By John Tredrea, Special Writer
Another hurdle has been cleared in the arduous process of seeking to combine the Lambertville, West Amwell, South Hunterdon and Stockton school districts into one regional district.
Jeff Scott, interim executive Hunterdon County superintendent of schools, has written a report on the proposed regionalization and forwarded it to the state Department of Education (DOE).
Now that Mr. Scott’s report has been received by the DOE, “the next step is that the districts involved must petition the commissioner to seek permission for a referendum on withdrawing from the limited purpose regional district,” Allison Kobus, DOE spokeswoman, said Monday.
”This must be done before an all-purpose regional (school district) can be created,” Ms. Kobus said.
Mr. Scott’s report, required by law as part of the process of seeking regionalization, was formally requested by the school boards of the four districts that are looking at regionalizing.
South Hunterdon school board member, Dan Seiter, who is chairman of the local Regionalization Committee, said recently that it was in early April that resolutions in favor of proceeding with the effort to regionalize were passed by all four school district boards of education and all three municipal governing bodies representing the South Hunterdon area.
”The resolutions specifically requested an advisability report from the executive county superintendent of schools on the formation of an all-purpose school district serving students in Pre-K through 12 from the Borough of Stockton, the City of Lambertville and the Township of West Amwell,” Mr. Seiter said.
”These resolutions were then aggregated by the South Hunterdon Regionalization Committee and forwarded along with the Feasibility Report” to Executive County Superintendent Scott,” said Mr. Seiter, who noted that he had received word from Mr. Scott that he had “forwarded his report to the Commissioner of Education with a request that the commissioner form a review committee to analyze the recommendations.”
”We will continue to meet as a Regionalization Committee to address community concerns, and clarify any issues or questions that may arise during the county and state review. However, the ultimate decision on this regionalization concept will reside with the voters” in a referendum, Mr. Seiter said.
