Details On Middletown Redistricting Proposal Released: Here's Which Students Would Change Schools

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Here is the redistricting proposed by Ross Haber & Associates, the consulting firm the Middletown school district hired to redesign the boundaries of the school district.

Haber proposes relocating a total of 119 students within the district. As first reported by the Asbury Park Press, the changes would be as follows:

• 26 Harmony students will move to Middletown Village
• 37 Harmony students will move to Ocean Avenue
• 15 Lincroft students will move to River Plaza
• 29 River Plaza students will move to Middletown Village
• 12 Nut Swamp students will move to Middletown Village

Again, these changes were only introduced this week as a proposal from Haber & Associates. The Middletown school district has not formally proposed anything yet. Here is the presentation Ross Haber & Associates presented to the Board and the public Tuesday night: https://drive.google.com/file/...

Board member Jacqueline Tobacco posted on her Facebook page Friday morning that she was "appalled" at Haber's proposal to relocate the 119 students. A plan presented last year — to close three schools and consolidate students — would have been better, Tobacco said Friday.

"I do not speak for the entire Middletown BOE, but I will speak. My inbox is overflowing with outrage over the Haber redistricting plan that was presented last week. I hear you all. I was appalled at the nonchalance with which the maps were shown and graphs with individual students being moved out of their home school and away from friends," she said.

"A plan was presented by our superintendent last year that would have combined Navesink and Leonardo students together in a new building, shared Class-3 officer costs with the town, sold an unused property for over $2 million, and prevented the 10.1% tax hike. There were multiple phases to that plan that could have addressed overcrowding and the need for facilities improvements for modern education that would have benefitted (sic) every student but no one made it past Phase 1 because of organized outrage."

"This Haber report was what some people demanded. It is just one piece of data with which the board will have to make decisions on and I personally apologize to all the families whose children were identified on those slides as being the ones to be redistricted. The first I saw or heard of the contents of that report was when all of you did, and I share in the outrage expressed by so many of you."

Another BOE member, Mark Soporowski, said he found Haber's suggestions "underwhelming." Soporowski also said Haber's findings do not justify the $24,000 cost the district paid to hired the consulting firm.

"In my opinion, the school boundary and utilization report delivered last night was underwhelming and did not justify the expense," Soporowski said on his Facebook page Wednesday. "As we face major decisions that will determine the long-term stability of our district, I believe this report failed to deliver value for taxpayers, offering little more than surface-level conclusions that resembled a high-level summary rather than a rigorous, original analysis. If you are feeling disappointed by this highly anticipated report, you are not alone."

The school district hired Haber & Associates to do a boundary re-analysis of the district, as the school district tries to reduce costs and deal with aging buildings. This proposal will alleviate current and future overcrowding at Harmony, Lincroft and River Plaza elementary schools, said Haber and his team.

Now that the Haber report is in hand — and with it the suggestion to relocate 119 students — Strategic Planning meetings will start meeting again in February. In the past year, any parent or Middletown resident could join could the Strategic Planning process.

Questions regarding the Haber presentation may be emailed to: HaberReport@middletownk12.org

Haber Demographic Study Recommends Moving 119 Students Across Middletown School District (Jan. 28)