More than 100 residents from Highlands, Sea Bright and Atlantic Highlands including members of all three boards of education in the tri-district, together with officials from Sea Bright, heard professionals from the Tri District report say several times there should be no delay in making a decision on regionalizing the tri-district schools, education and municipal taxes, after explaining the comprehensive study completed at the request of the tri-district.. Further, the study showed district financial advantages when including Sea Bright in a new K-12 school district for the education of children in all three towns.
Professionals in the fields of education, legal ramifications and financial analyses who conducted the Kean University Study of the “Consolidation of the Henry Hudson Regional District with Atlantic Highlands and Highlands school Districts as well as other districts in the area” outlined and highlighted the 104 page report released the day before to the public giving the result of their study. The report and their explanations at the meeting also indicated the only municipality with which the study benefits the tri-district towns in any financial or educational gains or other advantages is Sea Bright. The report does not give any indication of any other municipality considered viable for a regionalization plan.
The informational meeting was called by the Henry Hudson Board of Education and Schools Superintendent Dr. Tara Beams led the team in presenting their findings in each area of expertise, encouraging questions and comments from the public. Team members of the feasibility study group also offered to remain after the approximate two hour meeting to continue to explain their report and findings.
Under LEAP, (the Local Efficiency Achievement Program) formed by the Department of Community Affairs under Governor Murphy, the tri district received a $65,000 state grant to have the study. It retained The Busch Law Group to complete the study as to the benefits of consolidating school districts.
The study appears to come to many of the same conclusions as the Porzio Report commissioned by the boroughs of Atlantic Highlands and Highlands which has been available for several months. Another workshop to explain that report is set for June 6 at 7 p.m. in Atlantic Highlands. Similar meetings have already been held in Highlands and Sea Bright in anticipation of all three boroughs approving resolutions asking the Commissioner of Education to enable a question on the November ballot. The Commission’s approval, agreement by the towns and wording of the referendum questions, must be completed by Aug. 15 in order to be voted on in the regular November election.
In the LEAP grant study, the Busch Law Group completed the legal analysis areas, Ross Haber Associates, the demographics study, SSP Architects, the Facilities and physical plant analysis, and Kean University an educational assessment and educational finance analysis of changes.
At last night’s meeting at Henry Hudson, addressing the financial analysis, professionals from Kean University stressed the important of completing regionalization in order to start to maximize savings and to ensure state aid in the new all-purpose regional school district for 2023, approvals must be completed by fiscal year 2022.
The financial analysis report also concluded the inclusion of Sea Bright in the regionalization of the Tri-District would indeed provide immediate benefit to taxpayers in Atlantic Highlands and Highlands Borough in many of the apportionment methods studied, as well as providing a delayed benefit to Sea Bright.
If regionalization cannot begin until fiscal year 2024, tax savings would still, according to the report, but would be reduced by comparison
In the report, the recommendation for quick action also points out the new regional district will receive cumulative total state-aid of all constituent districts in the year prior to regionalization. Since Hudson and Highlands are losing state-aid annually, to maximize benefits defined in the law which went into effect in January., regionalization must be in effect for fiscal year 2023 or the districts would see an additional $172,225 in state-aid removed.
The recommendation is also that the tri-district consider incorporation of the 6th grade into the 7-12 Henry Hudson district to avoid the costs of dissolving the current district required otherwise. That cost was estimated at $200,000.
While all scenarios would mean increased costs for Atlantic Highlands residents due to regionalization, all savings generated and identified in their study would apply to Highlands, based on the current apportionment of 100 per cent equalized valuation, the method most favorable to Atlantic Highlands and least favorable to Highlands. For these reasons, the study recommends a cost savings sharing agreement between the two districts that would allow each district to share equitably in the total net savings, something permitted under the new law and a compromise that would ensure both districts equitably benefit from regionalization.
“It is in the best interest of the voters of Highlands Borough and Atlantic Highlands to come to an agreement to share tax savings across both districts,” the report said. Once again, the professional pointed out, if regionalization is delayed and FY23, FY24, or FY25 state-aid figures are locked in, “the regionalization of the Tri-District would produce significantly less savings.”
Comparing a new district with or without Sea Bright, the report makes clear inclusion of Sea Bright will produce the greatest near-term and long-term savings to the largest number of communities. “ Without Sea Bright, Highlands and Atlantic Highlands could experience “modest savings by 2023,and growing for the next two years But once again, the report said if including Sea Bright is favored, “it should be advanced as soon as possible.”
In the educational programming area, the Kean University professionals recommended restructuring the current district shifting to a limited all-purpose PK-12 district for a more efficient operation within, something the report said, could be accomplished by tightening the central office administration and replacing the three boards with one nine member Board of Education.
The report also recommended the neighborhood school setup continue as is, with both elementary schools operating as K-6 buildings, a recommendation some citizens questioned as opposed to creating a K-3 and a 4-6 school, one of two elementary schools for each. The professionals did not address which school Sea Bright children would attend under their recommendation, but appeared to discourage changing the grade levels at the schools to cut down on bussing costs and to maintain the ‘neighborhood school’ while maintaining a principal in each of the schools. Such minimal changes, in conjunction with the shared services the schools practice at this time, will present little impact from change for students, staff, and families. The report does not show studies on any educational or sociological impact of creating the three different grade levels in the three schools.
In the legal, John Busch pointed out that in addition to understanding all applications are subject to approval by the Commissioner of Education, all must also be consistent with the recommendations contained in the studies. Where there may be competing studies and conflicting conclusions it would be best to attempt to work together to reconcile any differences before seeking approval, he said.
The only recommendation for enlarging the district outside these two communities is the inclusion of Sea Bright with no information presented about any benefits or costs of other options. Busch indicated three options, the three schools, or adding Sea Bright either now or later, or dissolving the existing region and creating a new all-purpose PK-12 regional district including Atlantic, Highlands, Sea Bright and possibly other school districts, now or later. The first is the easiest to follow, he said, from a legal perspective, and indicated it would be prudent to delay a final determination about that until the educational, logistical, demographic and financial advantages and disadvantages associated with each alternative are fully presented. The question of litigation by the districts in which Sea Bright is currently involved has been minimized by the law which went into effect in January, he said, but “lawyers are lawyers.: recommending a hold harmless agreement that would enable the two towns to continue immediately with the inclusion of Sea Bright should any entanglement hinder their coming aboard at the very start.
With comparatively few questions raised among attendees at the meeting, the professionals failed to respond definitively to Highlands Board member Gena Melnyk’s question on whether transportation costs were included in recommending against the P-3 and 4-6 possibility or whether the academic benefits of a change were explored. “We’re all neighborhood schools, “: she said, “they kids all know each other,” noting their older siblings attend Henry Hudson jointly.
Busch explained that if the question is not on the ballot in the November election, the towns will have the opportunity in January and March to hold special elections and still have a response in time to reap the greatest benefit. However, he did not cite the additional costs to each municipality of having special elections rather than including the question on the state wide ballot in November. Nor did former Atlantic Highlands board member Erin Dougherty get a response to studies done including regionalization with other towns than Sea Bright, since the current schools do not have sufficient room to accommodate students from any other municipality but Sea Bright.
