As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprising five schools, had an enrollment of 3,074 students and 255.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.0:1.[1]
The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "B", the second lowest 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.[3]
The district's board of education is comprised of nine members who set policy and oversee the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration; an additional representative is appointed to represent Fairview.[18] 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 in April; the district is one of 12 districts, out of more than 600 statewide, that still hold school elections in April. 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.[20][21] Of the nearly 600 school districts statewide, Cliffside Park is one of 12 districts with school elections in April, in which voters also decide on passage of the annual school budget.[22]
^Profile 2013 – 2014Archived 2014-02-28 at the Wayback Machine, Cliffside Park High School. Accessed May 29, 2017. "Cliffside Park is a residential community of approximately 23,600 residents and a geographical size of one square mile. It is a suburb of and less than one mile from New York City. The neighboring town of Fairview is a K – 8 district and Cliffside Park is the receiving district for Fairview's 9 – 12 students. Fairview has a population of approximately 13,600."
^Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Cliffside Park School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2021. Accessed February 1, 2023. "The Board of Education ('Board') of the Borough of Cliffside Park School District (“District”) is an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, established to function as an educational institution. The Borough of Cliffside Park School District is a Type II district located in the County of Bergen, State of New Jersey. As a Type II district, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education. The board is comprised of nine members and a Borough of Fairview Representative, all elected to three-year terms."
^Sportelli, Albina. "Your guide to North Jersey spring school board elections", The Record, April 14, 2023. Accessed March 15, 2024. "Of New Jersey's almost 600 school districts, only 12 have elections in April, the rest have opted to hold theirs in November.... Schools that have kept elections in the spring, or switched back after moving them to November, are: Cliffside Park, Fairview, Passaic, Totowa, Fredon, Montague, Irvington, Newark, North Bergen, Weehawken, West New York and New Brunswick."