Allentown-Upper Freehold, Millstone and Roosevelt
to participate in feasibility study
By: Frank C. D’Amico
The superintendents of the Millstone, Roosevelt and Allentown-Upper Freehold school districts have been discussing the possibility of regionalizing their home districts.
These discussions are an offshoot of the Western Monmouth Panhandle Alliance, a group of mayors, governing officials and educational leaders from Allentown, Millstone, Roosevelt and Upper Freehold.
Recently, the alliance received a $75,000 state grant to study the regionalization issue. The alliance now has to decide on who will conduct the study and see how feasible it would be to combine the three school districts in some fashion.
Upper Freehold Superintendent Robert Connelly said he hopes the three districts can reach a conclusion by the end of the 2000-2001 school year.
Roosevelt has one school, for students in kindergarten through sixth grade, and sends its older students to the East Windsor Regional School District.
Millstone has an elementary school and a middle school and sends its high school students to the Upper Freehold Regional School District’s Allentown High School.
The Upper Freehold Regional School District has two schools: the Upper Freehold Elementary/Middle School and Allentown High School.
A regionalized school district could take several forms.
It could cover all grades, K-12, in a single district or it could create a new district for students in grades 7-12. A third option would have the districts maintain their lower levels but send high school students to Allentown High School. A separate school board could be created for the school.
Currently, Millstone has only one seat on the Upper Freehold Regional Board of Education and the district has been seeking more representation.
"We have to look at each option and weigh its advantages and disadvantages," said Dr. Connelly.
Dr. Connelly said it is important to make a "thorough study of the demographics" of the towns involved.
"We have to see what size the whole new district will be and how big the high school will be in 15 years," he said.
Dr. Connelly said the districts will have to deal with growth issues regardless of regionalization.
"Millstone and Upper Freehold will have some major building projects ahead and we’ll have to see how the study will affect that," Dr. Connelly said.
William Setaro, superintendent of the Millstone School District, said this is an important issue.
"The bottom line is our region is growing," he said. "With expanded growth in Upper Freehold and Millstone, we could really be in a dilemma."
Dr. Setaro said its important to look at how regionalization would affect the quality of education and the tax rate.
"We have to see if this will be best educationally and if it lessens the burden of the taxpayer," he said.
After the superintendents – and board members from the three districts – meet several times, Dr. Setaro said he wants to "survey the community."
"I want to get a feel for what they want," Dr. Setaro said. "We have to be open-minded and can’t lock on one plan."
Dale Weinbach, superintendent of the Roosevelt School District, said "each district has different issues and we have to identify them."
Dr. Weinbach said although her town is interested in the discussions, residents wouldn’t want to see a regionalized configuration that would render its one school obsolete.
"I speak on behalf of many who would be fearful of losing their community school," she said.
Dr. Weinbach said she would favor a regionalized district at the 7-12 level.
She said she was "pleased with the East Windsor school district."
"We will look at comparing the costs of tuition to East Windsor with the costs of regionalization," Dr. Weinbach said.
Dr. Connelly said the superintendents are scheduled to meet Sept. 5 to further discussions.
He said he hopes within a few meetings the group can decide on who will undertake the regionalization study.
In 1998, the Millstone and Allentown-Upper Freehold school districts commissioned a regionalization feasibility study that excluded Roosevelt.
In October 1998, the report was released. It was written by attorney Ronald Ianole, a trustee of Rowan University, and educator Donald E. Beineman, who holds a doctorate in education.
Neither the Millstone board nor the Allentown-Upper Freehold board was happy with the report’s statistics and other information. Consequently, both boards voted soon after the report was issued to not pursue regionalization at that time.
Since the study died in early 1999, all three school districts have new superintendents.
Dr. Weinbach replaced William Presutti in Roosevelt in May 1999, Dr. Setaro took over for Earnest Donnelly in Millstone in January of this year and Dr. Connelly started in Allentown-Upper Freehold in May.
The state has declared its support for regionalization of school districts.
Also in 1998, the New Jersey Regionalization Panel issued a report calling for new statewide laws and initiatives designed to bring "greater economic and academic efficiencies in local schools through both the combining of school districts and the sharing of services."