Supreme The state Commissioner of Education, Kevin Dehmer, directed a letter to attorneys for the boroughs of Sea Bright and Highlands, and the boards of education of Oceanport, Shore Regional and Henry Hudson schools that Sea Bright’s request to withdraw from Shore Regional and Oceanport school districts is conditionally granted, conditions which would enable the boroughs to finally allow the voters to make their own decision on the expanded regional district.
Almost simultaneously, the Shore Regional Board of Education filed an appeal with the New Jersey Supreme Court on the decision reached by every other lower court that has already heard the matter agreeing Sea Bright does have the right to withdraw from the Oceanport and Shore Regional districts in order to join the Henry Hudson district.
Acceptance of the appeal by the state’s highest court continues the four-year-old legal battles costing each of the districts thousands of dollars and apparently prevents the residents from all three boroughs from voting on a larger regional school district.
“ While it’s disappointing that this ruling will move the timeline to another whole year, I do understand why they did it,” said Highlands Mayor Carolyn Broullon, referring to Shore Regional’s carrying the matter to the New Jersey Supreme Court. “This case has the power to set precedent for all communities in the entire state.” The mayor also suggested that “all residents should pay close attention because this can impact everyone in New Jersey, regardless if they have children in public school or not.”
The decision from the NJ Supreme Court to hear Shore Regional’s opposition to Sea Bright’s moving out of the district came on May 25, less than two weeks before Dehmer notified the attorneys of the boroughs and school districts involved, that Sea Bright can put the matter of joining Highlands and Atlantic Highlands to the voters contingent “only upon Sea Bright and Henry Hudson resolving any outstanding issues with respect to tax apportionment.”
Although Henry Hudson Board attorney Jonathan Busch received the letter from Commissioner Dehmer dated June 6, he was not present at last week’s meeting of the Henry Hudson Board of Education. The attorney who replaced him, who was not identified at the meeting, did not report on any legal activity during the meeting or acknowledge receipt of the Commissioner’s opinion.
Nor was there any mention of the Supreme Court ruling which was ordered on May 28 with Shore Regional and Oceanport boards of education identified as the petitioners.
The matter Shore Regional is bringing before the Supreme Court challenges the unanimous ruling of the three-court panel that Sea Bright ‘s intentions are neither unreasonable nor contrary to public policy.
Concerning the three court opinion, the judges also stated in their 33 page decision that “ Sea Bright has standing to withdraw from Oceanport and Shore Regional “ and cited the state laws that show such an action “fulfills the legislative purpose of the Act, follows the common synonymous definitions of “consolidate” and “merge,” and is adequately supported by the record.”
The decision also noted that “any contrary interpretation would lead to an unjust result which delegitimizes Sea Bright’s sovereignty to manage the education decisions for its resident students. “ And the Commissioners concluded that any remaining arguments not addressed in their decision making “are without sufficient merit to warrant discussion in a written opinion.”
Yet that decision is being challenged by Shore at the highest level of the state and obliterates the opportunity for the voters of Highlands, Atlantic Highlands and Sea Bright to vote their opinions this November.
In contrast, Commissioner Dehmer wrote all the attorneys involved a brief history of the amended petition filed by Sea Bright and Highlands boroughs seeking the state department of education’s approval of Sea Bright’s plan to withdraw from Shore and Oceanport.
In his letter, Dehmer cited events, opinions and actions that date back to 2023 when voters from Highlands and Atlantic Highlands approved a vote to form “a new expanded all-purpose regional school district,” the present Prek-12 Henry Hudson Regional district .
Last October, the Monmouth County Executive County Superintendent invited each of the districts to respond to Sea Bright’s petition to join Henry Hudson, and the Commissioner noted that after his review of all the activity, and with the recommendation of the county office of education, Sea Bright met all the requirements to withdraw from Shore, so long as the Henry Hudson voters approved accepting them into the Hudson district.
All of which let Commissioner Dehmer to grant conditional approval to Sea Bright’s request to withdraw from Oceanport and Shore Regional, contingent up resolving the tax apportionment questions with Henry Hudson with resolutions of approval “If such an agreement is reached and memorialized, the proposal for Sea Bright to expand Henry Hudson per the agreement can be presented to the voters.”
More Stories on the Regionalization Process and History HERE
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