Barnegat School Board Votes Yes On Reconfiguring District

BARNEGAT, NJ — A majority of the Barnegat Board of Education voted Tuesday in favor of reconfiguring the school district.

Officials voted, 6-3, on reconfiguration at the school board meeting, favoring the grade-banding model.

Barnegat's four elementary schools currently serve preschool through fifth-grade, while the middle school holds grades six through eight.

Under the grade-banding model of reconfiguration:

• the Lillian M. Dunfee School holds preschoolers
• the Cecil S. Collins School serves kindergarteners through second grade
• the Joseph T. Donahue School has third- and fourth-graders
• the Robert L. Horbelt School teaches fifth and sixth grades
• the Russell O. Brackman Middle School holds seventh and eighth grades

The three "no" votes came from Board Members Sean O'Brien, Richard Quelch and Robert Sawicki. All three newcomers ran for school board last year, as the district discussed reconfiguration.

Administrators shared a report last week and a letter saying the district needed to "address the inequality in class sizes from building to building and "disparities in educational experiences."

District officials have argued that the current setup leaves some schools with larger class sizes than others and that rearrangement would improve standardized testing.

According to the report, 64 percent of Barnegat students perform below their grade level in math and 49 percent test below their grade level in English language arts.

Board President Michael Hickey said he will have four children in four different schools next year. But he voted "yes" because he wants to improve student performance.

"I’ve sacrificed quite a bit for the democratic process," Hickey said before his vote. "...There’s a very small, very passionate group of parents out there (critical of reconfiguration)."

Many parents and community members have criticized the grade-banding plan at meetings. Some attendees said Tuesday that the district should gather more information before moving forward.

Others have criticized aspects such as children switching schools more often and potential complications with transportation.

"I have worked in a school that has only two grades for 20 years," said one community member. "There is little to no sense of school community and minimal parent involvement. When students aren’t invested in their school community, negative behaviors increase, and behavior is further impacted."

Administrators previously proposed two other solutions other than grade banding:

• redistricting: redrawing lines to balance out class sizes in the elementary schools but maintaining four pre-K to fifth grade schools.
• sister schools: reorganizing the four elementary schools into two lower elementary schools — preschool through second grade — and two upper elementary schools — third through fifth grade.

Superintendent Dr. Brian Latwis has urged the school board and parents to support the third model, which he says is the best use of resources. The arrangement would also benefit students with special needs because it would eliminate the practice of busing them to schools outside their neighborhoods for services, Latwis says.

The grade-banding model also leaves money in the budget for data coaches, according to the report. The position analyzes data and provides teachers with feedback for student improvement.

Under the redistricting model, coaches would need to be a newly budgeted position, projected at $445,000, the report says. The district wouldn't be able to afford coaches under the sister-school model, according to the report.

A parent with a master's degree in education literacy argued that with the addition of coaches, the district should also hire interventionists to work with children individually or in small groups.

"The hire of coaches without the hire of additional interventionists places unrealistic onus on classroom teachers," she said. "While I agree that teachers at Barnegat are some of the most confident and capable in the state, they need to be properly supported to maximize student progress."

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