Aside from the high cost to taxpayers in all the towns involved being a double problem for Sea Bright, where taxpayers are forced to pay attorneys on opposite sides of the issue,   why is regionalization of schools providing education for students in K-12, still  continuing to be delayed, possibly preventing Highlands, Atlantic Highlands and Sea Bright from their right to vote in November  whether they even want  to save millions by regionalization.

All three towns must approve a three town K-12 district; if any one of them casts a vote against it, the proposal, all the money spent, all the time wasted, is in vain. At the same time, the school districts face a loss of state funds should the matter not result in regionalization.

Things were going fine until the two towns in the current Henry Hudson district got together to see how they would split the approximate $2 million that bringing in Sea Bright would bring to the two boroughs.   Atlantic Highlands wanted it split 50-50 forever. Highlands was not particularly opposed to the percentage split, in the interest of having the matter resolved. But they did not want to vote it “forever”, rather. Their governing body said, let’s negotiate a time in the future when the percentages could be looked at again. Times change, population change, land values change, therefore so should the division of money change.

Atlantic Highlands did note like that, and the delays began.  All of a sudden, the idea of changing the Highlands and Atlantic Highlands to take regionalization with Sea Bright into two steps originated. They wanted to vote to create a K-12 school district for the two towns, the boards of education and superintendent Dr. Tara Beams promoted. Then once we get that done, let’s go back sometime in the future and talk about welcoming in Sea Bright … Another election, more attorneys, another study, another election. More delays before the voters have their say.

The argument raised by the boards of Education and the superintendent of schools, Dr. Tara Beams, was that the appeal by the school districts in which Sea Bright now belongs would be costly to Highlands and Atlantic Highlands, Not true, Sea Bright argued, as they showed once again their written contract they would pay on their own any costs of litigation with no obligations from any other district.

But the Commissioner of Education who received the challenge to the petition, a petition which she had not yet even received, dismissed the complaints from Shore Regional and Oceanport.    The petition was approved by the Boards of Education and the Borough’s but was awaiting the figures from the cost sharing agreed upon by Highlands and Atlantic Highlands.  It is those figures that are being mediated by the two Borough’s currently.

Delays continued through the past few months, until the two towns, without Sea Bright, finally decided to mediate what they should have mediated many months ago; namely, that cost sharing of the money Sea Bright would be bringing in. Once that’s settled, the numbers could fill in the blanks in the petition still waiting to be put before the Commissioner. Once she approves that, and approves the wording of the question, the question could be put on the ballot, and finally, the taxpayers would have their say and cast their vote.

The meeting between the mayors and council presidents of both boroughs, together with their attorneys and a mediator was held last week, but all persons involved agreed to remain silent on the outcome of that meeting. At last week’s Atlantic Highlands council meeting, it was said that the mediation went well , they feel positive, but released no further information. While another meeting is presumably planned, as of five days following the mediation, no date has been announced, nor it appears, any action taken to set up a time or date to accommodate all involved for the professionals who are coming together from at least three different counties across New Jersey.

The deadline for the Oceanport and Shore Regional to appeal the Commissioner’s decision is May 5; however, no one will give any indication whether waiting to see if an appeal will be filed has any bearing on when a second meeting for mediation will be set.

Coincidentally, it does not appear the next mediation will be held before May 10th.

Whether Oceanport and Shore Regional schools are going to appeal the decision the Commissioner of Education has made will be known soon. But what’s even more important is whether the taxpayers of the towns in those school districts, including Sea Bright, realize that it’s already cost them tens of thousands of dollars, and will mean several thousands more to object to a state decision that appears to be designed to accomplish what the new law on regionalization was approved unanimously by the Legislature to do.

Poor Sea Bright. They’re being charged, like Monmouth Beach, Oceanport, and West Long Branch, for the $190 an hour attorney who it appears had an open ended contract which started last year and continues throughout 2023. There is no cap on how much the attorney can charge at that rate for objecting to the new law that would enable Sea Bright to leave those districts and join with Highlands and Atlantic Highlands in a new K-12 regional school district, a change that would save millions of dollars for taxpayers in both Highlands and Atlantic Highlands while providing funds to offer even more education at a new regional K-12 school district.

Shore Regional was not hesitant in responding to an OPRA request to see more information on what the special attorney oppose Sea Bright’s leaving their district is being paid or when he was hired to start his work.

Oceanport, on the other hand, not only is reluctant to share that same information, but even wrote that the seven work days OPRA laws requires them to produce it is not enough. According to the district’s custodian of records, Edmund Zalewski, they need more time “because of the scope of the request and the need to review and potentially redact the document, pursuant to OPRA exemptions.” That might take as long as May 11 when the information may become available, he wrote. But then he cautioned, maybe not, they might have to get yet another extension.”

The redaction is rather interesting, since it is difficult to see why an invoice whereby taxpayers’ money is being given to someone else for some kind of work must be redacted. The OPRA request was simply for the vouchers from Isabel Machado or her firm, the attorneys for the school board, for work in connection with the petition filed by the Board of Education to the Commissioner of Education’s dismissal of the petition, as well as minutes of the meetings when the vouchers were approved and the attorney authorized, all of which should be matters of public record.

Can’t help but wonder if that has anything to do with the times last year when another attorney from the Marchado firm which represents Oceanport was attending Sea Bright meetings and NOT identifying herself as a member of the firm representing Oceanport; as the same time that attorney was also initiated communication with a VeniVidiScripto writer without indicating she had anything to do with any Monmouth County issues.

Once the information is provided it will be interesting to see if she was actually paid to attend those meetings and not identifying herself at the meeting.

It appears Shore Regional, so far, has spent $46,729.33 of $50,000 they approved last July to have Joseph F. Betley, an attorney with the firm of Capehart Scotchard of Mount Laurel, file the appeal with the State Commissioner of Education. The appeal challenged a plan which had not yet even been presented to the Commissioner. That bill is split among the taxpayers in Oceanport, Monmouth Beach, West Long Branch and Sea Bright, as members of that regional district. It is additional to any charges approved by the Oceanport Board of Education for taxpayers in Oceanport and Sea Bright.

Even the contract the Shore Regional district’s representatives signed with Betley raises questions. The contract itself is not dated, other than July 2022. It was signed by Betley on July 18, 2022, by the board business administrator Corey Lowell on July 20, 2022, and by the board president, Anthony Village on July 21, 2022.

Yet the first purchase order, for $20,000 is dated June 27, 2022, a few days before any authorizations were signed. That same day, the $20,000 estimated cost was raised another $30,000, for a total of $50,000 authorized to be paid to the law firm before June 2023.

At least eight of those payments have been made, roughly one a month between Sept. 29 of last year through March 23, 2023. There remains a balance in the funds already approved for payment to the law firm of $3,270.67.

Since the funds for the Shore Regional High School come from taxpayers in Oceanport, West Long Branch, AND Sea Bright, it means Sea Bright taxpayers must bear a portion of the cost of fighting the very question Sea Bright is attempting to have placed on the ballot for taxpayers to decide.