Little Silver loses seat;
boroughs now have two board members each
By john burton
Staff Writer
LITTLE SILVER — The Red Bank Regional Board of Education will have to reapportion its representation, shifting one member from Little Silver to Shrewsbury.
Michael Maddaluna, the Monmouth County superintendent of schools, recently notified the district, that because of the results of the 2000 census, the change was mandated, according to Dr. Edward D. Westervelt, the district’s superintendent of schools.
The change was brought about because "the population of Shrewsbury, in relation to Little Silver and Red Bank, has changed," Westervelt said.
The Board of Education has nine seats for its members who represent the three boroughs. Currently five board members represent Red Bank, three from Little Sliver, and one from Shrewsbury. Those seats are in proportion to the municipalities’ population and were based on 1990 census numbers, according to Westervelt.
According to the latest census figures, said James Granello, the board attorney, the population of Shrewsbury grew by 494, which is an increase of 16 percent. Little Silver saw its population grow by 449, an increase of 7.8 percent.
"Obviously, the change in population made the difference," in the shift of a seat from Little Silver to Shrewsbury, Granello said.
Red Bank’s population grew by 11.4 percent, and its representation will remain the same, Westervelt said.
The state Department of Education arrived at the seat assignments after calculating the populations according to a complex mathematical equation called "equal proportions," according to Granello.
State statute does not mandate that the Department of Education use that specific method for districts the size of Red Bank Regional, but it does permit it, Granello said.
Had the state used a formula called "fixed ratio," also permitted by statute, the composition of the board would have remained the same, he said.
"They [Department of Education] feel it is more accurate," Granello said. "In recent time that is the formula they use."
Granello reviewed the state’s findings and determined there was no legal basis for filing an appeal with the state.
Westervelt, though, noted that the change in representation would have the effect of altering "the chemistry of the board, and the experience."
All three of Little Silver’s representatives, Joseph J. Colao Jr., Curtis K. Goss, and Robert L. Morgan, are up for re-election this year. And all have expressed a desire to run again, Westervelt said.
Little Silver Borough Councilman Donald S. Galante had expressed interest in pursuing an appeal. Galante said he worried about the impact the loss of representation could have on borough students.
"You always look to have the proper representation," he said.
But after researching it, "the grounds for an appeal really weren’t there," he said.
"It’s one of those situations where we’re not happy with it, but it’s hard to dispute the methodology," Galante said.