Sea Isle City School District Explained

Sea Isle City School District
Superintendent:Kathleen Taylor
Businessadmin:Thomas P. Grossi
Address:4501 Park Road
Sea Isle City, NJ 08243
Grades:None (K-8 until 2009, K-6 from 2009 until June 2012)
Schools:0 (1 until June 2012)
Enrollment:67 (as of 2008-09)
Faculty:12.9 FTEs
Ratio:5.2
Free Label:District Factor Group
Free Text:B
Website:seaisleschool.com

The Sea Isle City School District is community public school district that formerly directly operated a school that served students in pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade from Sea Isle City, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It currently does not operate any schools.[1] Its headquarters is the Sea Isle City City Hall.[2]

As of the 2008-09 school year, the district's one school had an enrollment of 67 students and 12.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 5.2.[3]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "B", the second lowest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.[4]

For all grades students are sent to attend Ocean City School District in Ocean City as part of a sending/receiving relationship. For ninth through twelfth grades, the destination school is Ocean City High School.[5]

History

New Jersey School District Number 30 was organized after Henry Ludlam, the town marshall, received an order to conduct a census of children in the municipality on August 15, 1882. Aldine House and Dolphin House were the initial locations for classes. Enrollment was 67 for the 1884-1885 school year. The district had one principal and one teacher in 1890.[6]

The six classroom Sea Isle City Public School opened in 1914. The city government in 1970 sought to build another school after it determined the 1914 building to be "structurally deficient". A school was built in 1971, and it was dedicated on February 5, 1972. The 1914 building was ultimately razed after being used for other purposes.[6]

In 2002, the school had 185 students, after which the population declined.[6] Merger discussions with the Ocean City School District in 2008 ended after the Ocean City district indicated that it was unwilling to accept Sea Isle City's tenured teachers, which it would be required to do under state law. Sea Isle City in 2008 spent $35,000 per student and hoped to see savings through the merger, even after adding in transportation costs.[7]

By 2009 there were 67 students. The middle school closed at the end of the 2008–09 year and held its final graduation ceremony on June 18, 2009.[6]

As of June 30, 2012, Sea Isle City School is no longer an operating school district.[8] The district now sends all students pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade to attend Ocean City Public Schools with which it shares administrative services.[9]

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the municipal government moved several departments into the school building, which had withstood minimal storm-related damage.[8]

In March 2023, the Sea Isle City Public School was demolished to clear ground for a planned $20 million community center due to be completed in 2025.[10]

School

The Sea Isle City School had an enrollment of 67 students in the 2008-09 school year.[11]

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:[12] [13]

Discrimination lawsuit

An African-American family filed a lawsuit against Sea Isle City, its police department and school board in 2004 alleging that their children were the target of racial slurs from teachers and were purposely excluded from participating in the Christmas play due to their race. In addition, the lawsuit also alleged that the police department filed false criminal charges against the family and harassed them. However, part of the lawsuit against Sea Isle City and the police department was settled in 2010 for $550,000.[14] The lawsuit against the school board and individual teachers was settled in 2011 for $350,000.[15] [16]

Board of education

The financial functions of the non-operating district are overseen by a board of education.[17]

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Non-operating School Districts in New Jersey for 2018-19. State of New Jersey. 2021-03-31.
  2. Web site: School Board. Sea Isle City. 2024-04-13. Meeting Location: Council Chambers 3rd Floor, City Hall 233 JFK Blvd Sea Isle City, NJ 08243.
  3. http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?Search=2&details=1&ID2=3414760&DistrictID=3414760 District information for the Sea Isle City School District
  4. http://www.state.nj.us/education/finance/rda/dfg.shtml NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts
  5. http://www.nj.gov/education/pr/1415/narrative/09/3780/050.html Ocean City High School 2015 Report Card Narrative
  6. Web site: Spotlight on History: Sea Isle Schools. Sea Isle News. 2018-11-10. 2021-03-31.
  7. Editorial. Merging schools / Law makes it hard, The Press of Atlantic City, June 30, 2008. Accessed June 30, 2008.
  8. Web site: Sea Isle City Board of Education. Sea Isle City Board of Education Reflects on School Closure . Cape May County Herald. 2013-10-27. 2021-03-31. Although the closure was ordered effective June 30, 2012, that decision by the State Board of Education was[...].
  9. Web site: Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2016. Sea Isle City Board of Education. 2024-06-22. https://megalodon.jp/2021-0401-1225-39/https://www.nj.gov:443/education/finance/fp/cafr/search/16/4700.pdf. 2021-04-01. Megalodon.jp. 2 (PDF 10/117). Sea Isle is a sending district. Grades K-12 are sent to Ocean City Schools.[...]The Sea Isle City Public School District in 2012/2013 became a 100%[...].
  10. Wittkowski, Donald. "Demolition Starts on Sea Isle’s Old School", Sea Isle News, March 22, 2023. Accessed March 25, 2023. "Sea Isle City’s former public school was simply no match for the metal claws of two giant excavators that began turning the 50-year-old building into piles of broken glass, twisted metal and concrete rubble.... Culminating years of planning and discussion, the city is going to use the site at 4501 Park Road to build a $20 million community recreation center tentatively scheduled to open in early 2025."
  11. http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3414760 School Data for the Sea Isle City School
  12. http://www.seaisleschool.com/storage/File/February 15 2011 Regular Meeting Minutes.pdf Minutes of the Regular Public Meeting: February 15, 2011
  13. http://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/education/directory/directory1.pl?string=co_code09&maxhits=1000 Cape May County School Directory
  14. http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/communities/upper_capemay/sea-isle-city-settles-racial-discrimination-lawsuit-against-police/article_c4f755a0-9513-11df-8a7b-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=jqm Sea Isle City settles $550,000 racial discrimination lawsuit against police
  15. http://www.sicta.org/research/lawsuits/JOYCE%20-%20Release.pdf Settlement and Release Agreement
  16. via Associated Press. "N.J. town owes family $550K in discrimination suit", New Jersey Herald, July 21, 2010. Accessed April 3, 2011.
  17. https://www.seaislecitynj.us/SchoolBoard School Board