Allentown High School math doesn’t add up for Millstone Township. When Plumsted Township ended its sending relationship with Allentown High School and started phasing out sending students to the school, Allentown High School administration notified Millstone Township that per-student tuition would increase in order to cover the school’s budgetary fixed costs across a smaller student population.
In September 2003, it is forecast that Millstone Township’s sending population may increase by an additional 82 students. Allentown High School administration promptly informed Millstone that it may have to raise its per-student tuition in order to cover the costs of an increase in student population. Allentown High School administration can’t have it both ways. It just doesn’t add up.
I believe Millstone Township should start implementation of alternatives. Why doesn’t the Millstone Township School Board give the $11,000-plus tuition to the families and let them send their children to whichever school they choose? Or, why doesn’t the board establish a private academic overflow school for our high school population that exceeds a specified number? Parents would choose whether they want to send their child to Allentown or to the Millstone academic overflow school. Believe me, with Allentown’s academic rating, the choice would be clear.
There is no state law that requires Millstone to send all of its high school students to Allentown. Significant numbers of our township high school population currently attend various private and parochial schools. The Millstone academic overflow school would be no different. It is time to divorce Allentown and Upper Freehold Township. A bad marriage is a bad marriage.
Gregory M. Cinque
Millstone Township