This is what transparency is all about.
Mayor Carolyn Broullon has included on the borough’s official webpage, the entire 21 page letter sent by attorneys for Highlands and Atlantic Highlands to Commissioner of Education Angelica Allen-McMillan, Ed.D, asking that the regionalization question be put on the November ballot.
Read the letter here
The letter to the Commissioner had been sent last week with the approval and consent of Sea Bright and the three boards of Education. Broullon then posted the letter online without delay, to ensure every resident is able to see every facet of the situation that has been on mayors’ and board of education presidents’ minds for more than a year. In the case of Sea Bright, it has been the subject of debate, discussion, and futile attempts to accomplish an aim to help alleviate taxpayers in that community while still providing outstanding education for its residents in Pre-K-12 classrooms.
The letter was signed by Vito A. Gagliardi, Jr. of the Porzio firm which is the leading firm across the state in regionalization and represents Highlands in this proposal He sent it with the approval and consent of Jonathan Busch,Esq, . Matthew Giacobbe, Esq. Sea Bright Mayor Brian Kelly, Highlands Mayor Broullon, Atlantic Highlands Mayor Loretta Gluckstein, Dr. Tara Beams, Tri-District Superintendent of Schools as well as board presidents of Atlantic Highlands, Highlands and Henry Hudson Elisabeth Eittreim, Diane Knox and Mark Heter.
While the Commissioner has not yet responded to the request, teams representing all the involved parties are meeting to iron out the details of cost sharing for Highlands and Atlantic Highlands, both of whom will benefit financially with the addition of Sea Bright to a single board of education, since Sea Bright’s student population will not mean any new construction or additional faculty members.
In the letter, Gagliardi notes the pleasure of all involved in submitting the request for a referendum question to the Commissioner. To ensure she is fully supplied with all the necessary information for her to make a recommendation and report back to the community, the letter outlines the history of the request as well as the importance of allowing the public to decide what it wants. The letter also points out more information sessions are still being planned to include the final proposed funding formula so residents will know before they cast ballots specifically what a pre-K-12 regional school district would cost and save with the addition of Sea Bright in the district.
The letter points out that enlarging the current 7-12 regional district, and including grades K-6 as well as Sea Bright would create the first all-purpose district for the three communities. The letter explains not only would it incorporate the current three boards of education into a single board, but the petition also seeks to enlarge the regional district to include Sea Bright Borough as a member “if its withdrawal from the Oceanport and Shore Regional School Districts is approved by the Department of Education and the voters of the three towns.”
Under the proposal, the expansion and conversion of the current regional district to an all-purpose PK-12 district would occur July 1, 2023, if approved on the November referendum.
To ensure the entire idea is not lost, the letter also points out to the Commissioner that the immediate expansion, conversion and consolidation of the existing Henry Hudson Regional Tri-District would provide immediate budgetary savings due to stabilization of state aid under the most recent laws. It would also allow for added efficiencies that eliminate major obstacles in expanding educational opportunities for all children.
The letter suggests these benefits include moving grade six out of the existing elementary schools into Henry Hudson school . an idea deemed in order to align curricula and instruction including grade six students to participate in a more age- and developmentally-appropriate academic initiative, clubs, activities, and athletics. Such a move would also provide students with more appropriate social, emotional learning supports for middle school-aged students.
That would leave space in the elementary schools to expand preschool programs, specialized special education programming for students with autism, language learning disabilities, multiple disabilities or other specialized needs which may not be realized by the existing structures. Such a move would then reduce special education out-of-district costs, the letter points out.
Citing more benefits of an all-purpose regional school district, the letter highlights greater opportunity for staff development and growth, leadership opportunities, sharing specialized staff and consistency in procedures, with consolidation of collective bargaining agreements and alignment of schedules, policies and leadership.
There would also be immediate budgetary savings due to eliminating current duplicated services, and would align and share resources and services enabling the regional district to respond to future challenges.
Gagliardi also highlight the excellent of the current Henry Hudson tri-district, terming it “a true exemplar of a commitment to shared services,” since, though separate, the three boards share a Superintendent of Schools, a Director of Curriculum & Instruction, and a Special Services supervisor already.
Some of the districts have also shared a business administrator and use shared contracts for many of their staff, a procedure they have followed for more than a decade. Continuing this practice in a fully recognized PreK-12 district removes barriers that “have impeded common-sense educational planning growth and development practices…”
The Commissioner, whose permission is essential before any education project can be placed on a ballot, can either approve the project as committee, make recommendations under which she would approve it, or reject completely, meaning the regionalization question would not appear on the November ballot and local residents would not have the opportunity voice their opinion in the ballot box.
Because the bill approved unanimously by both houses of the Legislature last year, and signed by the Governor in January, is designed to enable a community like Sea Bright, which is not a member of the Oceanport Board of Education and has single vote on the four member Shore Regional district to seek a more equitable educational program with the consent of its voters, personnel involved with the regionalization question in all three towns are hopeful the Commissioner will respond favorably and in a timely manor so the question can meet the August 15 deadline to appear on the November ballot and additional educational workshops can be held to keep the public informed of the importance of their vote.
