WEST AMWELL: State OKs voting on regionalization of local schools

By John Tredrea, Special Writer
   WEST AMWELL — The state Department of Education’s Board of Review decided on Sept. 5 to OK a ballot question that could — if ultimately OK’d — result in the dissolution of the South Hunterdon Regional School District and the eventual regionalization of the four local school districts.
   ”The board granted the joint petition to allow the constituent districts to submit a referendum to dissolve the South Hunterdon Regional School District. This petition was uncontested and the plan is to re-regionalize as a PK-12 district,” a DOE spokesman said Sept. 6.
   The Board of Review’s approval of this ballot question was met with satisfaction from Steve Wolock, vice chairman of the local Regionalization Committee.
   ”The Regionalization Committee is very pleased with Board of Review’s decision,” Mr. Wolock said.
   ”People in Stockton, West Amwell and Lambertville have been talking about regionalization on and off for decades. After an amazing amount of working together and cooperation, it looks like the residents in the three communities are finally going to have a chance to vote on forming a Pre-kindergarten through Grade 12 school district for the students of Stockton, West Amwell and Lambertville,” he said/
   ”State statute limits the dates this kind of ballot can be held. So we don’t know yet when it will be, but we hope to work that out soon.
   ”There are community information events in the early planning stages so that everyone will have a chance to learn about regionalization, express their views and get answers to their questions.
   ”In the meantime, if anyone has questions or would like to comment, he/she can visit the regionalization website at www.southcountyregionalization.com,” Mr. Wolock concluded.
   DAN SEITER, chairman of the Regionalization Committee, said Monday: “With the Board of Review decision to approve, we have now overcome the final hurdle toward bringing this regionalization opportunity to a vote.
   ”It’s simply timing now, but we believe that sometime within the next 12-14 months, residents from all three communities will be given the opportunity to vote on a full purpose PreK-12 regional school district.
   ”We could not have come this far without the undeterred dedication from the Regionalization Committee members. Likewise, this would not have been possible without the incredible cooperation of the councils and township committee, as well as the four boards of education,” Mr. Seiter said.
    The Board of Review met to consider the joint petition from the Lambertville Public School Board of Education, the West Amwell Elementary School Board of Education, the Stockton Borough School Board of Education, the Township of West Amwell and the City of Lambertville to dissolve the South Hunterdon Regional High School District. The meeting took place in Trenton on Sept. 5.
   NOW that the state has OK’d a public referendum, voters probably will be asked two questions similar to those that follow:
   — The first would authorize the dissolution of the existing South Hunterdon Regional High School.
   —The second question would authorize the creation of a new regional preK-12 district. The new district would not be created unless majorities of the voters in all three communities vote “yes” to both questions.
   The two ballot questions would be linked, so that if the first question passes but the second question does not, the first question would be invalidated and the four school districts would continue to operate as before.
   EDITOR’S NOTE: The topic of regionalization is not new to the people of the South Hunterdon-area districts. Indeed, back in June 2000, The Beacon reported:
   ”Rumbling over regionalization of South Hunterdon schools is reverberating throughout the communities again.
   ”It’s an issue that administrators and school board members at South Hunterdon Regional High School and its three sending districts — Lambertville, West Amwell and Stockton — have been grappling with for decades.
   ”South Hunterdon Superintendent Thomas Davidson can trace the discussion back to the 1970s and an old quasi-feasibility study that was conducted to learn if it would be more efficient to consolidate to a K-12 district or if the schools should function as they are: a seven-12 regional school district and three K-six local school districts, each with its own school board, administrators and staff.
   ”Tony DeCanzio recalled that regionalization was a topic at one of the first meetings he attended after becoming West Amwell’s superintendent in 1981.
   ”Stockton School Superintendent Marlene Leeb (who opposed regionalization).lamented that she’s been down the regionalization road more times than she cares to think about.
   ”West Amwell school board President Debbie Case-Schulze recalled: ‘Way back when I first got on the board, this is what was talked about.’
   ”Lambertville School board member Steve Williamson said his board has ‘looked over it several times’ in the 10 years he’s been a member.
   ”While school officials say they are open to a renewed discussion, the stumbling block to regionalization has been a reluctance among the districts to relinquish autonomy or ‘home rule,’ Lambertville school board President David Moraski said.
   ”Under a plan to regionalize or consolidate, one school board with representation from each of the three municipalities would make the decisions for all 1,300 students in the new K-12 district.
   ”But as education costs rise and state aid to the so-called ‘wealthy’ districts dwindles, the state is encouraging districts to explore regionalization.
   ”Lambertville resident Sharon DiSalvi said she is urging her town’s officials to bring regionalization to the forefront and has initiated a ‘grass-roots curiosity’ movement to learn if there is overall support for the concept.
   ”As a result, the Lambertville Board of Education has agreed to get the ball rolling and authorized Mr. Moraski to start a dialogue with Stockton, West Amwell and South Hunterdon board presidents.”
   However, “Stockton school board President Rick McDaniel said he would be willing to participate in a discussion, but doesn’t feel that there are any advantages for Stockton to consider regionalization at this time . . . Stockton has always had a good record of careful dollar management, such as sharing a business manager and janitor with Lambertville. It also contracts with South Hunterdon to provide bus transportation on field trips and is investigating the possibility of sharing a school nurse with another district.”
   Obviously, regionalization did not materialize as a result of discussions 12 years ago. Sometime in the foreseeable future, the South Hunterdon community probably will make a decision that will impact the future of today’s four local districts — one way or the other.
   .