Parents of children who will attend a different school under the Monroe Board of Education’s redistricting plan will receive a letter from their new school principal after April 24.
Interim Superintendent of Schools Dennis Ventrello said the redistricting plan is necessary to make use of empty classrooms in some of the school district’s elementary schools, while relieving more crowded schools. “We have empty classrooms and lower enrollment figures on one side of town,” Ventrello said at the April 15 Board of Education meeting.
“There was a disparity in the district. On the other side of town, there was a boom in enrollment … and we need to balance that out.”
The redistricting will only affect elementary schools because the middle school and high school accept all Monroe students, Ventrello said.
Parents can view the new redistricting maps at www.monroe.k12.nj.us.
About one in five elementary students will be affected by the redistricting, according to a demographic study commissioned by the school district.
A total of 202 students who previously attended Oak Tree and Applegarth schools will now attend Barclay Brook and Brookside schools, and 259 former Barclay Brook and Brookside students will now attend Mill Lake or Woodland schools.
“The importance of this is that we are able to make the shift of enrollment from the southernmost part of the district to the central and northern part of the district, where there is declining enrollment, open classrooms and almost no new construction,” the demographic study states.
The study maintains class sizes at an average of about 25 students per class but states that future residential development would cause average class sizes to increase.
The principals of each school will prepare orientation programs to smooth the transition for students who are changing schools, Ventrello said.