News
School Consolidation Study Aimed At Cost Savings
By Sherry Conohan
A FEASIBILITY STUDY on school consolidation initially included the Shrewsbury school district as one that would potentially send its graduating eighth graders to Monmouth Regional High School.
The Shrewsbury district was later moved into a bracket listing schools included as sending districts for Red Bank Regional High School while students from Sea Bright remain positioned in two different high school brackets - Shore Regional and Rumson-Fair Haven Regional.
The studies being conducted are for the purpose of exploring the feasibility of merging kindergarten-to-eighth-grade districts with high school districts for cost efficiencies.
According to Monmouth County Superintendent of Schools Carole Knopp Morris, Shrewsbury School Superintendent Brent MacConnell made a convincing case for keeping the Shrewsbury school system as a sending district to Red Bank Regional, where it now sends its students. But, she said, she has not heard from Sea Bright as to which high school it would prefer to be aligned with of the two choices it has.
She said, "It is really very difficult to say" which way she would recommend Sea Bright go at this time. Sea Bright currently sends its grammar school children to Oceanport schools and its high school students to Shore Regional.
Morris said a most impressive argument made by Shrewsbury, which has just a little over 500 students in its one K-8 school, was the ongoing relationship the district has with Red Bank Regional in curriculum coordination.
Shrewsbury Mayor Terel Cooperhouse was delighted with the change for his town's school.
"We've been a sending district to Red Bank Regional High School for years," he said. He cited the coordination of the curriculum from grade school to high school and the "dialogue" between the borough's superintendent of schools and the other superintendents in the district as good reason for district to remain where it is.
"We're very pleased with the change made, going back to Red Bank Regional," he said. "Now we'll have to see how the feasibility study comes out."
Sea Bright Mayor Maria Fernandes said she wants to see the figures on the cost per student if the borough's children are sent to schools in Rumson and Fair Haven before making any recommendation on which district she would prefer.
She said she would go with whichever would be financially advantageous to the borough. She noted the borough is now paying $80,000 per student at Shore Regional High School, while Monmouth Beach pays $30,000 for each student who attends Shore Regional, and Oceanport and West Long Branch pay $12,000 each per student.
"We don't have a problem with Shore Regional. We don't have a problem with any school district," she said. "We have a problem with the state (funding) formula."
This year, Fernandes pointed out, the tax rate for Sea Bright's portion of the Shore Regional budget is going down by 7.1 cents, while it's going up in the other three sending districts at the rate of 1.6 cents in Monmouth Beach, 2.7 cents in Oceanport and 1.6 cents in West Long Branch.
"I'm thrilled for Sea Bright for the moment," Fernandes said. "But I'm petrified for next year."
Sea Bright had 27 children attending Shore Regional High School last year. She didn't know offhand the number of children attending Oceanport schools.
"It makes no sense to us - none," she said of the state formula. "In order to benefit all these small communities, the state has to change the formula."
Fernandes said Sea Bright formed a school-funding advisory committee last year, headed by Councilwoman Dina Long, whose members included an actuary. She said borough officials had two meetings with Morris, the county superintendent, over last year and this year and Morris was impressed by the information provided by the actuary, and indicated she would use that information in the study.
It was in those meetings, Fernandes said, that Sea Bright mentioned to Morris that it might be better for them to align themselves with the Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School District.
Geographically, she noted, it's closer for the Sea Bright students.
But, she said, it comes down to cost. Sea Bright wants to see what it would cost to send children to R-FH before the borough expresses a preference for either district.
The alignments recommended by the county superintendent would have to be approved by state Education Commissioner Lucille E. Davy, and, ultimately, by voters in each district.
Morris's final recommendations must go to Davy by March 15, 2010.
