By Christine Barcia
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — Pupil overcrowding in the Freehold Borough School District has led to a discussion about the future placement of students in schools.
At a Board of Education meeting on Jan. 25, the topic of realigning the school district was on the table.
Superintendent of Schools Rocco Tomazic said, “The district continued its open conversation about the possible realignment of its grade structure (e.g., grade levels taught in specific schools). This conversation has been ongoing in the district for years – growing from the strategic planning process. It has come to a head at this point as we are on the verge of important decisions growing from overcrowding, and a revalidation was in order.”
Board President Michael Lichardi said, “the district realignment plan was a major component of the strategic plan begun in 2010, which was developed in the following years and eventually deferred to align with the recent construction referendum. The need for realignment has become an urgent matter in order to keep our classroom sizes manageable.”
Taking into account feedback from stakeholders at a Jan. 4 meeting and feedback that resulted from letters to the community, the board opted to neither abandon realignment nor to implement full realignment, according to Tomazic.
“The board sees the value of doing a partial realignment where the fifth grade would be clustered at the Park Avenue Elementary School and the prekindergarten would be clustered at the Freehold Learning Center. The issue of when to do the partial realignment remains open, as does the actual start/stop times of each school once realigned,” Tomazic said.
He summarized additional points by stating that the board is comfortable staying with neighborhood schools for kindergarten through fourth grade, although the dividing line for the two elementary schools will have to be reviewed to ensure balance going forward; the board recognizes that about 25 pupils will have to be moved from the Park Avenue Elementary School to the Freehold Learning Center to balance out classes in 2016-17; and the board understands that the construction plan for new facilities will need to be slightly adjusted to address the partial realignment rather than the full realignment.
“Ultimately, the board seems to be in agreement that a compromise is our best solution at this point in time,” board Vice President Susan Greitz said.
Tomazic said the board will take these issues into consideration as it awaits a decision regarding the district’s plan to build new facilities. The decision is currently in the hands of New Jersey Education Commissioner David C. Hespe.
Voters have twice rejected a referendum that proposed a construction package exceeding $32 million. After the second rejection, district administrators took the next step available to them to get the work done: appealing to the state to override the voters’ rejection of the two referendums. Voters rejected a plan that would have added about $280 to their annual school property tax bill.
According to Tomazic, the board anticipates having a final discussion and voting on a resolution regarding realignment at the Feb. 8 board meeting.
