Six New Jersey School Districts Face Merger Decision in Regionalization Study

A study examining a potential school district merger has been released. Central Regional, Berkeley Township, Ocean Gate, Seaside Heights, Seaside Park, and Island Heights school districts could combine. The 207-page report presents three possible paths for these six systems.

Officials will present findings on Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. in the Central Regional Auditorium. Anyone unable to attend can watch the livestream or view a recording later.

The first path involves full preschool through 12th grade consolidation. All five smaller districts would merge into Central Regional. The second involves what the report calls an "expanded middle school." Under this plan, sixth graders would attend Central Regional, which would open up more preschool space at elementary buildings. The third path maintains separate systems but seeks new ways to cut costs through cooperation between districts.

Voters in each town would decide whether to expand the system through a referendum. Three of the five sending districts must approve before the merger proceeds.

Six school boards would dissolve if voters say yes. A single nine-member regional board would replace them. Every town gets at least one representative, with additional seats assigned by population.

Island Heights runs a high-performing system, according to researchers. The other five need academic improvements. "A consolidated district would be monitored as a single entity, allowing for a unified approach to building upon operational strengths and addressing identified programmatic deficiencies," the report reads, per Patch.com.

Student achievement could improve under regionalization, researchers found. "Regionalization presents a clear opportunity to provide more robust, equitable, and efficient services for students with specialized needs, including preschoolers, students with disabilities, multilingual learners, and gifted students," the study said.

A recent court ruling complicates matters. South Seaside Park, which belongs to Berkeley Township, can now petition to join Seaside Park. This affects who votes and which system receives their tax dollars.

"A new regional board would have to decide whether to continue allowing Seaside Park families to choose between sending their children to Lavallette or Toms River, or to integrate them fully into the new regional system," the report reads.