2 Million Dollars…Who Needs It?

June 10, 2024

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The Highlands Board of Education, and just as certainly the members of both the Atlantic Highlands and Henry Hudson boards of education, are all great residents of these two towns. Great people, great families, great volunteers and so generous in donating so much of their time and talent to serve on the boards of education. Million Dollars

But sometimes you have to wonder whether they know all the intricacies before they vote on matters.

Take this regionalization for instance. Talk about it has been going on for years, but no board ever took any firm action to do anything about it. A new law comes up that would allow the three boards to pull in another town so the heavy cost of education is shared by more than the same taxpayers.

Makes sense.

Sea Bright wants to be closer to Highlands, isn’t bringing in many kids, nor shows indication of having any mass infusion of kids in the future. But they’re willing to bring over a couple of million dollars and split the costs of education three ways. Instead of the two ways this regionalization already approved continues to do.

Three ways!

Three Towns.

The regionalization the voters approved doesn’t save a heck of a lot of money since it’s the same two towns paying all the bills, be it to one, two or three boards of education. If these three boards really wanted to, they could have regionalized the three schools anytime they wanted, without new laws or anything else. But they didn’t. Until Sea Bright indicated they’d like to join. The law was created to enable just that.

Legislators who drew up this new law with their experts must have anticipated there could be law suits. Why would a town like Oceanport, which is reaping all kinds of money from Sea Bright, want Sea Bright to leave?

They must have known there would be lawsuits.

They must have put something in the new law to prevent or overcome that, you would think. If they did not, you can start worrying about them as legislators protecting your tax dollar., too.

But, when lawyers are involved, I guess you can pretty well fight over anything. Lawyers get paid whether they’re right or wrong, just like weathermen.

So Oceanport and Shore regional filed suit; they don’t want Sea Bright’s money to go anyplace else.

So they sue.

Attorneys get to work and get paid.

Then an attorney figures a way, he says, to settle it all. There’s a special meeting called for May 28 for all three boards in Highlands and Atlantic Highlands. They meet, they go into executive session, they come out, they vote on something but won’t tell the public the details.

The attorney gets paid.

Then about ten days later, there has to be another meeting. Another vote. Another change in what everyone has agreed on May 28.

All the members of all three boards apparently agreed.

Nobody asks any questions, at least publicly, but apparently the attorney figures he needs something else. Did he forget something?

Did he just learn something new?

Did he perhaps rush his clients too much May 28?

Did he not know the whole story when he urged the May 28 vote?

Who knows?

That’s not explained publicly either.

So each of the boards apparently agrees to change what they decided at that May 28 meeting.

They meet again.

The first met last night.

It went into a 15 minute executive session, came out. In their haste to do whatever the attorney wanted them to do, they didn’t even formally go back into open session by a formal vote.

They just listened to the Superintendent read the new revised Settlement Agreement and voted to make a change in what they had unanimously agreed on ten days before.

Why?

Because the attorney told them to.

Why?

Did he make a mistake?

Did he forget something?

Did he learn something else and needed a new resolution in order to profit from it?

Or did he make a presentation to Oceanport and Shore Regional and they offered something different and now he wants the boards he represents to do what their attorney wants? Hard to tell. Because the boards are not giving the terms of the agreement now. Or at any specific date in the future.

Does the attorney get paid for the first resolution he had everybody unanimously sign, and then get paid once again for the second resolution that amends the first resolution he had drawn up? Or did the boards agree to something Oceanport or Shore Regional wanted without bothering to tell the Highlands, Atlantic Highlands, or Sea Bright taxpayers anything about?

As a resident, I can’t answer any of these questions. Because I’m not privy to any of the answers.

For the attorneys among you, here are the two resolutions:

Adopted unanimously May 28 by all three board of education:

…Now therefore be it Resolved that after careful consideration, the Boards of Atlantic Highlands, Highlands, and Henry Hudson Regional (7-12) School districts approve the concept of Settlement of the matter in accordance with the options discussed in closed session with legal counsel and hereby authorize counsel and the Presidents of the Boards to negotiate a resolution with opposing counsel and consistent with the parameters provided to Counsel to execute the Settlement Agreement revised in accordance with the matter of “ I.M.O the Verified Petition for the Proposed Creation of a PK-12 All-Purpose Regional School District by the Borough of Sea Bright, Borough of Highlands, Borough of Atlantic Highlands, Henry Hudson Regional School District, Atlantic Highlands School District and Highlands Borough School District, Monmouth County, Docket NO. S-0716-23T4 NMS

Be it further resolved that the board Presidents are authorized to sign the Settlement Agreement on behalf of the Boards, and. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Settlement Agreement shall be made a part of the official minutes of the Boards’ meetings held on May 28, 2024 when available.

The second resolution, the one unanimously adopted by the Highlands Board of Education Monday night, and expected to be approved by the next two boards Tuesday and Wednesday nights is:

RESOLVED, that the Board hereby approves the revised Settlement Agreement received on June 10, 2024 from counsel on behalf of Oceanport and Shore Regional School Districts and authorizes the Board President to sign the Settlement Agreement on behalf of the Board, and further authorizes the Busch Law Group to take all action necessary to enter into a Stipulation of Dismissal of the matter, I/M/O the Verified Petition for the Proposed Creation of a PK-12 All-Purpose Regional School District by the Borough of Sea Bright, Borough of Highlands, Borough of Atlantic Highlands, Henry Hudson Regional School District, Atlantic Highlands School District, and Highlands Borough School District, Monmouth County, Docket No. A-0716-23T4, in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in the Settlement Agreement, subject to ratification and full execution of the Settlement Agreement by the Oceanport and Shore Regional School District Boards of Education.