By: Kimberly Redmond

Steven Robinson, business administrator and board secretary of the Livingston Public School District, was recently honored by the New Jersey Association of School Business Officials with a 2019 Distinguished Service Award.

Each year, the professional association gives an award to school business administrators for their “long-term, continuous, exemplary service” in the education sector.

Robinson, who has been in the district since 1998, was one of four administrators from across New Jersey to receive the recognition this year. Other honorees were from Westfield, Belmar and Lake Cuomo.

During his tenure in the Livingston Public School District, Robinson “has earned the trust of the board of education and the community over the course of many years,” according to a press release issued by the school district.

In addition to his fiscal responsibilities, Robinson is in charge of all school buildings and grounds, and acts as a liaison between the school district and township, the press release said.

Robinson has also “been instrumental in monitoring many of the joint projects that have benefited the Livingston community,” according to the district.

In addition to his day-to-day work in the Livingston Public School District, Robinson currently serves as a trustee to the New Jersey Schools Insurance Group and as chairman of the North Jersey Educational Insurance Fund, according to the school district.

The Marlboro resident earned his bachelor’s degree from Rider University and has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1989.

Prior to the Livingston Public School District, Robinson served as an assistant business administrator and then as the business administrator/board secretary for the Middletown Township Public School District between 1992 and 1998.

As part of the award, Robinson will have the honor of presenting a $1,000 college scholarship from the New Jersey Association of School Business Officials to a high school senior in the Livingston School District.

The Essex County school district is made up of nine schools, serves 6,000 students and employs an instructional staff of 580.

The district boasts a student-teacher ratio of 13:1 and has a graduation rate of 96 percent, according to the most recently available figures.

It was recently ranked as the third best place to teach in New Jersey, fifth best school district in New Jersey and seventh safest school district in New Jersey, according to Niche.com’s 2019 best schools list.  

Within Essex County, it ranked as the second best place to teach, second best school district and third safest school district.

Other categories Livingston scored well in: Districts with the Best Teachers in New Jersey (No. 14), Best School Districts for Athletes in New Jersey (No. 93), Safest School Districts in the New York City Area (No. 13), Best Places to Teach in the New York City Area (No. 14), Best School Districts in the New York City Area (No. 16)

The website analyzed more than 100,000 schools and districts across the country based on statistics and feedback from parents, students and the community.