With so much to report on last night’s meeting of the Boards of Education on the subject of regionalization, look for several more stories within the next few days. VeniVidiScripto will have a statement from Highlands Mayor Carolyn Broullon, who was present at the meeting and spoke on the need to move forward with a three-borough regionalization; a story on the rudeness accorded residents of both boroughs while they were on the podium, another on the additional cost Highlands taxpayers had to underwrite for the meeting and the courtesy and professionalism of the Highlands police officers on the scene throughout the night, another on Highlands Councilwoman Jo-Ann  Olszewski’s statements during the public portion and another on a suggestion concerning those  34 teachers or so who have retired or resigned in the past two years

  It’s great to see local residents involved in the business of running their schools, the education of their children, and how where and how much of their taxes are spent.

3 Boards 2 Resolutions

When it was all said and done, the three boards of education in Highlands and Atlantic Highlands actually have two opposing resolutions  approved by the voters to go to the Commissioner of Education on the question of regionalization.

Last night, following a nearly two hour long closed executive session, the three boards unanimously approved a pages long resolution asking the Commissioner of Education to approve the boards’ request to put on a special election ballot in September the question of regionalizing the three boards in the tri-district school without the inclusion of Sea  Bright.

However, it was last July when those same three boards of education again unanimously, sent a resolution to the Commissioner asking her to consider a regionalization that would also include Sea Bright. The commissioner has yet to respond to that resolution.

Sea Bright?  

Nor did the boards act on a second resolution they advertised would be up for action at last night’s meeting that would remove Sea Bright from the regionalization question on the ballot.

Apparently, the boards are leaving it up to the Commissioner to make the decision on whether the taxpayers of Highlands and Atlantic Highlands should take advantage of the added tax dollars the inclusion of Sea Bright would bring into the district, since there were no resolutions adopted requesting her to ignore their July resolution.

 Meeting Behind Closed Doors

With the Highlands Mayor and the majority of both Highlands  and  Atlantic Highlands council members present, the tri boards, as they advertised, opened the meeting and immediately went into executive session to discuss regionalization with their attorney. After an hour long session, attorney Jonathon Busch, who is representing the boards on the question of regionalization, came out to apologize for the length of the executive session  and offer chairs for the approximate 100 persons in attendance.

Coming back from executive session 45 minutes later, Busch read the several pages of the resolution, while each board member read copies of the resolution, though no one from the public had a copy, nor had it been advertised.

No Answer to the Melnyk’s

Nor did Busch or any board member respond to questions from Highlands Councilman  Donald Melnyk nor former board member Gina Melnyk on whose idea it was to present a new resolution so different from the one the boards adopted in July. Ms Melnyk asked several times “whose idea was it” but never received a response. The councilman asked the benefit of the new resolution, inasmuch it appears to overturn the original resolution. He asked, but received no response to his query as to the purpose of  the latest resolution without assurance that it, too, would be overruled some time in the future.

 The Sea Bright   $$

Charles Rooney, the former Sea Bright councilman who has been a strong advocate representing his borough in promoting Sea Bright’s inclusion, pointed out how the tri-borough regionalization would save millions of dollars for all three towns over the next ten years and would offer increased education funding at a reduced cost for the other two towns.

 Cost per Student

Atlantic Highlands resident Mark  Fisher cited statistics that showed the total costs for educating students in Highlands and Atlantic Highlands in 2022 was $28.1 thousand dollars a year per student. With the inclusion of Sea Bright and their approximate 50 students, and additional money, the total cost for student would be $23.8 thousand per student. He also pointed out more immediate savings could be achieved since action would delay the reduction of state aid to the district.

 Speaking from Experience

Ellen O’Dwyer of Atlantic Highlands outlined the experience of taxpayers in four towns when they chose regionalization many years ago, including Colts Neck where she lived. “Our students thrived in a full high school experience where the class sizes were small enough; students benefited from a low teacher-studio ration and received recognition for their accomplishments.”  She called on the boards to wait for the proposed mediation between the two boroughs and asked, with no response, what is the harm in waiting.

Busch, who responded to most of the speakers after discussions with Dr. Tara Beams, the school superintendent, stressed regionalizing without Sea Bright now is the first step, will avoid unnecessary delay, and the new district would welcome Sea Bright once the issue filed by Oceanport and Shore Regional districts against Sea Bright is resolved.

  Light at the End of a Tunnel

Highlands resident Nancy Burton said “bringing Sea Bright in is like the light at the end of the tunnel responding to the need for quality education and maintaining costs taxpayers can afford. Bringing Sea Bright in now would be the fastest way, she said, delay is a problem.

Following the approximate two hour hearing, in which Busch fielded most of the questions followed by board members giving their opinions in favor of the resolution later, but none answering any of the  questions from the public, the boards voted on the resolution to submit to the Commissioner a request to consider the regionalization of the three schools in Highlands and Atlantic Highlands into a K-12 Henry Hudson Tri-District.

All Highlands board members and Henry Hudson board members were present and voted; Ryan Palamara and Debra Appello from the Atlantic Highlands Board were absent, and board president Molly Murphy, though present to continue to be kept informed on board activity, is recusing herself on regionalization; her husband, James, is an Atlantic Highlands councilman.

Meeting

Taxpayers and all parents of Highlands and Atlantic Highlands! I think you owe it to yourselves, your bank accounts, the boroughs, and most importantly the children of these two towns to attend Tuesday evening’s meeting at Henry Hudson Regional School regarding regionalization.

The meeting starts at 6:30, it’s in the gym, and it’s all three boards of education. Be prepared to struggle to hear well and try to identify each of the board members since it’s difficult to see their name cards or in some cases, their faces.

Cost

Before you go to the meeting, think about this. Taxpayers in Highlands and Atlantic Highlands now pay about TEN million dollars a year to educate kids in both towns at Henry Hudson Regional School. Then they pay another roughly $5,000,000 a year in each elementary  to educate the kids in the two towns. schools. That’s over ELEVEN million dollars spent on education, split almost equally between two towns.

 Common Sense

For the past four years, study after study have shown that not only could education be increased and I proved  at all levels in each of these schools, but the costs could be less than it is now. How could that happen?  Simply by bringing Sea Bright into the mix. Our neighboring town only has a handful of students, but they have another million dollars to throw in. So let me ask you, if education can be improved and expanded, and three towns can split the bill rather than two towns, and that third town is bringing in money of its own, doesn’t that make it better for the student and the taxpayer?

Legal Advice

The Tuesday night meeting is a special meeting identified in the legal advertisement as a time when the Atlantic Highlands, Henry Hudson Regional and Highlands Boards of education will meet simultaneously in a jointly conducted special Tri-District Board of Education meeting.

They said it before, and reiterated it in the legal, that the meeting will go into closed session right after the Pledge to the flag. Purpose of that closed session is so the board members, in private, can “receive legal advice from Counsel.”  No counsel is named, so we don’t know exactly which lawyer is giving them advise the public can’t hear. Each of the boards has its own attorney.

  Do They Listen to What the Public Wants???

When they come out, of course they’re going to listen to the public. They did that in Atlantic Highlands, remember? It was about  three years ago when the public proclaimed loud and clear they wanted Mother Theresa School to be senior citizen housing.  Council listened. Then even while in the midst of negotiating with the Church, they opted to change the idea, tear down the school and thrift shop, and put in possibly 13 houses.  They listened, they just didn’t do what the public indicated it wanted.

So, the school boards, I am certain, will also listen.

 Two Votes

But after they hear all the talks from whoever wants to express an opinion at the meeting, they’re going to take two votes; the first vote is to decide whether to withdraw from the joint petition already in front of the state Commissioner of Education requesting regionalization  including Sea Bright.

Once that question is out of the way, they’re going to act on a second resolution. This one is to submit a new petition to the Commission asking for approval to create a regional district without Sea Bright. That means they want to take the three schools that already do stuff together, and split the cost two ways,  and make it  official that instead of coming under three different boards they’re all come under one Board of education split between the two towns.

Next?

Whoa, wait a minute. What happens next?  IF they vote yes on both of these resolutions, is there yet another expensive regionalization study that has to be done to see if their second idea..which has been considered and studied for four years now and NOT recommended before… makes sense and gets approval?

Does this mean starting from scratch in spite of all the time and money that’s been spent so far? I wonder if this mean that more than four years of study, talk, meetings, money just goes down the tubes and we all start from scratch again like nothing ever happened?

Could it mean that the people will never get the chance to have the question on a ballot so they, the parents and taxpayers, could have a say?

  Last Action Item on the Agenda

That’s the end of the action for Tuesday’s meeting. It doesn’t say anything about the other possibility that’s been floated. That is, maybe, if Sea Bright doesn’t face any lawsuits from anyplace, the Tri-District might consider them again some time in the future? If that’s so, that means yet another round of talks, meetings, attorneys, and expenses?  Does that mean another few years of paying attorneys and professionals to decide whether splitting a sum of money three ways instead of two is easier on the taxpayer?

Regionalization Denied?

Then there’s always the question  what happens if the Commissioner rejects the idea of the three schools in the two towns that already do a bunch of stuff together, being denied the right to regionalize by the Commissioner. What’s the next plan of action? Or supposing the Commissioner says yes, the two towns could save some money, but 3,4 or 5 years down the road they should think about spreading out and getting a little larger, like say, including Sea Bright to split the cost three ways. Are the taxpayers going to have to fund those new studies, etc.? One more time? All the studies so far came up with the same results, namely, it’s a good move to include Sea Bright now and split educational costs three ways instead of two.

   Why aren’t the Councils Taking Control???

Consider me a slow learner, but I still haven’t had anybody explain to me why if this is all about who is paying all the bills, why aren’t the councils taking control? They’re the ones who collect the taxes, write the checks to the schools, pay all the salaries. Why don’t they get a say into how many towns are going to kick in to this education? And then, why don’t the governing bodies leave it up to the public to decide with a ballot.

Do the Math!

Nobody is even talking about the million dollars or so Sea Bright would bring into the two towns if they became part of the district right from the start. That’s what the new law supported by the entire Legislature and the Governor was  designed to do. Let me try again to make this simple.

Right now, Highlands and Atlantic Highlands each kick in about  five million dollars every year to support the education of the approximate 200 kids who go to school there. IF Sea Bright joins the district, even if they weren’t bringing their million dollars or so with them a handful of students, what works better for the taxpayer….paying ten million dollars split between two, or paying ten million dollars split among three?

Does anybody do the math? This is an educational system. The idea is to promote more opportunities for more education, and by the way, it also helps that the better way also saves taxpayers money.  Doesn’t that sound like a reasonable idea?

Past stories on regionalization

Walks Like A Duck

Conflicts of Interest

Questions

Zip It

Wasting Time