Central Regional Appeals Proposed Seaside Heights-Toms River Merger

BERKELEY, NJ — The Central Regional School District is not giving up Seaside Heights students without a fight.

While officials from the Toms River Regional School District are hoping for an April vote on the matter, Central Regional recently filed a response to their petition on the possible district merger, laying out their arguments against it.

Toms River hopes to take in Seaside Heights, closing the Hugh J. Boyd Elementary School and sending those students to East Dover Elementary School and Intermediate East Middle School. But now, Central Regional is planning its own feasibility study that would create a pre-K through 12 district with all of its sending districts (Berkeley, Island Heights, Seaside Heights, Seaside Park and Ocean Gate). Read more: Central Regional, Ocean Gate School District Could Combine

Central Regional's main argument is that the regionalization would not be beneficial for Seaside Heights students for a number of reasons.

"Shutting the doors of Boyd Elementary School and all it offers to the community would adversely impact 200 today," the report reads. "It also would be remarkably short sighted. In 10 years, when new Seaside Heights residents have moved in, the need for a local elementary school will be even greater."

For example, Seaside Heights offers universal preschool, while Toms River currently does not. Toms River also does not offer bussing for after-school activities, which would be a burden on Seaside Heights students, particularly because most Seaside Heights students are economically disadvantaged, school officials said in their response.

Not only does Boyd Elementary School currently offer "supports and opportunities" to the primarily minority students that Toms River does not, it would be a waste of taxpayer dollars to close the school that was rebuilt after Superstorm Sandy, the report says. Also, the response claims that Seaside Heights' population will grow and that the need for an elementary school there will only increase.

Additionally, the Toms River schools may not be able to accommodate the Seaside Heights students capacity-wise, the response says.

Central Regional asks that the Commissioner of Education decline to authorize the referendum vote that would allow Seaside Heights to withdraw from the district.