By KENNY WALTER
Staff Writer
OCEANPORT — Board of Education members have decided to hold off on a March referendum that could have paved the way for a new school.
Oceanport Board of Education President William McVitty said the board opted not to move forward with the referendum due to concerns from parents and an indication from the New Jersey Department of Education (DOE) that it would not assist in funding a K-8 school building in the borough.
“We hit the reset button on the referendum,” McVitty said. “The reason we hit the reset is that we had a lot of questions from our community that we need to evaluate fairly and the Department of Education has thrown us a bit of a curve ball.
“The curve ball is based on the fact that we have, at this time, declining enrollment [so] they are reluctant to give us approval to build a K-8 school.”
The board previously decided to push back the original Dec. 8 referendum, which, if passed, would fund the demolition and rebuilding of the Wolf Hill School, as new options including sites at Fort Monmouth and Maria Gatta Park came to light.
The parameters of the March referendum were not decided on as several options for construction of a new school or renovation of the existing Maple Place Middle School and Wolf Hill School.
McVitty said part of the reasoning for the new school is the district expects an enrollment increase in the future as Fort Monmouth gets redeveloped.
“That was a concern of our residents that we should overbuild this, not under-build this, for the fact that we are going to have enrollment increases in the future,” he said. “We’ve tried to forecast what it would be and, when we looked at design for a new K-8, we made sure that those plans included room for expansion as needed.”
A letter on the district’s website written by Board of Education Vice President Spencer Carpenter explained the position the district is in with the state.
“As of today, the State Department of Education has informed us that due to our declining enrollment, they are reluctant to approve the option of the sale/disposal of both schools to build a pre-K through 8th grade school,” the letter states. “The Department of Education will not consider future enrollment increases due to Fort Monmouth housing at this time.
“The Department of Education has agreed that the Wolf Hill School is in need of replacement, but unless we can demonstrate a lower cost for the construction of a new pre-K through 8th grade facility, they will only permit us to renovate Maple Place and build one new school.”
According to Carpenter, the board is creating an ad hoc committee comprised of board members and district administrators and staff to explore all options that may be accepted by the state.
Former board president and the current Oceanport Mayor, Jay Coffey, said in December that the board was considering some five options, all of which would cost more than $32 million, 40 percent of which would be offset by the state.
Coffey said the original discussions for a referendum scheduled for December centered on whether to rehab the current Wolf Hill School for an estimated $12 million local contribution or to demolish the school and build a new one for an estimated $18 million local contribution with the remaining 40 percent funded by the state.
According to McVitty, with two delays on the referendum the next time the district may go out for one would be September, but no decision has been made yet.
“The board has a lot of work to do to make sure that we look at all the options of continuing to look for a site for development of a K-8 based on the fact that possibly the Department of Education will change their opinion,” he said. “We need to be prepared to do the renovations as needed to the schools as they exist now.
“We are working to continue communications with the Department of Education to see if we can get approval for a K-8.”
Another option for the district is to renovate the Maple Place School and demolish and rebuild the Wolf Hill School. However, McVitty said that move would lead to some short-term issues.
“We have to look at what we would do to house children if we were to replace the school at the Wolf Hill site,” he said. “What do I do with the kids for two years?
“I heard that message loud and clear from the parents.”
The district currently operates two schools and educates students from Oceanport and Sea Bright.