SOUTH COUNTY: It’s official: K-12 district starts July 1

By John Tredrea, Special Writer
    It’s official — the newly formed South Hunterdon Regional School District (SHRSD) will be fully operational on July 1.
    On that date, four school districts that merged into the new regional district will cease to exist.
    Voters approved the consolidation of those four districts into one in a referendum last September. Those four districts are the Lambertville, West Amwell, Stockton and South Hunterdon Regional High School districts.
    In an April 9 letter to the presidents of those four school boards, David Hespe, acting commissioner of the state Department of Education, said: “I certify that suitable facilities and accommodations have been made available for the instruction of pupils in the newly created South Hunterdon Regional School District.”
    He declared the newly created district “shall take charge and control” of the educational facilities of Lambertville Public Elementary (pre-K to six); Stockton Borough Elementary (pre-K to six); West Amwell Elementary (K-six); and South Hunterdon Regional High School (seven-12).
    Acting Commissioner Hespe added that his certification is effective July 1, “at which time the newly created district may take charge and control of these facilities and the constituent districts will hereby be dissolved.”
    At a Monday night meeting of the new regional school board, school board President Dan Seiter called the Hespe letter “great news.”
    Under state law, the new district could not become fully operational until it had been declared ready by the state DOE. Also under state law, July 1 of this year was the earliest date on which it could happen.
    In other business at Monday night’s school board meeting, the board approved the regional district’s participation in the state School Employees’ Health Benefits Program (SEHBP), effective July 1.
    The board also approved hiring, at an annual rate of $24,000, the firm of Brown and Brown Benefits Advisors as the district’s SEHBP program manager.