Legislation sponsored by state Senate Education Chair M. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex) and Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth) that would require pupils who reside on certain federal property to enroll in the resident school district in accordance with the enrollment schedule determined by the executive county superintendent of schools was approved by the full Senate on March 26.
The bill, S-1918, would provide that, beginning with the 2018-19 school year, pupils who reside on federal property at Naval Weapons Station Earle would be enrolled in the schools of the district in which the pupils reside. The bill replaces an agreement dating back to the 1980s, according to a press release.
“I am glad this issue is finally on its way to being resolved and the students at Earle can go to school in the town they live in,” Ruiz said. “These children are already very much a part of Colts Neck because they participate in community activities and programs; they should be able to go to the schools as well.”
“Both Tinton Falls and Colts Neck are part of my district. These kids have to go out of their way to get to school, which is about an hour,” Gopal said. “This legislation will allow students to go to school closer to their homes, so they will not be burdened with the distance.”
Military children who live at Earle currently go to school in Tinton Falls, which overlaps with the naval base. Colts Neck also overlaps with the base, more specifically, it overlaps with the residential part of the base. Colts Neck schools are significantly closer than the Tinton Falls schools, according to the press release.
The bill, if passed in the Assembly and signed into law by the governor, would require Colts Neck to accept the military children from Tinton Falls, according to the press release.
Aid from the federal government is given to Tinton Falls as a partial payment to educate the military children. If these students transfer to Colts Neck, the funding would follow them to that district, according to Ruiz and Gopal.
The bill was approved in the Senate by a vote of 28-0 and next heads to the Assembly for further consideration.