Middletown Parents Fervently Protest Idea To Close 3 Schools

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Middletown parents expressed fervent disapproval about a proposal presented Tuesday night that calls for the closure of three schools.

"This board needs to be shaken up," said one dad. "You guys are not doing your jobs."

"I was blindsided by this plan," said another. "It was clearly discussed behind closed doors with no community involvement."

"You know where you need to look for money? Administration," said one mom.

"The Middletown school board is not a monarchy. You cannot rule over the people of Middletown," said another.

Superintendent Jessica Alfone has proposed closing Leonardo and Navesink elementaries, and moving those students into a new "Bayshore Elementary," the former Bayshore Middle School. Bayshore Middle School will effectively cease operating as a middle school, and students there currently will go to either Thorne or Thompson, with the majority going to Thorne because it has more capacity.

Why? Alfone said the district is currently operating at a $10 million deficit; she described Middletown schools as "underwater." Middletown pays about $21,000 to educate each student, while the state only funds up to $15,000 per student.

If the district does not approve her proposal to close the three schools, the district will likely have to lay off 120 employees by June, and class size would increase to 28 in primary grades, and 30 in the higher grades, said the superintendent.

"We're at a fork in the road. Once we say we can't rectify the budget, the state will come in and tell us what to do. And they will force us to close things," said Alfone. "I have to think about all 8,500 students in this district. I have to look at the big picture."

In the past decade, large suburban school districts across New Jersey have seen year-over-year funding cuts from the state. The Middletown school district lost $7 million in state aid since 2009, while Alfone said the number is actually much higher due to inflation.

Taxes increased two percent every year in Middletown, but it's not enough to keep the district operating in its current form. Alfone listed some of the increased costs the district has endured, and will continue to see rise: "Salary increases, benefits, transportation increases, out-of-district tuition costs, server upgrades, property and casualty insurance, urgent maintenance in the name of student safety, curriculum training, utilities cost, which is a 20 percent increase. Schools are not immune to energy cost increases. And vendors' contracts for services — those costs have one up."

Yet while costs have gone up, enrollment has gone down: In 2009, there were 10,000 students in the Middletown district; currently, there are about 8,500. The district lost 1,500 students since 2010, and expects little population growth in the next 10 years. The idea that Middletown schools are overcrowded "is a myth," she said.

"Our population is remaining stagnant," said Alfone. "We are at the end of the road. We have to do something extreme to (get to) greater financial health. It is the reality."

One solution is for the district to shrink its physical footprint, she said. "Eventually, the Leonardo property can potentially be sold or leased to generate revenue for the district," she said, similar to how the district plans to sell the shuttered Port Monmouth Elementary to the county for $2.5 million; the county plans to turn Port Monmouth into an indoor swim center.

The Navesink school building is not owned by the school board; it is owned by a trust from Navesink Library (The Duryea-Navesink Library Association).

She said the district chose Leonardo and Navesink because they are the two oldest schools in the district, and are expensive to upkeep. And it doesn't end here: The Middletown school district will likely try to close even more elementary schools in the future, she warned.

Joe Fitzgerald said he would be voting against the proposal, to thunderous claps from the crowd.

"This is the first time I'm hearing we are in financial danger. I don't understand how we're in this dire situation," he said. "But I really can't fathom how we're figuring this out now. I feel like we could have made gradual changes instead."

He proposed cutting administrative salaries instead.

"I would like to start looking at our administration. Everyone has been complaining for years that we are top heavy. Let's cut the fat first," said Fitzgerald, to more claps.

Mark Soporowski has children who attend the schools that would be closed. He said he was "excluded from the finance committee for political reasons." The finance committee came up with this budget.

"But we have to look at the alternative," he said.

Like Soporowski, Board member Deb Wright's child also attends a school that would close. She indicated she would likely vote to close the schools.

"When people sit up here and say we don't know how we got here — I know how we got here. Other boards have refused to tackle strategic planning in a meaningful way. It was never a question of if we would hit the fiscal cliff. It was a question of when. You can't sit here and say you don't know how we got here. You've been sitting on this board for two years," she said directly to Fitzgerald. Last year we fixed the budget "with Band Aids," she said.

"The other alternative is massive layoffs across the district," said Wright. "You talk about renegotiating with the unions and contracts — it's not that easy to do."

The school district is calling this the "Middletown Reimagined" plan. The proposal to close the three schools is part of the larger 2025-'26 school year budget, which the district has to adopt by the end of April. Alfone will be urging the School Board to approve her proposal.

The Board will take a vote on the budget at first reading Tuesday night, however nothing will be finalized. There will be public meetings throughout March and April on what is sure to be an extremely controversial proposal in Middletown.

However, the school board does expect to take a final vote on this proposal to close the 3 schools by its April 30 meeting.

Tuesday night's meeting was livestreamed below:

Five years ago: Tears And Anger: Middletown BOE Votes To Close Port Monmouth (March 2020)

Alfone released the following press release to Patch on Tuesday. It is followed by frequently asked questions.

Here is the word-for-word press release from Alfone:

"Over the last decade, Middletown has shouldered the burden of maintaining high standards of educational excellence amidst a climate of decreasing state aid, a lack of full funding and increased operating expenses. While this has been frustrating, the district has chosen to proactively meet these challenges, viewing them as an opportunity to ignite progress toward a future of continued prominence in education."

"Born out of financial necessity and confronted with some difficult realities, I will be making a recommendation to the Board of Education this evening, as part of the tentative budget presentation, a plan to launch a journey to a reimagined Middletown Township School District. After an extensive evaluation of the district’s financial profile and infrastructure needs, I am proposing a plan spanning over the next 3-5 years that optimizes our operational efficiency, modernizes our infrastructure, lowers class sizes across the district, and provides all of the students in Middletown an enhanced 21st century educational experience."

"In phase one of this plan, we will begin to shrink our footprint for the 2025-'26 school year to maximize space in our newer, more modern buildings. The Leonardo Grade School and Navesink Elementary School communities will be merged to form what will be known as the new Bayshore Elementary School. This new school will be located in the former Bayshore Middle School facility. Equipped with large learning spaces, multiple gymnasiums, dedicated science labs, and a cafeteria, this shift will allow us to better accommodate our elementary-aged students, provide enhanced educational opportunities, and keep class sizes in all grades between 21-23 (students per class). Coincidingly, Bayshore Middle School students will attend either Thorne or Thompson Middle School dependent upon their elementary sending schools."

"These shifts evolve the district into a two-middle school/two-high school model with building enhancements on the horizon for all four secondary schools during phase two."

"Phases three and beyond, entails possible further consolidation of the district footprint at the elementary level. Building enhancements to the remaining elementary schools will be the priority with particular attention to additional large spaces, such as gymnasiums, cafeterias and state-of-art learning environments. This consolidated footprint will also afford the district greater operational efficiency, lower class sizes, and support an equitable distribution of services and resources across the district. If you wish to learn more about Phase I, you can access the Frequently Asked Questions document linked below."

"It is my hope that the school community is as excited about this journey as we are and view it as an opportunity to come together to shape a bright future for the children of Middletown. With a shared vision and unwavering commitment, we look forward to the next several years, which are sure to be filled with growth, progress, and collaboration. The best is yet to come!"

And here is the Middletown Reimagined Frequently Asked Questions website (FAQs)

What does Phase I of the Middletown Reimagined plan include?

Phase I includes a consolidation of the district footprint to increase operational efficiency. Navesink and Leonardo Elementary Schools will combine to form the new Bayshore Elementary School. This student population will be housed at the former Bayshore Middle School. Bayshore Middle School students will attend either Thorne Middle School or Thompson Middle School. Placement will be dependent upon the student’s elementary school enrollment. Phase I also includes the planning of construction improvement projects at the secondary schools. Enhancements will be planned to the two high schools as well as Thorne and Thompson with the goal of beginning the work by the fall/winter of 2025.

How does consolidating the district’s footprint provide cost savings?

By operating less facilities, cost savings will be realized with staffing, utilities, and other operational costs. Eventually, properties can potentially be sold or leased to generate revenue for the district.

How was the decision made as to which buildings were to be closed/consolidated?

An analysis of class sizes, total enrollments, geography, facilities needs, and district building capacities was conducted. Current sending pathways were also analyzed to try and disrupt as few students as possible and establish logical sending relationships within the district. Leonardo and Navesink are older, smaller buildings in need of a multitude of repair work that will be costly. These two older elementary schools also lack the potential that other buildings have to be modernized through renovations. Given the lower total populations of both buildings, we are able to move all students together to a new, larger, and more modern facility. Both populations enter the new Bayshore Elementary School together at the same time. Currently, Bayshore Middle School is also the least populated of the three current middle schools with just over 500 students. Thorne is also under capacity and is a building that can accommodate about one thousand students. Therefore, it was logical geographically and spatially to rezone the majority of Bayshore students to Thorne. The Fairview elementary students at Bayshore will be the only ones to now attend Thompson and High School South under the new structure.

Where will current 8th Graders at Bayshore go to High School?

8th graders (class of 2025) will attend the high school that they are currently scheduled to attend. They will experience no changes in their assigned high school.

Where will current 5th Graders go to middle school?

5th graders will go to the middle school that they are assigned to in the new trajectory. However, if this assignment changes their high school placement as they now know it to be, these students will have the option to attend their originally assigned high school on a by-request basis. Current 5th graders will be the last group granted this option.

Does increasing the student populations at Thorne and Thompson mean an increase in class size?

While the population will increase in both buildings, the district will staff the building according to enrollment to stay in line with our current class size expectations at the middle school level.

Will Thompson and Thorne be over capacity in this shift?

No, they will not be over capacity. At one time, Thompson was home to over 1,100 students. Renovations and upgrades to both middle schools are also part of Phase I to accommodate the added student numbers. Additional teaching staff members will be placed in both schools to accommodate class size expectations.

What construction projects will be scheduled to take place in the early phases of the plan?

In Phases I and II renovations will be planned and conducted for all secondary schools. This would include Thompson, Thorne, High School South and High School North.

What construction projects will be scheduled to take place in the later phases of the plan?

Upgrades and renovations to the remaining elementary footprint will be conducted in Phase 3 and beyond. There will be a heavy focus on the addition of large learning spaces, cafeterias, gymnasiums, science labs, art/music rooms, and all purpose rooms.

How will this impact transportation?

Students will receive transportation to their newly zoned school (if applicable) based on Board of Education policy. These thresholds for elementary and middle schools are over 2.0 miles from home to school. This could change transportation eligibility for some students.

With more students in each middle school, how will that impact opportunities for athletic teams?

In order to accommodate the higher enrollments both middle schools will support a 6/7th grade team and an 8th grade team. This will give more students the opportunity to participate in middle school athletics.

Is there any grandfathering of high school attendance for the current Bayshore Middle School students?

Students currently in 6th and 7th grade, who would have their high school trajectory changed under the new structure, will be provided the opportunity to put in a request to maintain this high school placement. They would still attend the assigned middle school in the new structure.

If we do not consolidate, how does this impact the district?

Consolidating will afford more efficient operations and therefore, a cost savings to the district. If consolidation did not occur, there would be widespread staff reductions resulting in an increased class size of 28 at the elementary level and a minimum 30 at the secondary level.

When will staffing due to the consolidation be finalized?

Between now and the beginning of May, the administration will be working to finalize staffing for the 2025-26 school year in all buildings. This is in preparation for the rehire meeting in mid May.

What will the community presentations cover?

The community presentation will include a review of the district’s budget presentation, logistics of the consolidation, and provide families the opportunity to visit their children’s new buildings.

How will students be supported during the transition?

Change can be challenging for all involved, and therefore, our goal is to provide as much support in the transition. Most importantly, students will have the opportunity to visit the new buildings before the start of the new school year. Orientations/open houses will be held at a date to be determined. Additionally, our counseling staff will be available to speak with our students and support them as they transition into the new environment.

Will services be impacted by the consolidation? (examples: guidance, special education)?

In order to maintain a reasonable level of support services, an additional guidance counselor will be assigned to both middle schools. As for special education and other services, these are always staffed to student-need and will remain intact as per requirements.

What playground facility will be used for Bayshore Elementary School?

Because Bayshore Elementary shares a campus with Leonardo School, the students will have access to Leonardo’s playground in the interim of a new playground being constructed in the future.

How will this impact the parent organizations in the affected schools?

District did not answer.

Alfone said the following in a letter to the community sent out Tuesday afternoon:

"At tonight’s Board of Education meeting, I will be presenting the tentative budget to the Board of Education and the school community. This presentation will include the financial realities that our district faces and propose a plan to strategically address these challenges in the best interests of all of the students in Middletown. Tonight’s meeting affords me the opportunity to transparently share with the community this information before any final action by the Board of Education takes place."

"The tentative budget presentation is just the first step in a longer process. The budget does not become final until the end of April when the Board of Education votes to adopt the budget," she added. "There will not be a vote to close any schools on this evening’s agenda. Follow-up information sessions will also be held before the final vote at the end of April. More details will follow regarding these dates and times."

"If you cannot attend the meeting this evening, I encourage you to view the meeting on our livestream," she said.

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