Atlantic Highlands, Highlands, Sea Bright Schools May Merge

ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS, NJ — The towns of Atlantic Highlands, Highlands and Sea Bright continue to take steps towards consolidating into one school district for all three towns.

If this happens, Atlantic Highlands Elementary, Highlands Elementary and Henry Hudson Regional High School would all become part of the same school district.

Sea Bright currently sends its elementary-aged students to Oceanport and then Shore Regional for high school.

The towns have been looking into regionalization for the past few years.

Two years ago, in May of 2020, the three school districts applied for, and were awarded, a $65,000 LEAP (Local Efficiency Achievement Program) grant from the state of New Jersey to investigate two possibilities:

• the feasibility of consolidating the three schools into one district
• the feasibility of consolidating the three schools, plus neighboring districts into one district

Then, this past January, Gov. Murphy signed a bill into law that will give small school districts financial incentives if they merge and regionalize.