Study to look at school consolidation

Monmouth County Executive Superintendent of Schools Carole Knopp Morris is seeking to conduct a school consolidation feasibility study that could result in the merger of several area school districts.

The study, which is expected to be conducted in the coming months, will look into the possibility of merging districts in an effort to alleviate school taxes, as well as eliminate non-K-12 and non-operating school districts.

According to Morris, the study will examine "every aspect of a school that can be looked at" in order to determine whether districts should merge.

Area districts being considered for mergers include the Ocean Township, Deal, Interlaken, Allenhurst and Asbury Park school districts, as well as the Eatontown, Tinton Falls, Monmouth Regional High School and Shrewsbury Borough districts.

The study is also expected to investigate a possible merger among the Shore Regional High School, West Long Branch, Oceanport, Sea Bright and Monmouth Beach school districts.

The feasibility study comes after the state Legislature passed a law in 2007 requiring counties throughout the state to investigate potential cost-saving measures through the elimination of non-operating school districts and the creation of more K- 12 districts.

A district is considered non-operating if it does not have its own school building and instead buses its students to other operating districts.

"There was a law passed in 2007 that directed [school] districts to be looked at for merger purposes," Morris explained last week.

"There are over 670 school entities in the state, and the decision of the Legislature was that that must represent duplication and so it's also directed at that."

It was this same 2007 law that created Morris' position as executive county superintendent.

Items expected to be examined in the study include district school budgets, tax levies, student populations, the utilization of buildings, staffing, depth of programs and similarities between districts.

Should a merger between one or more school districts appear to be beneficial, the issue would be brought before each district's voters in the form of a referendum, Morris explained.

In order for the referendum to pass, voters in each district being considered for consolidation would have to approve it.

In some instances, the feasibility study may call for the dissolution of smaller regional school districts in order to create larger regional districts,

Should such a case arise, voters would have to first approve a referendum dissolving the original regional district followed by a second referendum approving the consolidation into a larger district.

In the event of a merger between the Ocean Township, Deal, Interlaken, Allenhurst and Asbury Park school districts, the Interlaken school district could be eliminated, as it is considered non-operating.

Such an action would not be considered for the Deal school district as it operates its own elementary school.

In order for a non-operating school district to be eliminated, Morris must make a recommendation as to the most appropriate local public school district within the county for the non-operating district to consolidate with.

In making the recommendation, Morris must take into account factors including the proximity of the school districts, transportation costs, the overall goal of creating K-12 school districts, school building capacity of any proposed regional district and special education needs.

Should a merger among the Ocean Township, Allenhurst, Interlaken, Deal and Asbury Park school districts be deemed appropriate, only voters from Ocean Township, Deal and Asbury Park would be allowed to vote on the issue.

Interlaken and Allenhurst residents would be unable to take part in the vote as their districts are considered non-operating.

With such a wide array of districts being considered for mergers, reaction to the issue has been mixed.

Ocean Township Superintendent of Schools Thomas Pagano explained that as a high-performing district the township's schools would continue to perform well should a merger with the Deal, Allenhurst, Interlaken and Asbury Park districts take place.

"Obviously Ocean Township is a highperforming, successful [school] district," Pagano said last week.

"We have a very high level of diversity in our district right now," Pagano said. "If the state or the voters in Ocean Township determine that this merger should take place we would abide by that."

In contrast, Asbury Park Acting Superintendent of Schools James T. Parham was critical of the prospect of merging with other school districts.

"Asbury would like to remain its own separate entity, but that wouldn't be our decision," Parham said. Despite Parham's desire to see the city's district remain unchanged, Asbury Park Board of Education Attorney Alan J. Schnirman explained that because the study has yet to be conducted, any statements on the topic would be "speculative."

"There are a lot of things that need to be put on the table," Schnirman said. "It's probably premature at this juncture to discuss this to any great length.

"We don't know with any degree of certainty if what has been put out there will be the way it is going to turn out," Schnirman said.

"It would be speculative to start spending a lot of time to start planning this when we don't know what the edict of the state is going to be," Schnirman added.

In addition to the elimination of non-operating districts the feasibility study will also look at eliminating non K-12 school districts.

The move toward K- 12 districts would allow school districts to come into compliance with the state's current grade structure, which calls for districts to be configured from grades K-12.

Such a measure would bring into question the existence of the Eatontown, West Long Branch and Monmouth Beach school districts because they are all K-8 districts that rely on a regional school for their high school students.

"What they are trying to do is create a K-12 program that includes all the children that reside in Eatontown, Tinton Falls, Shrewsbury Township and Fort Monmouth and Naval Weapons Station Earle," Monmouth Regional High School Superintendent James Cleary said.

"Academically, it's the soundest way to approach education," Cleary said, adding such a move would allow for a unified curriculum for the transition from the elementary program through the high school program.

"One curriculum would enhance communication between all of the programs taking place [between the districts], right down to something as simple as a school calendar that all three towns would adhere to equally," Cleary said.

Eatontown Superintendent of Schools Barbara Struble echoed Cleary's statements, saying, "We have been sending out students to Monmouth Regional for over 40 years and have been working with Tinton Falls and Monmouth on articulation for just as many years. It's just a natural thing to do."

The school consolidation feasibility study is expected to begin sometime this spring and should be completed several months later.

Contact Daniel Howley at

dhowley@gmnews.com.