Toms River Superintendent Hoping For April Vote On Seaside Heights Merger

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Toms River Regional School District announced in a legal advertisement on Monday its plans to hold a referendum on March 12 seeking voter approval of a proposal to merge the Seaside Heights School District into Toms River.

That proposal, however, has not yet been approved by the New Jersey Commissioner of Education. And with 18 days until the March 12 date, the likelihood of the referendum happening then is slim, Toms River Superintendent Michael Citta admitted Thursday night.

While the Toms River schools and Seaside Heights submitted the request in January, because it involves Seaside Heights leaving the Central Regional School District, the process is more involved.

Central Regional had until Tuesday to respond to the petition from Toms River and Seaside Heights, said Howard Seidman, a spokesman for the Department of Education.

Their response was submitted, and now Toms River Regional, Seaside Heights Borough and the Seaside Heights Board of Education have until Wednesday, Feb. 28, to file a response, Seidman said.

"All submissions will be reviewed by the Commissioner of the Department of Education, whose decision on this matter must be obtained prior to an election in accordance with N.J.S.A. § 18A:13-47.11a.," Seidman said.

Citta said Toms River Regional will be submitting its response to Central's comments on Monday. But he admitted the timeframe makes it extremely unlikely that the district can hold the referendum election in March.

"If we had a decision a week ago or two weeks ago, maybe," Citta said. Now, they are hoping to convince the state to permit the referendum on April 16, the date of school board elections in districts that still use the fiscal year calendar.

"That would give us enough time to hold information sessions, instead of trying to get them all done in a week," Citta said.

It is not clear whether state law would permit a referendum to be held on the April 16 date, but Citta said Toms River Regional officials believe it is a possibility under the state law. The next special election date is Sept. 17.

Seaside Heights middle and high school students currently attend Central Regional, and elementary students attend Hugh J. Boyd Elementary School. Under the petition to merge with Toms River, Seaside Heights elementary school students would be bused to East Dover Elementary, middle schoolers would go to Toms River Intermediate East and high school students would attend Toms River East, except for those currently in high school at Central Regional.

Central Regional, in its response, challenged the Toms River Regional petition on several points. In particular, Central Regional officials said Toms River Regional does not currently have free universal preschool for 3- to 5-year-olds. Seaside Heights has preschool offerings for all of the 3- to 5-year-olds in the borough.

Toms River Regional has applied to the state's preschool expansion program but has not been accepted into the program. The district does offer tuition-based preschool, with income-based discounts for low-income families.

Central Regional also challenged the Toms River Regional petition on the issue of busing, saying Toms River Regional does not provide buses after school for students who participate in clubs, activities or sports, which Central Regional said "would deprive all Seaside Heights students of transportation home after extracurricular activities many miles from their homes."

The issue of busing for junior varsity sports was raised at Wednesday's Toms River Regional Board of Education meeting by Krista Whittaker, a parent from South Toms River, who said she has driven kids to out-of-town sports competitions on multiple occasions.

Citta on Thursday night denied that claim, saying, "The busing situation was resolved last January," in 2023.

"There have been occasional issues when games have been moved around" due to weather cancellations or other conflicts, Citta said. But he denied that it was a persistent problem.

"We have been at full staff since last January," he said.

Central Regional, in its response, noted it is undergoing a regionalization feasibility study of its own. The district has been serving seventh through 12th grades since it formed in 1954. The district includes Seaside Park, Island Heights, Ocean Gate and Berkeley Township, in addition to Seaside Heights. It originally included Lacey Township, but that district withdrew when it opened its own middle and high schools in 1981. Read more: Central Regional, Ocean Gate School District Could Combine

Citta dismissed Central Regional's response and said he is confident the acting state Commissioner of Education, Kevin Dehmer, who took over on Feb. 12 for the retired Angelica Allen-McMillan, will approve the Toms River-Seaside Heights request for summary approval.

Toms River Regional officials hope that voters will approve the merger, and that approval will alleviate extreme state funding cuts the district is anticipating for the 2024-25 school year. Business Administrator William Doering on Wednesday night said the district is facing a $28 million budget gap, based on estimates of how much the district's aid will be cut as a result of S2.

Previous coverage:

• Seaside Heights-Toms River School Regionalization: What It Would Mean
• Delay Likely For Vote On Toms River-Seaside Heights Regionalization
• 'Questionable Findings' In District Merging Report: Central Regional