Seaside Heights, Toms River school boards to vote on merging districts

SEASIDE HEIGHTS — The Borough Council and Board of Education are considering plans to close the Hugh J. Boyd Elementary School and end Seaside Height's relationship with the Central Regional School District in Berkeley. Instead, local officials in Seaside Heights and Toms River Regional School District are discussing holding a referendum to merge.

On Friday, Seaside Heights and Toms River Regional school officials will hold public meetings where they plan to prepare a request to New Jersey Acting Education Commissioner Angelica Allen-McMillan to vote to merge.

Seaside Height's tax base suffered major losses in the years following Superstorm Sandy, which prompted New Jersey to request that the borough consider closing the Hugh J. Boyd Elementary School. A report prepared by Statistical Forecasting LLC, Porzio Compliance Services and Steven Cea estimated both Seaside Heights and Toms River would save about $2.7 million by closing the Boyd school and sending its elementary students to Toms River East Dover Elementary School and Toms River Intermediate East.

Already, students in neighboring Ortley Beach, a Toms River neighborhood on the barrier island north of Seaside Heights, are bused to Toms River schools on the mainland.

The Boyd school is faced with escalating costs while having years of declining student enrollment. Just 202 students were enrolled in the autumn of the 2022-23 school year, according to state Department of Education records. The student body shrunk 12% in the past 10 years, down from 230 students in 2012.

"What we see as a mayor and council is that there is a benefit for children and a benefit for the taxpayer," to join the Boyd school with Toms River Regional, borough Mayor Anthony Vaz told the Asbury Park Press earlier this year.

"There would be a lot more opportunities," for kids, he said at the time.

Last month, Seaside's Borough Council authorized its special legal team to also petition the state education commissioner for a referendum to combine the school districts.

February report: Seaside Heights school should be closed, kids sent to Toms River

Officials at Central Regional School District, where Seaside Heights students go after graduating from sixth grade at Boyd Elementary, are expected to protest the change. Seaside Heights taxpayers make up a substantial portion of Central Regional's tax base, along with Berkeley, Seaside Park, Ocean Gate and Island Heights.

"The feasibility report (between Seaside Heights and Toms River) raises numerous questionable findings that ultimately will require legal clarification and further study by all impacted parties," Central Regional Acting Superintendent Doug Corbett said in a statement on behalf of Central's school board.

Corbett also serves as acting superintendent for the Boyd school.

"Central Regional School District has no intention of allowing any neighboring school district to financially benefit at the cost of taxpayers in the remaining sending districts of Berkeley, Ocean Gate, Island Heights and Seaside Park," Corbett said in the statement. "The Central Regional School District remains deeply committed to ensuring students continue to receive a high-quality education, but the purpose of this study (between Seaside Heights and Toms River) has very little to do with education."

Seaside Heights' school board will meet at 8:20 a.m. Friday at Hugh J. Boyd Elementary, 1200 Bay Blvd., Seaside Heights.

That same day, Toms River Regional's school board will hold its public meeting at 5:30 p.m. at High School North, 1245 Old Freehold Road, Toms River, to also request a referendum from the education commissioner on the possible merger.

Education trends: Homeschooling grew during the pandemic. Why more NJ families are choosing the option

Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who covers education and the environment. She has worked for the Press for more than 15 years. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, aoglesby@gannettnj.com or 732-557-5701.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seaside Heights school officials mull consolidation with Toms River