South Hunterdon Regional School District Explained

South Hunterdon Regional School District
Superintendent:Louis Muenker
Businessadmin:Kerry Sevilis
Address:301 Mt. Airy-Harbourton Road
City:Lambertville
County:Hunterdon County
State:New Jersey
Zipcode:08530
Country:United States
Coordinates:40.3887°N -74.891°W
Grades:Pre-K to 12
Schools:3
Enrollment:925 (as of 2018–19)
Faculty:108.0 FTEs
Ratio:8.6:1
Free Label:District Factor Group
Free Text:FG

South Hunterdon Regional School District is a regional public school district serving students in pre-kindergarten though twelfth grades from three communities in southern Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The district was established for the 2014–15 school year by consolidating the K-6 districts for Lambertville, Stockton and West Amwell Township together with South Hunterdon Regional High School to create a K-12 district.[1] [2]

As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprising three schools, had an enrollment of 925 students and 108.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.6:1.[3]

History

In a special election held in September 2013, voters from Lambertville, Stockton and West Amwell Township passed referendums to dissolve the South Hunterdon Regional High School District and to combine the three existing school districts from each municipality (Lambertville City School District, Stockton Borough School District and West Amwell Township School District), with majorities in each community passing both ballot items.[4] A single combined regional district was created, serving students in PreK-12, with property taxes levied under a formula in which 57% is based on property values and 43% on the number of students. The executive county superintendent appointed an interim board of education for the new regional district, which was responsible for implementing the merger.[5]

A study commissioned by the district prepared by McKissick Associates looked at options for using, modifying and expanding school facilities in the district, in light of long-term trends indicating a decline in the number of school-aged children in the three municipalities. In a February 2016, a presentation prepared for the board of education outlined various scenarios, which could involve options ranging from retaining all existing facilities to consolidating all schools at a single site. After reviewing a matrix of all 10 options and weighing each on several factors identified as relevant, committee members ranked the choices; based on committee votes, the three preferred choices were (1) to keep K-5 students in Lambertville and West Amwell, while moving 6th grade to the high school complex, (2) keeping all facilities at their present locations with equity additions as needed and (3) a consolidated K-12 at a single site.[6]

Stockton Borough Elementary School, which had seen a dramatic decline in enrollment, was closed at the end of the 2017–18 school year.[7]

A November 2021 referendum allocating $33 million for construction projects passed by a two-vote margin. Voters in Lambertville and Stockton voted strongly in favor of the project, overcoming strong opposition from West Amwell Township voters. Renovations and expansion to Lambertville Public School will run $12.7 million and a new middle school for grades 5-8 will be constructed on the high school campus at a cost of $20.7 million.[8]

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[9]) are:[10] [11] [12]

Elementary schools
High school

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:[16]

Board of education

The district's board of education, composed of nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held (since 2014) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.[18] [19] [20]

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.straussesmay.com/seportal/Public/DistrictPolicy.aspx?policyid=0110&id=f42c4228b7cd43c78ef50e3ed757572f South Hunterdon Regional Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification
  2. https://www.nj.gov/education/pr/1415/narrative/19/1376/000.html South Hunterdon Regional School District 2015 Report Card Narrative
  3. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?Search=2&details=1&ID2=3400769&DistrictID=3400769 District information for South Hunterdon Regional School District
  4. http://www.nj.gov/education/pr/1213/narrative/19/2530/19-2530-000.html Lambertville Public School District 2013 Report Card Narrative
  5. Tredrea, John. "Lambertville: Schools turn how to make merger work; After historic vote, decisions on buildings, contracts need to be made", The Beacon, October 2, 2013. Accessed October 15, 2013. "Now that the two referendum questions on merging the Stockton, West Amwell, Lambertville and South Hunterdon Regional High School districts into one pre-k to grade 12 district have been overwhelmingly approved, the process of implementing the regionalization can begin."
  6. http://shrsd.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_18481/File/DistrictInfo/Facility%20Use/MasterPlanningBoardPresentation02292016.pdf District Wide Master Planning Study: Phase II - Board Summary
  7. Rizzo, Olivia. "Small schools in this rural part of N.J. are under threat", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 28, 2018, updated January 30, 2019. Accessed June 29, 2020. "And next month Stockton Borough Elementary School, part of the South Hunterdon Regional School District, will be closing its doors for good at the end of this school year after nearly 200 years. It has a single, combined fifth and sixth grade class this year, and enrollment has fallen to about 50 students in recent years."
  8. Deak, Mike. "South Hunterdon's $33 million school referendum passes by two votes", MyCentralJersey.com, November 16, 2021. Accessed November 17, 2021. "A South Hunterdon Regional School District referendum on the Nov. 2 ballot to fund a $33 million project to renovate Lambertville Public School into a pre-k-4 school and to build a new grades 5-8 school on the high school campus has passed by only two votes, 1,773 to 1,771.... The cost of renovating Lambertville Public School is $11.35 million with the addition costing $1.362 million. The cost of building the grades 5-8 school is $20.7 million."
  9. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3400769 School Data for the South Hunterdon Regional School District
  10. https://www.co.hunterdon.nj.us/DocumentCenter/View/13295/2023-2024-Public-School-Directory-PDF#page=47 2023-2024 Public School Directory
  11. https://rc.doe.state.nj.us/selectreport/2022-2023/19/1376 School Performance Reports for the South Hunterdon Regional School District
  12. https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/school/districtid/1376 New Jersey School Directory for the South Hunterdon Regional School District
  13. http://lps.shrsd.org/ Lambertville Public School
  14. http://was.shrsd.org/ West Amwell School
  15. http://hs.shrsd.org/ South Hunterdon Regional High School
  16. https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/district/county/hunterdon New Jersey School Directory for Hunterdon County
  17. http://www.shrsd.org/district/business_office Business Office
  18. https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/dwb/DistrictByTypeList2018.pdf New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election
  19. https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/cafr/search/19/1376.pdf#page=45 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the South Hunterdon Regional School District
  20. http://www.shrsd.org/school_board/board_members___committees Board Members and Committees