excellent recreation dept. offers sports training and teams for many sports, art classes, dance classes, summer camps, and pre-school is available through the town. Randolph has a nice library offering many excellent programs for all age groups. There is well-managed snow, recycling, and garbage removal, a responsive police department, & fire department. Scenic, and large property/lots. Taxes are high in all of northern NJ.
I enjoy shopping in Dover - it is multi-cultural. It has a nice children's museum, a well-respected Auction House, a large reliable Paint & Wall-Paper store, and inexpensive gas. It has old-world charm.
Good to know there are lots of programs offered, very family oriented. It sounds like there are great people there too. Plus, if lower taxes mean I will want to send my kids to private school, that is no bargain!! I am hoping to find great schools where I move. Randolph seems like it might fit the bill.
: )
We've lived in Randolph for 11 years, and love it. Randolph has solid schools, great outdoor recreation options (parks, trails etc) and though we don't have a town center, other towns and shopping are all very close. We're somewhat more rural and less developed than towns to the east of us. We have many friends here and wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
The other three towns would probably be considered a bit more up scale. I grew up in Mountain Lakes. It's a great town. I wish I hadn't left. The Mountain Lakes public school system is among the top 1000 school systems in the country. Mendham and Chester are also very nice towns. I know there have been some new homes built in Randolph in the last few years that are beautiful. Randolph also has the County College of Morris, which is a top-notch community college.
I know this isn't what you want to hear but I feel like Randolph is on it's way down. It's just not the same uptopia with amazing schools it once was. I would pick any of the other 3 towns you mentioned even if it meant a lesser house. Best of luck.
I am wondering if the schools are on their way down, too. I found this letter on the HS website.
http://www.rtnj.org/files/32141/CSSpiritWeek.pdf (broken link)
It's a huge school, so it must be hard to manage.
Are they on a block schedule? I'm not a big fan of that.
Catskills in NJ, that sounds nice. Funny somene recommended Wayne to me & here you left it for Randolph. I will stay away from Ginsberg for certain. Great sport programs sounds good. My son plays ice hockey and I hear the program is good in Randolph. About high taxes, I will take that under advisement...but I am will to pay more for better schools and community programs. But wasteful spending, no thanks.
actually Mount Freedom was the real first borscht belt!! There were hotels and resorts!! Hard to believe but true!
Are they on a block schedule? I'm not a big fan of that.
The high school did just move to the block scheduling. Still going through adjustment period... opinions vary at this point.
As far as "on the way down"? I think that would be overstating it, although many of the rankings are not as high as they were. But I would still call it a very good school system that continues to invest in additions, technology, etc.
The high school did just move to the block scheduling. Still going through adjustment period... opinions vary at this point.
As far as "on the way down"? I think that would be overstating it, although many of the rankings are not as high as they were. But I would still call it a very good school system that continues to invest in additions, technology, etc.
I think the bolded text is the definition of "on their way down".
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Great Town to Live In
for all age groups. There is well-managed snow, recycling, and garbage removal, a responsive police department, & fire department. Scenic, and large property/lots. Taxes are high in all of northern NJ. 
you think?
