April 24, 2023

Dear Parents and Community Members,

Over the past year, the Oceanport Board of Education has been working diligently to keep our district whole, with regard to our consolidated school district that educates children from Oceanport and Sea Bright. This has been in response to the proposed petitions to regionalize made by Sea Bright and the separate school districts of Highlands, Atlantic Highlands, and Henry Hudson. Petitions from all parties have been filed with the Commissioner of Education, and there has recently been misinformation shared on social media, regarding Sea Bright’s ability to regionalize with the Tri-District. Therefore, we felt it was important to reiterate the facts as this is a very important issue facing the Oceanport School District. Sea Bright is not authorized to withdraw from the Oceanport School District under the applicable law. And despite petitions being filed, at this point no such permission has been granted to Sea Bright by the New Jersey Department of Education. We want to clarify when referring to “Sea Bright,” we are referring to the town entity, and not our Sea Bright students or families who have communicated to all levels of government their wish to remain in the Oceanport and Shore Regional school districts.

On April 5, 2023, the New Jersey Acting Commissioner of Education, Dr. Angelica Allen-McMillan did respond to our petition (filed jointly by Oceanport and Shore Regional High School), by declining only to invalidate the Tri-District and Sea Bright resolutions seeking to regionalize. In her decision, Dr. Allen-McMillan stated that the substantive arguments regarding Sea Bright’s ability to legally withdraw from the Oceanport School District will be considered in the New Jersey Department of Education’s review of the pending petition for regionalization.

As Sea Bright is not authorized to withdraw from the Oceanport School District under the applicable law, the Petition of Appeal filed by Oceanport Board of Education joined by the Shore Regional High School Board of Education, sought invalidation of the various resolutions authorizing the submission of a petition for regionalization to the Commissioner of Education, by the boroughs of Sea Bright, Atlantic Highlands, and Highlands, and the boards of education of Atlantic Highlands, Highlands, and Henry Hudson Regional School District. Our goal in this process has not wavered; the Oceanport Board of Education intends to keep our district whole in an effort to best serve the children and families of Sea Bright.

In the Commissioner’s decision, she has determined that the resolutions only authorize the first steps necessary to seek the Commissioner’s approval of the regionalization actions. The Commissioner has determined only that it is too early for the Oceanport Board of Education to raise this challenge now.

The Commissioner also stated that she will consider all of the substantive arguments regarding Sea Bright’s ability to legally withdraw from both the Oceanport and Shore Regional school districts in connection with her review of the petition for regionalization.

ALL of our students are important to our district and each one of them contributes to what makes Oceanport Schools special. Therefore, we will continue to work to ensure that our students from Sea Bright remain a part of our district. We will continue to strategize with our board attorney, as well as Shore Regional High School District, and will take all action necessary to prevent the withdrawal of Sea Bright students from Oceanport School District.

Sincerely,

Oceanport Board of Education

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