Regionalization: A Wrench in the Works?

They have been absolutely silent through all these years of Highlands, Sea Bright and Atlantic Highlands talking about, planning and working on a regionalization plan for the schools… but now … all of a sudden …  Oceanport is starting to get interested.

They said Sea Bright never even contacted them about their desire to separate from that  district and join one closer to home. Yet in spite of tens of thousands of words in newspapers, blogs, Facebook comments over the course of two years or more, their own representatives at meetings, attendance at Sea Bright council meetings, they never had anything to say.

Now, not only do they feel they know everything, they plan on taking action … possibly in a court room, to see if they can halt the right of people in the three towns to vote on what they want for their children.

In their end of the school year newsletter, the Oceanport principal issued the following very long notice:

As some of you may be aware, the municipalities of Sea Bright, Highlands, and Atlantic Highlands and their respective boards of education, including Henry Hudson Regional School, have passed resolutions authorizing a joint petition to be submitted to the Commissioner of Education requesting approval of a regionalization between these municipalities and schools. If approved, the issue of regionalization will be put on the ballot for a vote to the residents of Sea Bright, Highlands, and Atlantic Highlands in November of 2022. Oceanport residents will not be permitted to vote on this regionalization.

If approved by the New Jersey Department of Education and the voters of these towns, this could have a devastating impact on the residents of Oceanport, and even more important, the students of Oceanport, which include our very own students residing in Sea Bright.

Under the proposed regionalization, future Sea Bright students would no longer attend Oceanport Schools or Shore Regional High School. They would instead attend school in Highlands and at Henry Hudson Regional School. The loss of funding to Oceanport and Shore Regional as a result of Sea Bright students no longer attending our Oceanport or Shore Regional schools would also be devastating to our school community.

We disagree with the feasibility studies conducted to date on this proposed regionalization, believing that they have left out many key components of Sea Bright’s financial obligations to both Oceanport and Shore Regional. More importantly, they potentially neglect to account for additional costs that would need to be incorporated into the payments to the newly proposed regional district, which would in fact negate the savings Sea Bright purports to save with this regionalization and could result in increased costs to Sea Bright taxpayers.

The Board of Education wants our community to know that we had legal representation at the Sea Bright council meetings; the board of education meetings and council meetings at Highlands and Atlantic Highlands; and the Henry Hudson Regional School Board of Education meetings, in which this regionalization has been discussed. The Oceanport Board of Education had not taken a public position previously, as we wanted to see the will of these communities before publicly vocalizing a position. We are also in the process of collaborating with representatives from West Long Branch, Monmouth Beach and Shore Regional High School, given the negative impact on those Districts as well. Kindly note that at no time has the Sea Bright Mayor and / or Council approached the Oceanport Board of Education on its intent to regionalize with Highlands and Atlantic Highlands.

At this time, the Board of Education is considering every legal avenue available to it to oppose the regionalization of Sea Bright with the other districts. We are committed to our Oceanport School District students, which include our students residing in Sea Bright, as they are very much an integral part of our Oceanport school community.

The Oceanport Board of Education is currently seeking volunteers, in particular our Sea Bright parents, who may be interested in joining an ad hoc committee to assist in educating our community with facts on this issue. Please complete this short Google Form if you are able to assist.

So!  While they say they have had legal representation at all these meetings I don’t recall anyone identify themselves as their legal representative asking any questions any of these meetings. Yet the principal also says the studies….that’s not just the Porzio study, it’s the study the schools themselves have had done, the Kean study, are wrong!

Now there’s an opinion without a factual basis!

If they have not asked questions,  have read the reports, and can just say the studies are wrong, is that indicative they are also not aware of the law which went into effect in January? Or is it simply that they, (whoever they are),  really think they are better, smarter, did more research or something else … than ALL the experts that did all the work on both of the studies done by the three towns and boards of education?

Nor does the letter give all the facts.

Students from Sea Bright will not be phased out overnight. Nor will parents be obligated to switch schools for their kids in the middle of the day, the week, the semester or even the year. Or series of years.

Sea Bright officials made it clear… made it abundantly clear … they know it’s not going to be a great financial benefit for them at the start. But they’re looking at the educational faction first. They’ll worry about the money in the future, but have done enough studies they are confident it’s going to get better and better for them aligning with the two neighboring towns.

Highlands, Atlantic Highlands and Sea Bright municipal officials and board of education members have worked very hard, talked to each other, continue discussions, and are working as a well-honed team  and taking every step to make sure the whole thing is done right.

They’ve come a long way since the beginning.

They are asking the Commissioner of Education to review everything they have done and let the people make the final choice of what they want.

Let’s not let a school that didn’t think enough to ask anybody in Sea Bright for information or opinion now try to take over letting the people of the three interested and thinking towns make their own decision when it comes to educating their kids and financing that education.

Let’s hope Oceanport doesn’t try to cost all of these towns money because they chose to ignore what was going on in their own school district.