BERKELEY – While Central Regional might be losing one of its constituent districts, they might take on the Ocean Gate Elementary School.
Ocean Gate is one of five towns that send kids to Central, with the others being Island Heights, Seaside Heights, Seaside Park, and of course the home district of Berkeley.
Officials from both Central Regional and Ocean Gate Elementary have expressed interest in the two districts joining, making one district that is pre-k through 12th grade for Ocean Gate kids and 7th through 12th for everyone else.
The Central Board recently approved going out for a feasibility study that would evaluate the “educational, financial, and operational implications of unification.”
The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Division of Local Government Services, has a grant program that would reimburse districts for any feasibility study to determine if combining districts is a good idea. It’s called the School Regionalization Efficiency Program.
This study doesn’t mean that action would automatically be taken. It is just an information-gathering situation. Ultimately, this would come down to the voters. If both Central and Ocean Gate officials agree that combining is a good idea, they would ask the state to allow them to place a question on the ballot in every town impacted.
Although Ocean Gate is specifically named, any of the sending towns are invited to join. If they are interested, they would have a seat at the table.
Island Heights has an elementary school of its own, and is a self-contained district whose kids go to Central for 7th grade and on.
Seaside Heights is another issue all together. They have their own elementary school and are a self-contained district. However, Seaside Heights officials want to close the school down and have approached Toms River to take the kids. Toms River is planning to have a vote for this to take place. They want to have the vote on March 12 but the state has to approve that date. If the majority of voters agree, Central would lose Seaside Heights kids and they would join Toms River.
Seaside Park doesn’t have an elementary school of its own. Their elementary age students attend the Hugh J. Boyd school in Seaside. If that school closes, they would go to East Dover Elementary in Toms River, a school official said. Then, they would likely continue through Toms River intermediate and high schools. However, current Central students would be allowed to continue to go to Central.
