Wins The New Jersey Supreme Court today put an end to the years of expensive and legal arguments brought by Oceanport and Shore Regional High School and has ruled unanimously that indeed Sea Bright does have the right to leave those school districts and join Henry Hudson Regional School district. The school regionalization for Pre-K to 12th grade that Sea right has been seeking for years is one step closer to reality.
The verified petition for the proposed creation of a PK-12 All-Purpose Regional School District by the Borough of Sea Bright was argued in October and decided today, December 8, 2025, with Supreme Court Justice Anne Patterson writing for the unanimous Court decision.
This unanimous decision by the highest court in the state that supports what Highlands and Sea Bright have been saying for several years, now makes it possible for both the borough of Sea Bright and the Henry Hudson Regional School District, which itself was newly formed this year, to petition the Department of Education Commissioner to approve the expansion of the Hudson district to include Sea Bright, actions which follow through of the state’s comprehensive plan to save taxpayers money by creating larger regional school districts.
Highlands residents through a non-binding vote had already let both the Mayor and Council as well as the Henry Hudson Board of Education know they welcomed Sea Bright into the district and favored the larger school district. The Atlantic Highlands governing body had not polled its residents to determine their opinion, preferring to wait until all the legal battles brought by Oceanport and Shore Regional were resolved.
The Justices ruled, in this appeal brought by Oceanport and Shore Regional against lower court and Appellate Court decisions, the Court considered whether Sea Bright can withdraw from the two school districts currently serving its public-school students and join an all-purpose regional school district pursuant to state law N.J.S.A. 18A:13-47.11(a).
When the Legislature enacted that legislation, Sea Bright was exploring the possibility of withdrawing from the Oceanport School District where it had been merged for education of its kindergarten to eighth grade students, and the Shore Regional High School District, where it sent its ninth to twelfth grade students, to join the school districts of the Borough of Highlands and the Borough of Atlantic Highlands as well as Henry Hudson Regional High School in a proposed all-purpose regional school district.
Sea Bright adopted a resolution incorporating that proposal in June 2022.The districts from which Sea Bright sought to withdraw challenged their eligibility to take that action.
The two school districts maintained heir opposition to Sea Bright leaving, incurring heavy legal costs for taxpayers in continuing to fight what Sea Bright had maintained and proven in numerous meetings and courts.
At that time, the Commissioner of Education found the law empowers Sea Bright to seek to withdraw from the two school districts. The Appellate Division affirmed that determination and granted certification based on the plain language of the relevant statutes, namely, a municipality in Sea Bright’s position is a governing body authorized to pursue withdrawal from a school district to form or enlarge a regional school district.
Isabel Machado argued for Oceanport and Shore Regional High and Vito A. Gagliardi, Jr. and Kerri A. Wright argued the cause for Sea Bright.
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